The sooner the joint operation between two different companies is stopped (or at least fully evened out so there's no bias towards Arriva [ie PVR of 4 vs 2]), the better IMO. (But that's another story )
I think the Pulsars are much better vehicles for the job. For me they have much better ride quality and, from an enthusiast's point of view, a certain few do a lot of screaming...!
That said I haven't really used Arriva's 685 for a good while, as I usually drive to Hexham whenever I go on a North East Explorer day.
RE: Arriva North East: Latest News and Discussion - March 2016