(18 Jul 2015, 8:02 pm)South Tyne Lad wrote I would compare the Streetdeck to the VDL Gemini DL.....
With the Streetdeck only having a 5.1 Litre Daimler with a 4 speed Voith the bus will need a very big turbo to get enough power to move a Double Deck same as the Gemini 2DL and once the massive turbo tires out, You end up with a blown,gutless wreck that can barely go 20mph.
The E400 having a 6.7 Litre Cummins with a 6 speed ZF Ecolife will need a relatively smaller Turbo compared to the Daimler to get it moving. But will take a lot longer to run out due to having a bigger engine and a bigger gearbox with smaller RPMs which results in a longer life.
The difference in performance (and fuel consumption) might just be due to the 4-speed Voith versus the six-speed ZF gearbox.
Think of riding a bicycle with fewer gears . . . (or, perhaps the converse - having more gear ratios available . . . )