Optare Solo

It’s hard to believe that the Optare Solo design is 10 years old. Solo really captured the imagination of the bus industry at its launch, and it continued the flair for which Optare is known, as seen today with its recent Tempo and soon-to-be-delivered first Versas. What other bus manufacturer has one the Queen’s Award for Design?

Optare rose from the ashes of Leyland’s Charles H Roe and, considering the period of the company’s early development from 1985, it is perhaps surprising that it survived the lean years of early deregulation. Its initial minibus products, the City Pacer and Star Rider, were both individualistic within what at the time was a sea of competing van conversions. Later, the Delta and Spectra would force the wider industry to reconsider conventional bus design, especially for double decks. The Vecta, though, was less of a success aesthetically and operationally.

Never quite as popular as its main Dennis Dart 1996 low floor competitor, the Solo has nevertheless left its mark on the industry and continues to sell reasonably well. When compared to the boxy Plaxton Mini Pointer Dart, Solo won hands-down in terms of street cred and although ultra-modern designs such as the Solo tend to fade quickly, the passenger still sees the Solo as avant-garde. Optare has again set the design pace, as other builders are catching up with the Primo, Centro and E200.

The forward front axle is at once a blessing and affliction. There are times when this both helps and hinders manoeuvrability. But it gives the lowest available low floor entrance and eliminates wheel arch intrusion. The driver is slightly forward of the entrance and needs to twist a little to issue tickets. This is reminiscent of the Bristol SC/ECW driver-only conversions. In fact, the Solo could be very much likened to a modern day SC, a contemporary minibus in various lengths and especially widths down to 2.33m, not dissimilar to the SC’s slim build, an option suited to narrow rural routes. It has been accused of being slightly gutless on inter-urban work and some are known to have engine reliability issues but, generally, problems are few.

Noise is an interesting thing. Park a Dart and Solo together and it’s immediately obvious which is the Solo. Thankfully, internal engine noise intrusion is limited.