(12 Sep 2020, 1:44 pm)streetdeckfan wrote I'd genuinely like to know what everyone has against the StreetDecks.The StreetDeck is perfect for what it was built for. Basically to offer a fuel efficient lightweight double deck solution without the cost of mild hybrid / full electric technology. That covers routes such as the 21/56/309/310/311 and not forgetting Arriva's 308. The E400MMC on the other hand is now a "sweet spot". Not too heavy but capable enough for most work albeit on the "heavy side" for any type of work mentioned above.
Sure some of the 16 plates have had some issues, but the 67 plates have been super solid.
6332 had ran on the X21 for basically it's whole life until it got moved to Consett, and rarely ever missed a beat.
The StreetDecks are far better built than the E400s, even the 16 plates.
The brand new E400s creak like there's no tomorrow when they go round corners or over the slightest bump, and whilst the issue with the windows rattling has been resolved, they still look like they're made of jelly.
Whilst subjective, I think the StreetDeck looks far nicer than the E400s, both inside and out. The high gloss plastics in the Enviros may look fancy when new, but they're already starting to look a right state.
I'll briefly mention the ceiling height upstairs as that's definitely something that puts me off the E400s, but that's down to the operator's spec not the vehicle itself.
In the interest of fairness, I will say I prefer the engine/transmission noise of the E400s, and until I experienced the brand new StreetDecks, I preferred the ride quality as well,
It was only given the recent events that GoNE had to streamline things thus swapping the intended allocations for both sets of new vehicles.