The GOLAZ-5251 Voyage coach won the title of “Bus of the Year” at the thirteenth annual “Best Commercial Vehicle of the Year in Russia” contest held within the framework of the Comtrans’ 2013 Show.
The contest’s judging panel, made up of journalists, automotive experts, and chief editors of the leading automotive periodicals, choose winners in five categories: “Truck of the Year”, “Van/LCV of the Year”, “Bus of the Year”, a “Special Prize”, and “Prospect of the Year”. The main criterion for choosing the winners is the contribution of the vehicle to the improvement of transportation efficiency. The competition takes into account technical characteristics as well as such parameters as novelty of technical solutions, operating costs, and sales volumes.
The jury awarded the GOLAZ-5251 Voyage coach the “Bus of the Year” title. The bus was previously the winner of the “Prospect of the Year” award at the same contest in 2011.
The GOLAZ-5251 Voyage is designed for inter-city routes over 500 km. It uses the Scania K250 IB4x2 double-axle chassis. The bus is equipped with the 250 hp Euro-4 Scania DC09 102 diesel engine. The suspension control unit, which alters the height of the body, allows faultless operation on uneven roads. Up to 53 passenger seats can be installed in the bus compartment. Wheelchair accessible versions include 47 seats and a special place for a wheel-chair, an elevator and driver-contact buttons. The wraparound windshield and the aquarium-type side glassing extends the field of view for both driver and passengers.
The Voyage buses will be the main passenger vehicles used for the XXII Winter Olympics in Sochi: 282 GOLAZ-5251 Voyage buses (length 12.5 m) and 370 GOLAZ-6228 Voyage L buses (length 15 m) will run along the long-distance routes between the Inshore and Mountain clusters of Sochi.
