The reason Scanias are so good at climbing hills is because of Scania's prowess at engine construction....
How is Scania's prowess at building the rest of the bus these days?! I used to drive Omnicity's and, frankly, they were bloody awful. Doors that would only half open if you hadn't been stationary quite long enough, emergency exit sensors which would insist the door was open and refuse to release the handbrake until you went round the back and slammed it numerous times (eventually leading to the whole fleet having entirely new emergency doors fitted), and a fitter's switch at the back end that would regularly get knocked to isolate by the ill-fitting bonnet covers and prevent you from starting the engine at the next attempt. They also had a curious feature with the manual wheelchair ramp, whereby the warning lamp would remain lit and hold the brake on once you'd finished with it until you put your foot on the throttle, at which point the brake would release and you'd go roaring forwards. Several ended up with plating at the base of the rear seats, to disguise the ripped flooring caused by the body going banana shaped after a couple of years' use.
Might expect the bodywork to be crap since they were knocked out cheap in Poland I understand, but the chassis wasn't fab either. The frequent electrical/computer issues were eventually tamed, but sadly there was little anybody could do about the lack of ground clearance and appalling suspension. The ferry lift function was always quite entertaining, you'd raise the thing on approaching a steep camber or a big bump, then as you went over it the self-levelling system would cut in and override it, dropping you back down again just in time to scrape the floor :roll: To acknowledge your point though, they were good up the hills. The significantly older Volvo B10BLE's they replaced were a far superior machine, the only downside was a less commanding driving position. Both types are still in service in various places, and I'd happily put money on the Volvo's lasting longest.