Leopard unleashed

Introduced in October 2013 to replace the Plaxton Profile, the Plaxton Leopard has become a versatile vehicle in the market. By the end of this year there will be over 200 examples of the coach on the road. Richard Sharman takes an in-depth look at the 72-seater variant

While making my way to Pearces Coaches in Berinsfield, Oxfordshire, I was thinking about the last Plaxton Leopard that I drove, which would have been a manual Leyland Leopard with Plaxton Supreme IV bodywork. [wlm_nonmember][…]

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Technology has moved on quite a bit since then and the engine in this Plaxton Leopard is instead the Volvo B8R, but the Leopard name is still fondly remembered and respected by many long-standing coach operators.

Having grown up in Oxfordshire I already had good knowledge of Pearces Coaches and knew that the Plaxton mark continues to be held in very high esteem by the company.

As I approached the South Oxfordshire village of Berinsfield, around seven miles from Oxford city centre, the weather was cool and misty.

Keeping my fingers crossed that the weather improved or at least stayed dry, I followed the signs for the industrial estate which is tucked around the back of the village.

On arrival at Pearces Coaches the first thing I noticed is that the yard was full of Scarborough’s finest built coachwork, from two short 2007 ADL Javelin Plaxton Profiles to Plaxton Panther-bodied Iveco EuroRiders. Another more recent addition includes a Cheetah XL and a Panther Cub.

I was greeted by two representatives from Plaxton, Commercial Manager Mark Ballam and Regional Sales Manager Dave Sellars prior to meeting owner of Pearces Coaches, Martin Pearce. After a chat about the long-standing family company, we were shown the way to the Plaxton Leopard.

Exterior styling and features

The Leopard represents the entry level coach of Plaxton’s range, but first impressions are far from it. Pearces’ fresh white livery allowed me to see the vehicle styling in full. I was immediately drawn to the front of the vehicle by the stylish LED daytime running lights which are incorporated into the chrome trim, also featured in a thick band underneath the window line of the vehicle. The black glazed area below the windscreen gives the Leopard a much taller look than its actual 3.48m height.

I was next drawn to the angled-in styling crease that runs the length of the Leopard, which also cuts into the wheel arches.

Three locker doors on either side give access to 10 cubic metres of luggage space, enough to cope with 72 school bags if needed, with a maximum weight of 417kg.

The orange side LED lower marker lights are neatly fitted in to the oval door handles; in fact the only lighting that extends beyond the width of the body is the two tail marker lights which are mounted to the rear corners of the vehicle.

As I moved towards the rear of the Leopard the asymmetric last window, that has become standard across the Plaxton coach range, stands out due to the dark tinted double-glazed unit gleaming against the pristine white paintwork.

The updated off side rear emergency exit is full length and features three steps that move into position as the door is opened. A spring mounted catch is provided to keep the emergency door open when required.

The rear styling bears the familiar Plaxton coach range roof spoiler, which incorporates the marker lights and a reversing camera, and a half oval dark tinted and chrome strip surrounded window.

There is space under the rear window for the operator to put their fleet name which is followed by styled engine air vents. A centre-mounted LED repeat brake light is positioned between.

Access to the Volvo B8R engine is gained through two fibreglass panels; one is a gas spring strut operated boot lid and the other is a removable panel. Once the lower panel is removed and the boot lid is opened the engineer has complete access to the engine compartment, without the need to remove further rear bumper panels etc., thus speeding up servicing or repairs.

Three round LED rear light clusters are fitted to each side of the coach, followed by a reflector which is fitted underneath the reversing light in the same round styling. The large Plaxton-branded chrome strip above the number plate recess is a nice touch, followed by a styling crease at the bottom of the lower panel. Alcoa Dura-Bright alloy wheels finish off the exterior nicely.

Stepping inside the Leopard

The inswinging pneumatic entry door is made by Finnish firm, Tamware. The large double-glazed door smartly incorporates the door control unit into the glazed area, the external controls featuring a round button to open or close the door and a manual round handle to operate the door in an emergency. The driver can also secure the vehicle with the lock provided in the centre of the handle. A red round handle is also fitted at the top of the door on the inside for emergency use and has a plastic cover over it to ensure it is only used in emergency.

Entry to the Plaxton Leopard is via three yellow edged steps which are 22cm deep; a large curved grab handle fitted to the door, one next to the crew seat and one built into the dash assist with entry when required.

The Pearces Coaches specification includes 72 Buckingham seats trimmed in two tone black and grey leather with three-point seatbelts, made by Prime Seating. The aisle width is 36cm as the off-side seats overhang the gangway slightly.

The gap between the seats is 30cm, and with my height of over six feet I was able to fit in the seat reasonably well, though the 72-seater configuration is more ideally suited to school students and university hires or contracts.

Pearces Coaches operates a number of private school and university contracts, so it is ideal for them.

The clever thing about the Leopard is that the seat tracking allows the 72 seats to be removed and reclining coach seats fitted in their place, transforming it into a 59-seater later in its life or from a 59 seater to 72 seats in later life depending on the original seating configuration. With the coach being 12.8m long it would make it a spacious vehicle for private hire.

Interior fitting wise the coach has curtains to all side windows, three DVD monitors, a fully soft trimmed roof, luggage rack and a carpeted gangway. Each seat has a luggage rack mounted passenger service unit which features two round air vents, two LED reading lights and a speaker. The reading lights and speaker are finished with chrome surrounds.

Roof mounted continuous LED strip lighting on each side of the saloon provides more than adequate night lighting. Blue under seat lighting has also been specified.

Four side windows are marked as emergency exits with red glass hammers located on the window pillars. The rear window is also a designated emergency exit. The near side emergency exit door has a large area to access it should an emergency situation occur.

Driver’s environment

The driver’s cab area is well thought out and comfortable. My first thought on seeing the cab was that the high plastic panel under the cab window would restrict vision, but looks can be deceiving and vision of the road ahead, near side and off side is perfect.

Sitting in the Grammer MSG90.3 air-suspended driving seat, my first impression was that leg room was very good, with the seat reclining as required.

The cab window to the right is double-glazed and electrically operated. Next to the switch for the cab window is the electrically operated full width sun blind, which is smooth and fairly silent in operation.

The mirror position offers perfect vision down the side of the vehicle, each mirror having its own control unit for adjustments located next to the driver’s seat under the cab window.

Air-conditioning is provided by a roof mounted Thermoking X700 climate control system and heating by Webasto. The three speed demister unit controls remain the same car style system that has featured in Plaxtons since the introduction of the Premiere model, which is not a bad thing as it is easy to operate and has less chance of falling like a digital unit may do.

Heating/demisting and air-conditioning controls are all to hand on the lower left of the dashboard.

The entertainment system is provided by Bosch, with the ability to play music or films from a USB stick to the three saloon monitors. The driver has a microphone located on the pillar behind the cab window.

Pearces Coaches has specified an interior and exterior CCTV system for which the monitor is mounted to the dashboard by the off-side A pillar. When selecting reverse, the monitor automatically changes to the view of the reversing camera.

In terms of ventilation, the driver has two vents above the cab seat which work with the air-conditioning and three vents built into the dash – one each side of the dash for the body and one in the footwell.

Lane departure equipment is mounted to the windscreen and is nicely masked off.

The Volvo steering wheel is fully adjustable via the small pedal to the left-hand side of the footwell. The Volvo dash display is well lit and positioned very well within the dashboard.

The ZF gear selector is to the right of the cab seat under the cab window, although when fitted with Volvo’s I-Shift gearbox, the gear selector unit will be fitted to the cab seat and located left.

Engine and gearbox

The Plaxton Leopard is powered by the Volvo D8K 350 6cyl 7.7 litre Euro VI engine, which produces 350hp at 2200rpm. Pearces Coaches has specified the optional ZF EcoLife 6AP1400B six-speed automatic gearbox, although the Volvo AT2412E I-Shift fully automated 12 speed gearbox with integral retarder is the standard gearbox for the Plaxton Leopard.

Safety equipment on the Volvo B8R includes EBS (Electronic Braking System), featuring ABS and ASR (Antilock and Antislip), ESP (Electronic Stability Programme) and a driver support system which includes CWEB (Collision Warning Emergency Braking System) and LKS (Lane Keeping System).

Test drive

As the two Plaxton representatives and myself boarded the vehicle for the test drive the weather improved slightly, the mist disappearing to leave a cloudy but dry morning.

The first thing I noticed as soon as I sat in the driver’s seat was that visibility was superb. The inswinging Tamware passenger entry doors’ window line was very low which gives the driver an uninterrupted near side view.

Pearces Coaches specified the electrically heated and adjustable colour coded gull wing mirrors, which together with the mirror mounted to the body next to the cab window allowed perfect nearside/offside and blind spot vision.

Departing the Berinsfield depot, there were a number of speed humps to go over to exit the village on the main road. The Leopard has plenty of ground clearance and this was no issue at all.

Joining the A4074 towards Oxford the Volvo B8R accelerated in a quiet and composed manner, with the ZF EcoLife changing up gears quickly into sixth for maximum fuel economy.

It was six miles from Berinsfield to the Oxford ring road, which was mostly A roads. On this part of the journey it became clear that the Leopard was well put together as there was no noise or rattling from any interior fittings.

As we neared the Oxford ring road there was a section of dual carriageway. Testing the ZF gearbox to overtake a skip lorry, I used the kick down and the Volvo B8R sprung into life with typical ZF response. The Leopard reached the limiter from 50mph in no time, but it still retained its quietness.

Heading out onto the A34 towards Bicester the Leopard cruised on the limiter between Botley and Pear Tree roundabout where we exited towards Woodstock and the village of Yarnton. This roundabout and section of road was particularly bad in regard to pot holes and uneven road surfaces, but the Leopard took it all in its stride, the electronically controlled air suspension absorbing the uneven road.

Happy with these results, we used the large Bladon roundabout near Woodstock to turn around and head back towards Oxford, a good chance to check for body roll. The steering on the Volvo chassis was precise and the Leopard remained stable with no noticeable body roll.

A brief stop at Pear Tree services to photograph the emergency exit arrangement allowed for a quick test of the reversing camera and the steering lock at the coach park exit. Those of you who have used this coach park will know that the exit arrangement is quite tight, not helped by large concrete blocks where you could gain more exit space.

The steering lock was very good and despite the Leopard’s 12.8m length, it is a very manoeuvrable vehicle.

Taking the Woodstock Road into Oxford city centre, we encountered a large number of cyclists meaning careful but swift overtaking as the inbound carriageway was only one lane. The ZF EcoLife gearbox once again worked in perfect harmony with the Volvo B8K and allowed safe, smooth and responsive overtaking manoeuvres.

While sitting in the normal Oxford City Centre traffic there was a chance to try out the heating and air-conditioning system. Thermoking’s roof mounted X700 unit was easy to use and provided chilled air very quickly indeed. In terms of heating, a Webasto auxiliary heater had been specified which was operated by a single switch rather than a control unit.

The convection units mounted along the saloon floor quickly heated up.

The powered driver’s cab window, whilst being fairly small, allowed an ample breeze.

Returning to Berinsfield via the Abingdon Road and the A4074, I found the brakes very progressive with just the right amount of bite when needed, and the ZF EcoLife gearbox shifted down smoothly.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a versatile people mover, which has attractive styling, the ability to down- or up-seat in later life and the tried and tested Volvo/ZF combination, then the Plaxton Leopard should certainly be on your list of vehicles to look at. The 12% chromium stainless steel structure, anticorrosion protection and two stage undersealing means that it should be a long serving member of any fleet.

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