O500LEs: Great or Rubbish

[BusYoppo69]

Hi All,

Mercedes Benz O500LEs and OC500LEs: some people love them others hate them. What do you think?

I have a reason for asking this question but would rather keep it confidential!

[Tim Williams]

You can certainly have an opinion on these buses, either as a driver, enthusiast or simply casual observer, but I think the terms "great" or "rubbish" are not really applicable - may be that is why you are not getting any responses!.

Mercedes Benz and other large manufacturers spend a lot of time and money on research and development and more often that not produce good products - the market, in the end, will determine how well the product sells, based on, but not exclusively, price, suitability/specification, manufacturers back up (warranty, parts supply etc.) and there are obviously other factors as well.

But, just to ask enthusiasts and/or drivers to say whether this market leading product is "great" or "rubbish" is really quite pointless!

[TA3001]

From my experience, they are ok in the acceleration department, and not as unreliable as some other well known chassis types that operate in Adelaide.

In the sound department (matters to a small minority of enthusiasts), even the ones built from 2003 to 2004 are unusually quiet at any speed. But still less bland than a K320UB Scania, like almost anything, even if it's silent.

[boeing]

All the bus types I've driven have their own pros and cons, but compared to Scania K280/320, and Volvo B12, I think the O500 is the most balanced all round. Smooth acceleration and braking, and suspension that copes nicely with anything I've driven it on in Sydney.

[Enviro 500]

The diesel ones (OM457 €5 engine) are decent. Very similar to Citaros.

[385BUZ]

Has anyone had any experience with some of the new euro 6 Busabout custom endeavour ones? Headed they are quite decent!

[Bus Suggestions]

Can't speak much for the diesel ones, last experience I recall on a diesel OC was nearly 10 years ago at this point before the diesels in Perth were transferred regional. From recordings I've heard on YouTube, they ran great, and old posts on the ATDB (IIRC) suggest they had great pull power up hills but lacked the flat ground performance of the gassies. On that note, the gassies are average on the sound department from the outside, but inside, they drop a fair amount on the sound scale. Not the most impressive sounding buses, but Perth ones make up somewhat in having awesome sounding ZF Ecomat 6HP502 gearboxes. Gassies are extremely sluggish up hills and I dread taking them on hilly routes, however as mentioned before, their flat ground performance is not the best, but still nice. They take some time to get up to speed but can comfortably hold 70 on most arterials in Perth.

[Merc1107]

Gassies are extremely sluggish up hills and I dread taking them on hilly routes, however as mentioned before, their flat ground performance is not the best, but still nice. .

Depends on how well they're running really.

I think the OP has already left the board. It's interesting someone would drop a loaded question about a popular make of bus then run for the hills.

[385BUZ]

Hi All,

Mercedes Benz O500LEs and OC500LEs: some people love them others hate them. What do you think?

I have a reason for asking this question but would rather keep it confidential!

I think the OP has already left the board. It's interesting someone would drop a loaded question about a popular make of bus then run for the hills.

Agreed Merc1107, quite interesting indeed!

[Off The Rails]

Personally, my last ride of a Transperth (not regional PTA) diesel OC was, well, unsatifactory. Outbound on a 296 to Kalamunda, climbing Gooseberry Hill Rd - went around a roundabout, and went "what are gears?" and would not go. Required a full shutdown and restart. But other than that, they were really good. Almost always reliable.

As for the CNG OC's at Transperth and State Transit - Perth has them tuned a hell of a lot better than STA. Mostly reliable, sounds are great, and are usually comfortable.

Cheers!

[Enviro 500]

Can't speak much for the diesel ones, last experience I recall on a diesel OC was nearly 10 years ago at this point before the diesels in Perth were transferred regional. From recordings I've heard on YouTube, they ran great, and old posts on the ATDB (IIRC) suggest they had great pull power up hills but lacked the flat ground performance of the gassies. On that note, the gassies are average on the sound department from the outside, but inside, they drop a fair amount on the sound scale. Not the most impressive sounding buses, but Perth ones make up somewhat in having awesome sounding ZF Ecomat 6HP502 gearboxes. Gassies are extremely sluggish up hills and I dread taking them on hilly routes, however as mentioned before, their flat ground performance is not the best, but still nice. They take some time to get up to speed but can comfortably hold 70 on most arterials in Perth.

There are about 130 or so diesel OCs in Singapore as we speak. The guys over there seem to have little problems with them.

[OLYMPIAN]

I have driven the Euro 6 one with Bustech body. I am going to mention about the body, the chassis is just worse than Euro 5. Poor steering lock and heavier than the Euro 5. Transmission with factory standard settings is just hopeless

[Enviro 500]

There was a Mercedes-Benz bus with Gemilang body spotted in Singapore with Transport for NSW livery. Any idea if it could be an OC500LE?

[ScaniaGrenda]

Personally I don't know but it could be a brand new bus that's on order for Transit Systems Sydney however Fleet-lists mention that are having O500LE's delivered, not OC500LE's. Given that it was also mentioned it's in TNSW Livery and I can't really think of any other major operators ordering low-entry Gemeling bodied buses I'd say this is who it is destined for.

[Lt. Commander Data]

O500LE vs OC500LE:
https://busaustralia.com/forum/viewtop ... 00#p547611

Lets not go through that again

[busdriver12]

I drive OC500LE's at my local depot and personally are quite happy with them. Granted they are starting to get a little long in the tooth (the ones I drive are mostly built in 2006). There are a few design issues I'd like addressed, but generally happy with them have been driving them on a regular basis since ~2012. I like the way it handles i.e. how it behaves on the road. Whilst not full power steering like the O405NH or B7RLE, I find I get better feedback off the road which can sometimes be masked by full power steering.

Whilst I (mostly) drive gas powered buses, I am not overly worried about the (perceived) lack of power. Under most circumstances I can keep up with and flow safely with traffic. Of course they do struggle up some of hills (e.g. Roleystone and Jarrahdale) but that's how it is. I did drive a diesel OC500LE in late 2011 from Busselton to Bunbury and was quite happy with it's performance on the open road.

That's my take on the subject. YMMV

[OLYMPIAN]

Has anyone had any experience with some of the new euro 6 Busabout custom endeavour ones? Headed they are quite decent!

The Euro 6 one have poor steering lock and heavy steering than the Euro 5 one.