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Post by vjaska on May 21, 2014 22:08:50 GMT
I think the rapta was much better looking Indeed, it's a shame it never took off!  I'm not impressed with the Metrodecker at all. Other than the odd hopper windows and the Mercedes Benz engine, there is nothing of interest there for me. The short upstairs window towards the front of the bus, the tiny patty-shaped lower deck window and the ugly 'face'...it's horrible. Other than the Optare Rapta and Tempo, I can't recall ever liking an Optare bus. Why can't they just go for a nice conventional design?!  The MCV DD103, with slight modifications to the body is probably the best looking bus of recent times. The E400 MMC is quite nice to look at from the back and sides, not too keen on the 'hips', but the interior looks awesome. Those are probably the only 'recent' bus types I like. ALX400 and President are the best though!  Oh dear, now the MCV DD103 is one horrible bus - looks like someone nicked bits of an Omnicity DD and attempted to build a new bus from there. Only beaten by the NBfL. |
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Post by routew15 on May 21, 2014 22:13:45 GMT
If this bus is a demonstrator I can see it going to either Go-Ahead or London Sovereign
But I think most orders will come from CT Plus and Tower Transit. GAL may purchase a small batch for garages like A, AL BX and BV
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Post by Volvo on May 21, 2014 22:45:55 GMT
I think the rapta was much better looking Indeed, it's a shame it never took off! I'm not impressed with the Metrodecker at all. Other than the odd hopper windows and the Mercedes Benz engine, there is nothing of interest there for me. The short upstairs window towards the front of the bus, the tiny patty-shaped lower deck window and the ugly 'face'...it's horrible. Other than the Optare Rapta and Tempo, I can't recall ever liking an Optare bus. Why can't they just go for a nice conventional design?! The MCV DD103, with slight modifications to the body is probably the best looking bus of recent times. The E400 MMC is quite nice to look at from the back and sides, not too keen on the 'hips', but the interior looks awesome. Those are probably the only 'recent' bus types I like. ALX400 and President are the best though! I also liked the solo+ www.oxford-chiltern-bus-page.co.uk/upload%20091108/NEC%202008/NEC%20Optare%20Solo%20-%20updated%20design%20osf%20061108%20MC.jpgFor me the best looking modern DDs euro 4 onwards imo are in this order MCV D103LE, E400 MMC (I agree about the hips thing it is a bit weird tbh but overall the vehicle is still very good looking), Gemini 2, Enviro 400..................... Olympus |
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2014 22:46:43 GMT
It weighs 9980!!!
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2014 22:47:37 GMT
If this bus is a demonstrator I can see it going to either Go-Ahead or London Sovereign But I think most orders will come from CT Plus and Tower Transit. GAL may purchase a small batch for garages like A, AL BX and BV Surprised you've missed the two biggest buyers of Optare products from your list - Quality Line and London United. |
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Post by Volvo on May 21, 2014 22:49:03 GMT
Somehow I knew the weight was either 9, 970 or 9, 980 just knew it wasn't far under 10, 000kgs |
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Post by Volvo on May 21, 2014 23:24:10 GMT
I think this is why optare always gets stick when it comes to vehcle designs imo wtf is going on with the back of this seriously, eespecially the lower deck rear window? /photo/1
Its like the designer was taking a dump and thought hmm I quite like toilets, so let me design the rear window to look like a toilet.
I think the toilet rear window design suits this vile-cle well as I think it is sh**
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Post by vjaska on May 22, 2014 0:30:18 GMT
I think this is why optare always gets stick A large chunk of the stick that Optare gets is unwarranted - there are Optare vehicles I've never particularly liked such as the Metrorider & Starider mini buses, the Solo + which just looked hideous and the new Tempo which looks seriously strange at the front. Then, there are the good vehicles such as the Versa, even if you don't like the styling, it's way more comfortable & has less rattling than Enviro 200's and has a nicer ride, the award winning Solo which has sold in huge numbers, comes in a range of shapes & sizes & still looks refreshingly modern, the original Tempo with a sleek, box shape and comfortable ride & the Spectra, which was a sturdy and quick bus. I now await a list of posts that disagree and/or continuing to give Optare stick. |
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Post by LX09FBJ on May 22, 2014 1:15:26 GMT
I think this is why optare always gets stick when it comes to vehcle designs imo wtf is going on with the back of this seriously, eespecially the lower deck rear window? /photo/1 Its like the designer was taking a dump and thought hmm I quite like toilets, so let me design the rear window to look like a toilet. I think the toilet rear window design suits this vile-cle well as I think it is sh** Rear ends have not been lookers IMO on any of the three new DDs for 2014, but this Atro-decker takes it to a whole new level because of that rear window  I seriously hope the 111 gets MMC Hybrids or keeps its SPs. |
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Post by LX09FBJ on May 22, 2014 1:26:39 GMT
I think this is why optare always gets stick A large chunk of the stick that Optare gets is unwarranted - there are Optare vehicles I've never particularly liked such as the Metrorider & Starider mini buses, the Solo + which just looked hideous and the new Tempo which looks seriously strange at the front. Then, there are the good vehicles such as the Versa, even if you don't like the styling, it's way more comfortable & has less rattling than Enviro 200's and has a nicer ride, the award winning Solo which has sold in huge numbers, comes in a range of shapes & sizes & still looks refreshingly modern, the original Tempo with a sleek, box shape and comfortable ride & the Spectra, which was a sturdy and quick bus. I now await a list of posts that disagree and/or continuing to give Optare stick. Yes, the Versas are much nicer and feel more solid than the E200. Being around Kingston almost everyday, I've grown accustom to them, and apart from the lower front and rear ends, they don't look too bad. One problem is that we're not used to seeing them, so compared to say the 'old' E400, I initially didn't like the new model (I still don't like that rear end though, too many grilles. But now that I've seen it more, it's growing on me, such as (and I know I'll get hate for this!) the NB4L. Once places like Hounslow and Croydon are full of these buses then I'm sure they won't seem to bad. Optare has a reputation of making lovely buses (Versas and Tempos), which feel much more superior to E200s or Pointers, which are plentiful. |
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Post by guybowden on May 22, 2014 6:48:21 GMT
My old man went to the launch and he found out the following information, heard a figure of £190,000 each for the cost of the bus. He also sat on the seats and said they were very comfortable and have good leg room (he is 6 foot 3). It is made out of stainless steel sections in a modular format so you can easily change the lengths and he wasn't keen on the rear window. Him and myself are both of the opinion that its something different and good luck to Optare.
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Post by ServerKing on May 22, 2014 6:58:21 GMT
I'm a bit 50/50 on this - the strange style hopper windows are putting me off as is the tiny length front upstairs windows but I can see myself warming to this. Decent attempt Optare - a body builder who just gets abused every time they build a bus. the patty-shaped window at the back downstairs is odd... too small. it's like the tiny windows they retrofitted to the likes of DLA24 that were made with no rear window... It might be good with the Merc engine and on Voith... something to shift the 51 reg TAs? Looks like London United have found their next deckers  |
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2014 7:11:54 GMT
Oh dear...
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Post by routew15 on May 22, 2014 8:43:45 GMT
If this bus is a demonstrator I can see it going to either Go-Ahead or London Sovereign But I think most orders will come from CT Plus and Tower Transit. GAL may purchase a small batch for garages like A, AL BX and BV Surprised you've missed the two biggest buyers of Optare products from your list - Quality Line and London United. I was going to say those two as well but I think when it comes to DDs, I think Quality Line and London United will be loyal to the types that they already use. But we'll just need to wait and see if this Optare DD takes off or not. |
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2014 13:35:58 GMT
First post here! Woop!
I'll be following this with interest - I don't think it poses any real competition to the E400 - it seems to be built to a different in ethos and the E400 is a truly outstanding product anyway, but it seems to me that it makes the Streetdeck/B5TL slightly obselete in terms of the latter being intended to be a much lighter vehicle than the last gen. I'm not sure about the interior from what I can see - the design is great but I worry that the materials might be a bit like children's outdoor toys in feel - hollow and plasticky. If it's good quality, however, Optere might have a serious product on their hands.
As to that window - I'm neutral. It's a bit chunky in appearence, but so is the rest of the bus - I have ambitions to design public transport vehicles once I come out of education, and I'm not sure how I could have handled it differently. The side windows do look untidy, but I assume there's a good structura reason for it. It'll be interesting to see how those hoppers hold up in service.
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