Going back a fair bit here, the Foden-NC. If the transmission issues (often cited as the design's achilles' heel) could've been sorted out, it would've been a worthy competitor/spiritual successor to the Atlantean, Fleetline, VR, Metrobus, Dominator etc.
Staying within the 70s, the Metro-Scania/Scania-Metropolitan. Not great fuel consumption levels and severe corrosion issues were the main factors in bringing these two down, but were noted for their smooth riding qualities and excellent performance when actually in service.
Flashing forward to the 80s, the Leyland-DAB Lion (am sure
@Devon Sunset will approve of this lol) is often and I think unfairly overlooked. Much like the Lynx, it hit the market at precisely the wrong time: the minibus revolution, privatisation, a well-established competitor in the form of the Volvo B10M
Citybus - ofc, Volvo Bus would end up buying Leyland outright - Leyland ending engine production and a glut of second-hand deckers all meant it didn't really stand a chance. Which is a shame, as it could give the
Citybus a real run for it's money in terms of performance, refinement etc; stories abound of the Eastern Scottish Lions reaching 80+mph on Edinburgh - Glasgow runs along the M8.
Lastly, and this may be something of a strikeout on my part, the Renault PR100 certainly had potential, given it's success in Continental Europe, but like the Lynx and Lion, it hit the market at a fairly bad time.
Despite its propensity to corrode, I'd go for the Lynx.
From a passenger perspective they were fairly quick, not especially noisy and from my recollection rode well. And they were much nicer to travel on than the Nationals which they usually replaced.
As with many things, it hit the market at the wrong time - a mix of NBC privatisation, the minibus revolution and fleets stuffed to the gunnels with mid life Leyland Nationals meant it never sold as well as it should have done.
Good shout here. A well-fettled Cummins L10-powered Lynx with a ZF box is something special indeed. Just a pity that the corrosion issues were never properly addressed.
My choice, and it got me thinking about it, is the Wright Cadet bodied SB120 beloved of many Arriva OpCos.
The SB120 always felt like a more refined Dart to me, particularly those with the Wright Cadet body. From a passenger perspective at least, the ones I managed to sample felt rather smooth and well screwed together with comparatively (with the Dart) few rattles. Though I have read/heard about them falling victim to electrical gremlins, which may be one of the reasons it didn't quite catch on to the extent as the Dart outwith Arriva and why the latter remained the dominant force in that particular segment of the market overall.
I don't know if that is similar but as a passenger I think the Mercedes O405N (low floor), the ubiquitous 1990s German city bus, must be one of the best single deck city buses going. The Citaro is flashy but introduced some odd quirks like weird seat layouts. Extremely rare in the UK, though Finglands had at least one. Reliable, smooth and a sensible layout. Not a looker, but a brilliant workhorse.
Finglands took two O405Ns (V428/429 DNB; numbered 1428/29 and new in September 1999). Both were latterly transferred to EYMS, but they ended up spending their last years at Whittle of Kidderminster.
I'd like to speak in favour of the Iveco TurboCity decker. There was only ever one built and i managed to drive it for two operators. The ride on it was superb but quite floaty - it was like driving a very well powered cloud.
That proves that looks aren't the be-all and end-all; I've long thought that beastie looked, from the front at least, like a cross between a Plaxton President and a CIE Bombardier KD (see the bus in my current profile pic). A real shame it didn't survive.
