Here we are! My first impression is that these are an improvement on the trains they’ll replace!
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Honestly, I can say, even though my bar has been the lowest it’s been when judging new stock, even I - vocally not the best fan of CAF products, was mildly surprised, if not satisfied.
Albeit, I only travelled between Telford Central and Sandwell & Dudley, the interiors were very bright and welcoming, the seats, whilst firm, were comfortable enough, like I find with the class 158s and 350s, it didn’t take me long to get settled into my seat. The seat backs weren't particularly to my liking, and the pull-out tray did have clear markings for coffee cups, it wasn’t the biggest size.
I found the build quality, ok? At no point did the train feel like it was going to fall to pieces, but I can see these getting filthy rather quickly and aren’t a patch on turbostars in this regard. Suspension was expectedly disappointing, though I must say, it was a little more refined at certain points than it’s northern sister
Overall, yes, an improvement over the class 170s, however, had the 170s been of ScotRail or Northern quality, I’m not sure the big step up in quality would be that much. In terms of acceleration and modern features, the 170s falls far short, compared to the 195/331, for me, at least, these paint CAF in a much brighter light
