The glittering Denim Metallic colour of the bodywork competes today with the perfect blue sky above the building close to the Neu-Ulm factory premises. The new S 515 HD is still wearing its foil wrap at the front and waiting patiently to be unmasked. Today the Setra ComfortClass is presented. We arranged with Project Manager Martin Jendrusch to take a closer look at the next generation of Setra high-deck touring coaches.

Martin Jendrusch has reserved an hour of his valuable time especially for us. He first introduces us to the strikingly designed new family face. This is now the face of all new Setra touring coaches. However, design is not an end in itself with Setra: “Due to the new black front panel, the cover for the radar technology of the assistance systems is almost invisible,” explains this project manager. A clever solution from Product Design: on the Setra ComfortClass and TopClass models, the turning indicators, daytime driving lights, and position lights are now incorporated into a chrome strip above the integrated LED headlights.

And now it's time to get on the bus. As passengers climb aboard, the ComfortClass can welcome them with a fresh waft of fragrance at the entrance. The driver also has something new: a fully upgraded cockpit. Martin Jendrusch: "The decorative trim is now black with a brushed surface. And this gives it an even more elegant look than before." Driver comfort and safety are now improved even further thanks to the new equipment features and assistance systems.

An optional feature of the new electronic parking brake – the Hold function – ensures greater safety and comfort when driving off. If the bus is brought to a standstill by pressing the brake pedal, the applied brake pressure is stored and the vehicle is held in place by the service brake. “When the vehicle moves off, the brake is automatically released again,” explains Martin Jendrusch.

The new Coach Infotainment series provides greater comfort. The driver can play more media and make use of the integrated navigation system. There are a few ways to operate this: via monitor touch operation, a keypad on the centre console, and voice control. Keyless Start is also new: When starting the engine, the driver can now leave their key in a trouser pocket or in one of the storage compartments in the cockpit. The driver just has to press the starter button while pressing the brake pedal at the same time.

Setra is synonymous with safety and this fact is also underlined by the next ComfortClass generation: safety, efficiency, and comfort are intertwined in the enhanced Predictive Powertrain Control (PPC) cruise control system. Until now, the PPC was restricted to use on motorways, but data from more than 95 percent of Europe's highways and interurban roads has now been integrated.

Accelerating, braking, maintaining distance, steering, staying in lane – the optional Active Drive Assist 2 is a decisive step on the path towards the automated driving of buses. Martin Jendrusch: “Active Drive Assist 2 combines different assistance systems to actively help drivers maintain their distance to the vehicle in front and to stay in their lane, thereby removing a great deal of strain from the driver.”

The standard Active Brake Assist 5 assists the driver if there is a risk of a rear-end collision with preceding vehicles or stationary obstacles. It also detects moving or stationary persons in front of the vehicle. The system responds to this with an acoustic and visual warning for the driver and simultaneously initiates partial or full braking. “This makes the ABA 5 the world’s first advanced emergency braking system for buses that is capable of responding to pedestrians with full braking,” emphasises the project manager.

Martin Jendrusch points through the window to a monitor on the A-pillar where the bus is shown in a bird’s eye view. “Four cameras at the front, rear, and above the side windows capture the vehicle's immediate surroundings and generate an indirect 360-degree panorama view,” explains the engineer. The driver can combine this image with the individual camera views. Perfect driver support that makes it possible to detect obstacles and manoeuvre more safely.

Martin Jendrusch takes us further into the passenger area. The 2.10 m interior headroom, the large panorama windows, and the exceptional ceiling plan create a unique sense of space here. The newly designed partitions with inserts made of tinted and satin glass connect rather than separate. We sit down on the comfortable Voyage Plus seats. The blue decor of the seat covers now stands out even more thanks to the elegant dark finish of the fittings. Martin Jendrusch operates the vents of the service sets: “These can now be adjusted in any direction.” Our eyes fall on the new monitors, where the screen size has grown to 21.5 inches thanks to thinner rims. “The image quality is full HD, and implementation was quite a technical challenge.”

And with that, the hour is already over. We would have liked to have stayed seated for a while longer. But this project manager still has plenty of other appointments. We take one last look at the bus, shining like the sun with its blue metallic paintwork on this wonderful summer’s day.

Would you also like to find out more about the next generation of the Setra TopClass 500? The report can be found here: