SnowRunner Type S-100 mod review: Definitely NOT the Berliet T100

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SnowRunner: The Berliet T100, I mean the Type S-100, is now available on console. Here’s what it can do and what it was like in real life.

Wait a second, I recognise the Type S-100 console mod. Oh no, my mistake. It’s definitely an entirely different truck and not a Xbox and PlayStation friendly version of the Berliet T100 seen on the channel before. Nope. How silly of me.

Anyway, if the SnowRunner Type S-100 were even remotely similar to the Berliet T100 I would tell you about its history. That the French manufacturer initially built two – both with a flatbed. For a total of 103 tonnes of metal. Each.

Being that heavy and large meant it was unable to fit inside the 1957 Paris Motor Show main exhibition hall. So a separate stand was constructed for the public unveiling.

Built in nine months in secret, the T100 was then paraded around other motor shows including the pretty French city of Avignon, Frankfurt and Geneva.

The Type S-100 / Berliet T100 specs

Powered by a 29.6-litre Cummins V12 engine with up to 690 horsepower, it is clear the T100 was not designed for getting some milk from your local newsagents. Unless that milk is black, comes from the ground and is actually called oil.

Yes, Mr Berliet T100 – of which, four were built – spent life working in the oil and gas industry, including the oil fields of the Sahara Desert. Hence the cool-sounding ‘Sahara proof’ endorsement.

So how do you stop a 5-metre wide, 4.4-metre tall and 15.3-metre long 6×6? With disc brakes made by an aircraft company, that’s how. That makes what was once the biggest truck in the world surprisingly modern. Not that its 34km/h or 21mph top speed was speedy.

Fun fact number one: There is an engine for the steering because 1-metre wide and 2.2-metre diameter tyres are quite heavy. Fun fact number two: A helicopter engine with 1,000hp was tested, but deemed too thirsty. I mean, how much thirstier than a 30-litre V12 could it be?

The name Berliet comes from Marius Berliet, who started the French company in 1895. His son Paul, who passed away in 2012, took over the company in 1962. He was said to be one of the first Western businessmen to be involved in the communist China automotive industry.

Before I bore you to death, I will say that Berliet was later bought by Citroen and then sold to Renault, keeping the French theme alive until the T100 maker met its maker in the late 1970s. It still exists in spirit as part of Renault Trucks.

So is it good in SnowRunner?

The not-Berliet-T100 Type S-100 mod truck in SnowRunner definitely feels like a big chunk of metal as you try to navigate between two twigs. Oh wait, sorry my perspective has been ruined. Those are actually trees.

Yet its creator has kept the Type S-100 from being overpowered. It can and will struggle in harsh terrain, maybe even need some help to get up steep hills. This is a mod you can enjoy even if you dislike the idea of mods.

Part of the challenge comes from the steering, which is slow and takes a decade to auto-centre. This leads to over-correcting and looking like you are inebriated as you weave all over the place until you get used to it.

That and the fact roads become bridlepaths and pleasant winding mud trails become nightmare obstacle courses because of the Berliet T100, sorry, Type S-100’s size make it a unique trucking challenge.

What about addons and customisation?

Not so challenging, however, is carrying cargo. One of the addons has six slots and you can even make cargo look neater by using the move functions. Or you can fit a container carrier, CAT 745C style, a platform with a ramp, log carrier, log crane, high saddle or repair parts.

You can even customise it, although the number of paintjobs on offer greatly dwarfs the number of items you can add. The fog lights are a nice touch, as is the air-conditioning unit on top for when in the Sahara. Not so useful in SnowRunner though.

Other notable upgrades include the double snorkels, which sit so high up you can drive into rivers you are not meant to. The Michigan pond I use to test trucks in deep water becomes a minor puddle for Monsieur Berliet. Even those ice trenches are no problem – even the getting out bit. Just not the Michigan dam.

Quite honestly, the Type S-100 is a top-tier mod that looks the part, offers clever addon functionality and is challenging to use in its own way. Berliet may be dead and buried in all but spirit and memory, however the king of the desert lives on as a pleasing collection of polygons.

And that is the end of my Berliet T100 Type S-100 video. If you liked it, subscribe, like and maybe help by donating to the Tribe. If you did not, I tried my best. Thank you for watching. Until next time! Take care, bye.