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The New VW Constellation Truck Range “Built for commercial success

Designed with first world characteristics and developed to operate in the third world conditions, incorporating 21st century technology, the New Volkswagen Constellation truck range is set to operate and succeed in the harshest conditions and is now available in South Africa.  The Constellation was first unveiled in South Africa during the Auto Africa show in 2006. 

Developed in Germany and conditioned in Brazil, the Constellation truck lines possess a unique combination of supreme quality and refinement coupled to class leading ruggedness.

Last year Volkswagen Truck and Bus in Brazil celebrated 25 years of being in the business of building Heavy Commercial Vehicles, one year after launching the new Constellation Truck line in Brasil in 2005. Volkswagen of Brasil Truck and Bus have been market leaders for the past four and a half years.

Volkswagen of South Africa in partnership with Volkswagen of Brazil Truck and Bus, entered into the heavy commercial market with on-going testing and development taking place in SA to adequately prepare the vehicles for the harsh operating conditions in SA. The Brazilian-sourced vehicles are built on an SKD production platform with a totally separated and specialist Commercial Dealer network support infrastructure. 

The Volkswagen Commercial Vehicle Truck and Bus assembly facility is based in Uitenhage alongside the Volkswagen passenger car plant. 

Volkswagen’s new range of rigid trucks and truck tractors are built to make business and life as convenient as possible.  Each model can be adapted to suit unique business requirements.  

Constellation model range

Model
            
Constellation 13.180
 132kW @ 2200
Constellation 15.180
 132kW @ 2200
Constellation 17.250
 184kW @ 2500
Constellation 24.250
 184kW @ 2500
Constellation 19.320
 235kW @ 2000

The Constellation 13.180 and 15.180 Rigid Trucks are tough, agile, and economical.  Both trucks provide 132kW of power at 2200 rpm and 600 Nm of torque.  These trucks offer excellent driver response, low fuel consumption and simple maintenance.  They both come with 5 speed manual transmission and are ideal for city, inter-city delivery, distribution of general/specialised products and services. The 13/15.180 trucks are available in an extended day cab with easy access to specific items for daily inspections.

The Constellation 17.250 Rigid truck is equipped with advanced technological features and is specified for medium to long distance city and highway hauls. The truck provides 184kW of power at 2500 rpm, 950 Nm of torque and a 6 speed manual transmission.  The 17.250 is available in an extended day cab or a sleeper cab with easy access to specific items for daily inspections.

The Constellation 24.250 Rigid truck is aimed at medium and long distance operations.  With 184kW of power at 2500 rpm and a 6 seed manual transmission this truck comes with state of the art safety, performance and comfort features.
The 24.250 is available in an extended day cab or a sleeper cab with easy access to specific items for daily inspections.

The Constellation Titan Tractor 19.320’s smooth power-train results in a vehicle capable of hauling containers of up to 30 pallets and/or 35 tons of combined total gross mass.   The Titan provides 235kW of power at 2000 rpm, 16 speed manual transmissions with hydraulic servo-assisted shifting mechanisms, covers all variations of distribution, and medium to long haul highway and off-road cargo transport.
The 19.320 is available in an extended day cab or a sleeper cab with easy access to specific items for daily inspections.

Design

The cab-over engine of the Constellation cab has been specially designed for extreme use, ensuring maximum productivity and safety in transportation operations.  Comfort is evident all around in the Constellation. 
The windshield offers large viewing angles, which increases clear driving vision during the day and night even in unfavourable weather conditions. 

Due to its bold features, the large size and power of the truck lines, it would be impossible to miss the Constellation on the road.  The new set of lights with optional fog lights, brings out clear vision on the road, especially in the evening.  The mirrors are bigger offering excellent views from all angles and particularly for backing up. 

Interior

To ensure that driving the Constellation is a pleasure, the positioning of the pedals and the seat design makes it’s easy for the driver to access main controls.

The sleeper cab possesses a high enough roof to allow a person who is 1.95m tall to stand fully upright inside the truck and rest comfortably on a 2-meter long bed situated behind the cabin seats.   The user of the bed may sit up and use a reading light, and under the bed there’s plenty of space to store one’s belongings.

The extended day cab provides class leading interior space and comfort, with ample storage space behind the driver and passenger seats for toolboxes and personal items.
 
The steering column which has height and inclination-adjustable steering, all add up to an unparalleled level of driver comfort. 

The Constellation comes standard with features which include air-conditioning, electric windows and mirrors, tachograph and an adjustable steering column.

Driveability
 
The Constellation’s up to date electronic MWM-VW and Cummins Diesel engines are the main reason for the excellent performance which leads to low overall operational  and maintenance costs.  The Robust Eaton and ZF transmissions ensure smooth and efficient operation. 

With its latest brake technology, braking reliability is guaranteed and the Constellations are ideal for city and inter-city delivery and distribution of general/specialised products and services.

The suspension is structured with springs, cushions and hydraulic shock absorbers to smooth out even the bumpiest road, with additional comfort-cab suspension set-up on certain models.  The Constellation also features extremely smooth braking, servo assisted gear-shifting (for selected models) and class leading interior noise reduction.

The Constellation powertains comply with Euro III emissions levels and can be updated in future to comply with upcoming gas emission rules.  The truck comes with an onboard computer which shows the driver (amongst other info) the date and time, average or real-time fuel consumption, average speed, the journey’s total time and the distance covered. 

Safety

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles does not compromise when it comes to safety.  Every Constellation Truck values and protects what’s most important in a truck:  the lives of the driver and his/her assistants. 

The Constellation cab structure is designed to European standards for maximum resistance to impacts and to support up to six tons of load on its roof, protecting the lives of those inside.

The entire Constellation range boasts full air brakes linked to S-Cams in Drums with load-sensing valves on the Rigids and ABS as standard on the Truck Tractors. 

Maintenance

The front grille design makes for the extremely easy operation of daily checking and cleaning tasks and has hinges that allow for a person to grab hold and lean on them whilst cleaning the windshield. 

Inspection items are also conveniently positioned at the front of the engine, behind the grille to allow daily inspections to be carried out without having to tilt the cab. 

Easy to clean and repair plastic materials have also been used in the bumpers, fenders and mudguards.

The Constellation comes standard with a 1 year/unlimited kilometre plus a second year or 300 000 km on the drive train warranty.  The Cab structure is guaranteed for a full six years against perforation/corrosion.

A wide range of maintenance plans are also available to suit the customer’s specific needs and these are available from our Commercial Vehicle dealer network.