(03 Aug 2020, 12:24 pm)mb134 wrote To be honest I've been on Gemini 2s with faults of a similar standard to those you report on the original E400 - possibly due to the company, but there are a number of Gemini 2s that I've been on that have been a worse experience than an E400. A faultless Gemini 2 (take pretty much any GNE example), is better than an average E400 though for sure. 

I'd argue that companies were purchasing Wright products more due to price than quality for a number of years. We all know how shoddy the Streetlite was, and the first few Streetdeck batches - if, as you say, companies were only considering build quality then there's not a chance they'd be going with Wright. I've got no idea how you don't rate the MMC as a product, everything about them looks and feels the part.

I'm not sure the "look at the Metrodecker" argument holds up - nobody was buying Optare bodied double deck products in huge quantities beforehand anyway. On the other hand, Wright had a huge share of the double deck market - and were partnering with Volvo. The E400 has, largely, used the same running gear for over a decade now and not only is it reliable, it means that operators get a better understanding of maintenance and how to keep the things running well. 

I think a point often overlooked is Stagecoach's reliance upon the E400. Despite Souters obvious interest, if ADL were churning out substandard products then Stagecoach would absolutely place an order with someone else until they sorted themselves out.

I thoroughly disagree that MMCs look and feel the part. They don't!

Inside they look and feel cheap. The plastics they use are horrendous, it feels like they went with the cheapest they could. The fact they decided to go with glossy plastic for just about everything doesn't help, as once it gets scuffed it looks even worse.

They also creak, a lot. Probably down to the cheapness of the plastics rubbing against eachother. I don't know about you, but I'd sooner have a bus go a bit rattly after a few years than creak from new.

Then there's the quick release glass, fantastic idea, but horrendous in practice. It feels like the windows aren't even attached. You can physically see them moving when you go over a bump, they also creak and rattle. Dan mentioned that they just need adjusting, but either they haven't yet or it didn't work.

The only way I can think of to explain it is ADL products feel like they're made of Mega Bloks whilst Wrightbus feel like Lego. One cheap and made for kids, the other actually a good quality product.

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