The best ever engine to have been made was the Volvo D10-245 as used in the Palatine II's. Whenever I've been on one of them, as soon as I heard the engine kick in, I knew for certain that despite the age of the bus, it was being powered by a solid and well built engine with steady but progressive power. The Volvo Olympian Palatine II is my childhood bus and I have many fond memories of riddng aboard one on the 44, 306, 356 and I even remember Coastline using them for a short spell on the 308 when they were only a couple of years old. The Volvo Olympian Palatine II was an absolutely fantastic motor to ride on back in their golden days of being new. They're starting to age and die off with Euro and DDA requirements but with the exception of 7419's engine failure, the 35 D10 powred Volvo Olympians that have been in service across the North East since 97/98 have served Arriva and GNE very well and with the one exception of the above, they have kept going forever and whether they were being used for a run down the Coast Road to Tynemouth or a 80 mile round run to Middlesborough, they were nothing more than bloody good workhorses! They'll be a big miss to me when GNE start withdrawing them like what Arriva did. I had a ride on one on the 309 on Thursday Night and despite the fact it was 15 years old, it was still going strong. No other bus can beat a D10-245 powered Volvo Olympian Palatine II.