In-house target: perfect operation at temperatures down to minus 25 degrees Celsius

Mercedes-Benz and Setra buses are more capable than others. They offer greater safety, greater economy and greater comfort. Mercedes-Benz and Setra are not just pioneers when it comes to new safety and assistance systems, for example. These and other components are often able to far exceed the legal requirements – and far outstrip the performance of competitors. Active Brake Assist 3 and AEBS (Advanced Emergency Braking System) are already able to easily meet the legal requirements that come into force in November of this year. They even already comply with stricter regulations that are not due to become law until 2018.

Daimler Buses has ambitious in-house targets: correct functioning of all Mercedes-Benz or Setra bus components must be reliably guaranteed at outside temperatures down to minus 25 degrees Celsius. Some functions even have to work at temperatures down to minus 40 degrees Celsius. Accepted constraints include the fact that the central display in the cockpit is not ready to start immediately. Even the sequence of the essential functions is specified: first the engine, then all major components around the driver's area, then the passenger compartment – safety and functional reliability are always top priorities in a Mercedes-Benz or Setra bus.

Six weeks of testing plus the journey there and back

The testing phase in the Arctic winter lasts around six weeks - from the end of January until mid-March. A further three weeks of preparation are required prior to this: measuring instruments are installed in the buses, test parts prepared, spare parts packed. The buses are also filled with ballast, the amount of which depends on the test objectives and procedures.

Even the journey to the Arctic Circle is part of the testing: around 3000 km lie between the testing department in Neu-Ulm and the destination in Arjeplog or Rovaniemi.

With the exception of a ferry trip across the Baltic Sea, the vehicles complete the entire journey under their own steam. The trip takes four days, during which time the heating and climate control is tested to the limit due to the huge fluctuations in temperature and humidity.

For touring coaches and rural-service buses, the route to the Arctic Circle and back is an intensive test in winter traffic on motorways and trunk roads. The town of Rovaniemi has a defined urban route for road testing of urban regular-service buses, plus there are defined rural-service routes for touring coaches and rural-service buses.