Buses and cars in a truck simulator: Do they still fit ETS2 and ATS at all?

The discussion about buses and cars in ETS2 and ATS is understandable. After all, the games are called Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator for a reason. Many of us are here exactly because of that: heavy trucks, long journeys, haulage companies, cargo, trailers, engines, cabins, highways and that very specific feeling of travelling through Europe or North America in a large vehicle. When SCS now brings coaches and cars into the game, it can at first feel like a break.

But it is not that simple. Coaches and Road Trip are not a forced change to the main games, but DLC expansions. Anyone who still wants to drive only trucks can continue to do so. Nobody has to drive a coach, nobody has to get into a pickup or sports car in ATS. The core of the games remains trucking. The new vehicle types expand the possibilities, but they do not replace the existing play style.

That is exactly why it is worth looking at the benefits. Because Road Trip and Coaches do not only bring new vehicles, they also trigger technical developments that benefit classic trucking as well. A good example is the Improved Material System. This new material system was initiated as part of Road Trip development and then expanded to truck interiors in ETS2 and ATS. SCS names the DAF NGD and MAN TG3 TGX in ETS2 as some of the first beneficiaries, as well as the Mack Anthem and Western Star 49X in ATS. More trucks are planned to follow.

That is an important point. Road Trip has not been released yet, but we are already seeing effects that flow directly back into the actual truck experience. Better materials, improved light reactions and more readable interiors are not something that only affects car drivers in the game. Players who continue to sit in a truck every evening, pick up cargo and drive their route also benefit from this.

The situation is similar with physics. For update 1.58, SCS explained that the in-game physics and collisions were revised to prepare the games for new vehicle types such as Road Trip and Coaches. Smaller, lighter and in some cases more powerful vehicles place different demands on handling, road contact and collisions. But here, too, it did not remain an isolated DLC preparation. SCS itself emphasizes that many improvements also benefit the familiar trucks.

These include revised engine response, more realistic coasting, improvements to wheel contact and handling on uneven surfaces, refined turbocharger sounds and an optional system for smoother keyboard control. In American Truck Simulator, the collision geometry of almost all roads was also adjusted, which should improve truck stability in certain situations. That is exactly the point that is often overlooked in the debate: New vehicle types can reveal technical areas that are then improved for the entire game.

Coaches could also become more important for ETS2 gameplay in the long term than it may seem at first glance. A coach is not simply about transporting people instead of cargo. SCS is working on bus stations, stops, passenger satisfaction and routes where multiple stations are served. This creates a different kind of job: not just start and destination, but a tour with intermediate stops, expectations and a different rhythm.

This could theoretically also lead to something for trucks one day. Such a structure could be transferred to freight transport: tours with several loading and unloading points, collection deliveries, distribution runs or more complex jobs with intermediate destinations. This is not officially confirmed at the moment and should therefore not be presented as an upcoming feature. But the direction shows which systems Coaches could make possible in the first place. If SCS builds route logic with several stops properly, that thinking could also influence other areas of the game in the long term.

Road Trip, in turn, brings another advantage: It changes the way we look at the existing ATS world. We experience roads differently in a truck than in a car. A pickup or sports car makes landscapes, side roads, viewpoints and smaller details feel accessible from a new perspective. This can make the map itself more valuable, because existing content is used differently. SCS has not described Road Trip as competition to racing or hardcore simulation games, but as a new way to experience the existing game world from another point of view.

The big question, of course, remains: Does this still fit the name? Here, too, the contradiction is smaller than it first appears. SCS has essentially pointed out that “Euro Truck” and “American Truck” do not necessarily have to be reduced only to the specific vehicle “truck.” The English verb “to truck” can also mean being on the move or travelling along. With buses and cars, you also move through the same world. One can like this explanation or not, but it at least shows that SCS does not seem to understand the topic as a complete break.

In the end, the decisive point is not whether every player personally needs Coaches or Road Trip. Of course there will be people who say: I want to drive trucks in ETS2 and ATS, period. That is completely legitimate. But it is just as legitimate if other players want to try new perspectives after more than ten years of ETS2 and many years of ATS. Coaches and cars do not take anything away from classic trucking as long as they remain optional and do not push aside the core development.

On the contrary: The examples so far show that even pure truck drivers can benefit. The new material system improves truck interiors. The physics and collision work refines the driving feel. Bus stations and new route systems could provide new gameplay ideas in the long run. Road Trip can make the existing ATS world usable from a new perspective. And Coaches can expand ETS2 with a play style that stays very close to the road, but brings different tasks and expectations.

You can find the official SCS posts here:
Project Road Trip on the SCS blog
Project Coaches on the SCS blog
Improved Material System on the SCS blog
Physics & Collisions Changes on the SCS blog

In the end, the answer is therefore not simply yes or no. Buses and cars fit into ETS2 and ATS if they do not replace trucking, but meaningfully expand the existing world. That is what it currently looks like. Anyone who only wants to drive trucks can continue to drive trucks. Anyone who wants to try more gets new roles. And if SCS keeps improving the technical foundation through this, even players who never buy the Coaches or Road Trip DLC may benefit in the end.

Do you think coaches belong in Euro Truck Simulator 2, and would you buy the DLCs, or would you rather stick to classic trucking?