@AdamY
Maybe the internet has made us more aware of certain issues, but as a passenger initially and then as an adult with a driving licence, it was possible to see, comment and judge on a vehicle without use of the internet.
GTomlinson touched on that earlier with the smoke coming out of a Waggonway.

As a kid, I could tell the older Nationals (which turned out to be the MK1) were less reliable than the MK2. I saw Atlanteans which broke down regular, smoked a lot and spent time being towed back to Sunderland Road.
Very rarely have I seen a Volvo engined bus break down either.

Even by riding them, passengers can guage a vehicle, by the sounds, rattles and the way it rides.

You missed out Long Bank and Bensham Bank too :p
Normally Bensham Bank isn't an issue, but for the Prestiges, they can struggle.
I haven't seen/been on a bus yet which didn't struggle up Long Bank.
I get your point about the other parts of the route, but if the same vehicle is doing it, day in, day out, with several round trips a day, it is going to have an impact. As I said earlier, it isn't as if these Rxxx FNW vehicles had much of a route to break the engines in before being brought North and thrown onto the lanes of Co Durham.
Wonder what sort of mileage is on them?

If you compare them to the Renowns on the Lime, which have worked a similar type of route, for a lot longer but are of a similar age - there's no competition as to which vehicle is the more reliable and has aged the best.

However, I have never been on or seen a Trident which has broken down. If it wasn't for the GNE facebook page and the 13, 14 & X25, I wouldn't be aware of their problems.

@GMitchellhill
I was always under the impression after being 'reliably' informed at the time, that the Optare Spectra were on long term lease/loan and GNE hadn't bought them.

Even though a load of the ECW Olympians and MCW Metrobus' were sold in 2004, there were still some knocking about and in use into spring 2005 (does the archive list on the GNE website go back that far to double check dates?).

The paperwork/bid that GNE put in for the contracts which needed the acquired deckers, will have been submitted long before the vehicles arrived on the scene in the summer of 2005.
It seems very shortsighted of a major PLC to tender for contracts without the stock to deliver it and then, pay for repaints, re-registrations, buy/lease the stock, get conversion work done etc to fulfil the contracts