(12 Mar 2015, 8:51 pm)AIG20 wrote MAN E200 39728 is now the worst bus I have ever ridden on - as when I was on it on Tuesday it was slow, sluggish, did not go over 20mph, did not kickdown, it absolutely stank of "body odour", and had a very noisy cooling fan. I have never been on a MAN E200 before that has never really kicked-down frequently.

Meanwhile, I rode on 39707 on Wednesday and this was the total opposite as it went very fast, kicked-down a lot, it did not smell and sounded great.

If it didn't go over 20mph I would suggest the driver was a bit wary of the vehicle. This would suggest why you never experienced the driver 'kicking down' if he was a bit wary of it and was doing under 20mph he wouldn't kick down for the boost it would give. To be fair you don't need to use the kick down on a MAN as they quite powerful anyway and I don't think I've ever used the kick down on any MAN vehicle I've driven and this must be over 200 at the moment. I have a slight inkling your confusing the term 'kick down' with down shifting of the gear box. All MANs are notorious for down shifting and I have a feeling this is what your experiencing.