Surprisingly there was no mention of the Volvo 9500 on Volvo's website being at the Expo. They mentioned there being a new 9700 with the 13 litre engine on a 13 metre chassis. Would a 13 m coach be twin or tri-axle?

The revised Plaxton body was shown on the Volvo B9R.

The new Irizar i6 looks interesting, I had to look twice to convince myself it wasn't a PB(SP type), they both look so similar! It is probably more suitable for Expressway services than the PB though not quite as high grade.

I defintiely agree that the i6 on the Scania chassis will be a serious contender for any new coaches BÉ are thinking of buying, though Irizar bodies are not always the best made. They rattle a lot, they tend to look shabby quite easily and often have fixtures and fittings that are broke. When properly working of course they are a good body, the problem is keeping them good!

I wouldn't be getting too excited about Irizar integrals either, the Irizar integral appears to be using VDL engines, which are the same units that underpin the very unreliable LCs and LDs!  

Edited for clarification, I didn't mean to suggest the integral Irizar i6 would be a contender for BÉ.

Edited 1 time by VWL119 04/11/2010 19:04:12.