Treka Bus has long been associated with the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter-based Mobility+ product, which has recently evolved with the restyle of the Sprinter. But out of the depths of the Brighouse factory has arisen a new minibus, the Everyday. Richard Sharman visited West Yorkshire to find out more about this new addition to the range
Arriving at the Treka Bus factory in Brighouse, I was to meet Managing Director Morgan Clissett first. Morgan would talk me through why a new vehicle is being introduced, and what hopes he has for it.
Filling a gap in the Treka range
“It has been an interesting development for us at Treka Bus,” explained Morgan. “When I first joined the business in February 2013, our coach built Mobility+ product was what the business was known for. A five-tonne van conversion was not what we were known for, but we had started to produce them.”
“We weren’t really pushing that product, and at that point were building two coach-built minibuses and one van conversion a week. In May of 2013, we took an order for 49 van conversions that needed to be delivered in a short period of time. We needed to build five vans, and two coach-built minibuses a week. A month later and we were meeting that figure.
“We increased our workforce but also found incredible efficiency by going back to the drawing board. When I joined the business it took 14 days to convert a panel van. It now takes just six helped by 1,000 small efficiency changes. From then on van conversions became a second bow to what we do. We have had years, such as 2018, where we have delivered more panel van conversions than we have coach-built vehicles, and yet there are so many people in the world that think we still only produce the Mobility+ product.
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“On the back of that, operators like London Hire, for which Treka Bus has been the sole supplier of coach-built minibus product for many years, started taking the five-tonne Mobility model too. In September 2018 we were at a meeting with London Hire when it asked if we would consider starting to convert 3.5-tonne minibuses for it.
“It put its faith in us, as it knew the quality it got with the Mobility and Mobility+ products and said here is an order for seven vehicles. Bear in mind we hadn’t even designed the vehicle yet. London Hire required eight seats, air-conditioning, a PLS lift and for it to be based on a long wheelbase, high-roof Renault Master.
“The next interaction with London Hire was showing it the completed vehicle at the CV Show. That is how the Everyday came about. Before it had even seen that vehicle it ordered another 10 to compliment the original seven.
“The Everyday will be available on four different base vehicles, the Renault Master, Peugeot Boxer, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, and Volkswagen Crafter. We expect the core orders to be for the Master and Boxer as the latter two are heavyweight and more expensive base vehicles.
“The Everyday is also extremely flexible in terms of configuration, with or without wheelchair lift, eight to 14 seats, four wheelchairs, and so on.”
First impressions of the Everyday
Externally it is hard to tell the Everyday apart from any other Renault Master minibus out on the road, but the difference with this Treka Bus-built product is that a neat job of the conversion has been done. It looks completely OEM.
Looking from the front it could easily be a van, as no additional fixings are necessary at this point. Moving to the side of the vehicle, side-glazing has been seamlessly fitted and looks like an OEM feature. The side step is neatly fitted into position and tucked away. On the offside, there is a small exit pipe for the Eberspacher unit. The rear of the vehicle again has no additional features as it is fitted with an inboard lift.
So in terms of the exterior, the Renault Master lends itself well to the task of being an attractively styled minibus. The engine grill and headlights are what gives it an edgy look. The rear light clusters are also modern in design.
Interior build quality
The vehicle being road tested was built to M1 specification with seating for eight passengers, but M2 specification vehicles are also an option. What struck me about the Treka Bus product was the lack of grey carpet. Whilst this is a staple of many minibus conversions, the Brighouse builder has made a point of moving away from it. Morgan firmly believes that a wipe-clean interior is a much more attractive and a cleaner environment for passengers to enjoy.
On boarding through the side entry door I could see exactly what he meant. The interior was almost service bus like. The only soft trim to be seen was the London Hire moquette used down the centre of the roofline and on areas where passengers may bump their heads if not paying attention.
Treka Bus has done a good job of the interior mouldings on the Everyday, with all fibreglass mouldings being made in house at the Brighouse factory and on an additional site a few miles away.
Modern LED lighting is fitted either side of the trimmed centre insert in the roofline, along with a coach-style skylight and two speakers for the OEM sound system.
Glass and grey ABS wipe-clean textured panels around the cab and by the entry door continue the quality theme of the interior. It is all very well designed and put together.
One feature that I did particularly like was how the Eberspächer air-conditioning unit had been built into the roofline, just behind the cab. It featured four air vents for the air-conditioning function, whilst the heater unit had vents at floor level to distribute heat evenly.
The standard make of wheelchair lift fitted to the majority of Treka Bus products is made by PLS, but it can fit Ricon and other makes if required. The inboard PLS lift fitted to this vehicle proved to be both silent and quick in operation when tested. Treka Bus had also fitted an LED light above the lift in the roofline to ease night and winter operation.
The flooring is tracked using NMI Safety Systems Smartflooring, which allows the Everyday to be completely flexible during its life with its operator from new, and also in its second life. NMI Safety Systems Millennium braced pedestals are used to secure the seat base to the floor tracking, whilst seats are the Phoenix Blenheim model. This seating features wipe-clean squabs with a part fabric seatback ensuring they are easy to keep clean. Treka Bus also coats the seatbelts and seats with Silvershield anti-stain, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal protection.
Cab area
Sitting in the OEM’s driver’s seat, retrimmed in London Hire moquette, is very comfortable, but the first thing I do notice is that the OEM flooring is quite slippery when brand new. I guess this will become better with use of the vehicle. My attention was then drawn to the dashboard. I admit I had been spoilt in my last test drive with the new Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, but to be fair to Renault, its dashboard was very functional. It has plenty of storage and cubby holes to satisfy even the biggest pen collector driver in a fleet.
Treka Bus has done a good job of installing the lighting switches, and other additional switchgear to blend-in with the dash. The finish was to OEM standard, the downside being the loss of the Renault in-dash clipboard.
The Eberspächer control unit for the heating and air-conditioning was mounted in the roofline, behind the interior cab light unit, where the sunglasses holder would have been.
The driver benefits from having a USB charging point mounted on the top of the dashboard, whilst a cigarette lighter is provided next to the dashboard-mounted gear stick. The Renault in-dash head unit, whilst basic looking, can play a CD or music from a USB stick. Sound quality from the OEM stereo was pretty good in all fairness.
Treka Bus have cleverly realised that there are times when a vehicle can be sitting out of use for a number of days when not required, so to protect the battery it has fitted a battery guard system. The reset button for this had also been built into the dash and looked like an OEM feature.
The Renault Master also comes will electric/heated mirrors, electric windows, and rear heated windows, whilst the height and rake steering adjustment is a useful feature.
Brighouse and beyond
It was time to take the Everyday out on the road, Morgan accompanied me, and after some skilful shuffling, we released the vehicle of choice from the busy factory yard.
This was my first time behind the wheel of a Renault Master, so I was not sure what to expect. To simulate real-life operation, the headlights, interior lights, cab and Eberspacher air-conditioning units were turned on. It helped to give a more realistic MPG reading at the end of the road test. I activated the in-dash eco button, this mode reducing power that would otherwise decrease fuel consumption, as I wanted to know if the reduction would really hamper progress.
After earlier torrential rain, the clouds were now clearing and the sun made an appearance. Departing the industrial estate in Brighouse I was surprised by how nippy the 2.3 dCi engine was. The six-speed gearbox was well located and changed smoothly.
As we drove around Brighouse I was getting a better feel for the Master. It reminded me of a sporty Clio I had in my teenage years with sharp steering and good performance, even in eco mode.
We headed out of Brighouse toward Elland, located the other side of some rather large hills. Temporary traffic lights hampered our progress but did help me spot a good location over-looking Elland to come back to where I could take photographs of the minibus. The clutch in traffic was light and brakes progressive. As soon as we got moving again it was down into Elland and back up to the photographing point.
The climb out of Elland is steep, and in eco mode the 2.3 dCi engine found it a bit of a struggle, with me ending up in second gear. So in real life, it may be better to turn eco mode off when carrying passengers uphill. Reaching the summit, we pulled into a narrow street. Driving to the end to turn around, the steering lock was plentiful whilst reversing, vision good and the reversing sensors did their job.
The locals seemed a bit bemused at the sight of a new minibus and a photographer in their street. If it had been raining we may have been chased off with umbrellas!
Photographs taken, we headed back down into Elland again and then took a scenic country route to give the Everyday a good run. By this stage, some half an hour into the drive, I was really enjoying driving the vehicle. The six-speed gearbox was very good and the steering pinpoint sharp.
In eco mode at 30mph, the rev counter was reading a very low 1,500rpm in fourth gear. Heading out onto the open road, the 2.3 dCi had more than enough power to comfortably maintain the legal A road speed limit.
After some further photos, it was time to take the Everyday out onto the M62. Soon after joining the motorway, the maximum speed of 62mph was easily obtained with the rev counter reading an amazing 2,000rpm in sixth gear.
I was particularly impressed throughout the drive that the inboard PLS lift was completely silent – not a single rattle from it. Technology has certainly moved on in the last decade.
By the time we returned to the Treka Bus factory, the Everyday had travelled 29 miles, with the computer showing a very respectable 25.9mpg/ 0.8g of fuel used. Considering all the interior/ exterior lights and air-conditioning were switched on, that is pretty good going.
For the customer, the news gets even better; a seven-year warranty is also included.
