IS THIS THE BEST KENWORTH EVER? by PACCAR Australia

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IS THIS

THE BEST KENWORTH

EVER? A new Kenworth model is a major event for anyone involved in the trucking industry. Diesel Editor TIM GILES took a T610 up Cunninghams Gap in Queensland with a B-double to check it out.

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he brochures for the new trucks from Kenworth – the T610 and T610 SAR – are headlined, ‘Our Best Truck Yet’ by Kenworth. Of course, this could just be dismissed as a load of hype from the marketing department, but it is not like the Paccar organisation to go over the top on these occasions. Kenworth does have a lot to crow about – it is the dominant player in the Australian heavy-duty market, and has been for some time. It is also coming under pressure from a couple of directions – the European cab-over trucks are making inroads into the heavyduty prime mover market and the older designs for conventional trucks are getting into dimensional strife in some applications. In the last issue of Diesel, we talked about the debate between cab-over and conventional and European versus US, but there is a large number of other issues making truck-buying choices trickier each year. The first question anyone considering these new trucks asks, however, may not be about the exact dimensions, ratings or design – it is more likely to be about whether these new trucks really do look and feel like a Kenworth, and carry on the long tradition so proudly developed by

THERE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A KIND OF RUGGEDNESS TO A BIG KW, BUT THE DRIVER ALWAYS NOTICES THE QUALITY OF THE FINISH. the Bayswater-based truck maker. Yes, they understand the compromises that have to be made by a boutique – in global terms – truck manufacturer. The days of trucks hand crafted for each individual have passed, now it’s all about streamlined, tailored production of a truck capable of doing the job in the harsh Australian trucking environment. It is here where Kenworth has to do a tricky balancing act. The truck has to meet a number of conflicting expectations. There has always been a kind of ruggedness to a big KW, but the

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driver always notices the quality of the finish. The door closes precisely every time for ten years, cables don’t rub when running on farm tracks and those annoying little rattles in the cab are rare. This is the perception the company has been building up throughout its history. This brings us back to the question: Does it look and feel like a ‘proper’ Kenworth? The answer, of course, is yes. The compromises made in the design to bring the conventional Kenworth up to 21st-century standards do not affect those little clues that tell the driver they

are in a KW. Walking over to the truck on a hot summer morning at Brown and Hurley’s Yatala dealership, before firing her up and hitting the road, is just as it always was. It is still a matter of climbing up into the cab, smelling the familiar interior and turning the key to hear that Cummins roar, to get that feeling. Releasing the two models at the same time shows that Kenworth has some concerns about how these new models will be perceived. The T610 is the natural successor to the T409 and the T609, with

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its swept up bonnet and streamlined front end. It certainly looks more modern than the models it replaces, the lights and windscreen are from 2017. For the designers, there was another group of Kenworth enthusiasts who also had to be accommodated, thus we have the T610 SAR. No streamlined bonnet and inset lights; retained is the big bonnet with the very familiar radiator grille out front. This looks and feels like a traditional Kenworth truck, while fitting the parameters of today’s trucking industry. Heading out onto the road in the T610 painted up in SRV’s colours and slated for delivery to the Queensland operator later that week gives the driver a familiar feeling. The engine and gearbox here are known quantities. The Cummins X15 is not one of the new engines being used in the US, but rather the ISX we are used to with some small changes, essentially a new naming convention. Of course, the Eaton Roadranger helps to keep the look and feel right. Another thing which has not changed is the chassis set-up. One of the results

THE ENGINE AND GEARBOX HERE ARE KNOWN QUANTITIES. THE CUMMINS X15 IS NOT ONE OF THE NEW ENGINES BEING USED IN THE US, BUT RATHER THE ISX WE ARE USED TO WITH SOME SMALL CHANGES, ESSENTIALLY A NEW NAMING CONVENTION.

of the consistent Kenworth philosophy of making only incremental changes is the ride you get in recent models. The suspension and dimensions have been fine-tuned over a long period to end up with a prime mover which is sure-footed and much more comfortable than many of its predecessors. So the new model sounds like a Kenworth, smells like a Kenworth and has the road feel of the Kenworth. The only question remains, does it look like a Kenworth – like an Australian Kenworth? The answer here can be found by comparing these new trucks to the current Kenworth range in the US. If you go through the exercise, it is clear the new models have more in common with the T6 and T4 models than with the T680, T880 and W900 from North America. Out on the highway, the Cummins gets the loaded B-double up to speed quickly and then holds cruising with ease. The highlighted economy band on the tachometer tells me I have to stay between 1,100 and 1,500rpm and it’s easy to get the kind of performance I am looking for within these brackets – gear changing by ear is a thing of the past. The climb of Cunninghams Gap is one of those that shows us just how capable a truck is. After hooking into the initial grade, the first surprise is the need to change back up a full gear as the grade

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eases. This is a 600hp engine with 1,850 ft lb (ca. 2,500Nm) of torque on tap and it uses all of them to the max. Changing gear at 1,200rpm saw the revs straight back up to 1,500rpm and doing it easy. It just kept on pulling, holding close to 70km/h for most of the climb. A perfect run up and over the top, and a chance to see how well the torque pulled on the last steep click on the Gap, was baulked in the last 500m by a slow B-double with an ageing prime mover struggling on the steeper grade – it was

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down into the bottom box. Next time, perhaps. The single windscreen is one of those indicators of US influence and all of the launch trucks are fitted with them. However, the split windscreen has not gone away and Kenworth promises it will appear sometime soon. The question has to be, is the single windscreen really a step too far? The big issue for the truck designers, and one which they have carried off with some aplomb, is creating a conventional truck that fits into the B-double dimension brackets and also has enough living space for the driver. Some of the earlier attempts to create a 26m prime mover with a bonnet and a bed ended up with pretty cramped conditions. In the T610, the introduction of the US cab components has made for a radically improved interior design. The wider cabin means that drivers can step in between the seats with ease and move around freely. The higher US-style roof means they can stand up straight. This is a 26m capable conventional cab with a 860mm bunk you can walk around in, – a real rarity. The sensation of space in the cab has been achieved by a radical redesign of the layout. The engine hasn’t been pushed back into the cabin; the cabin has been moved forward over the engine.

The result is a surprisingly roomy cabin interior. From the outside, from side-on, the bonnet looks a bit snub-nosed, but the new cabin interior space makes it well worth it. Moving the cab forward has also led to another improvement in the design – it is now possible to run the steering column straight down to the steering box at the front axle. There is no turbo in the way, bypassed by a series of universal joints. Out on the road, this improved steering feel and response is one of the more obvious changes from the driver’s point of view. Moving the cabin forward has also improved the driver’s line of sight – the blind spot in front of the bonnet is largely gone on the T610. Laid out in front of the driver is the new dash. The design is not radically different from what we are used to, but it is clearly a new design. Although the layout fits into the US style of cabin, this dashboard was designed and is manufactured here in Australia. It is built in a considerably more robust way than the North American equivalent. Here we have a modern array of controls that don’t look too modern. The climate controls are simple to use and practical. All of the functions we expect are there, plus a switch to turn the underbunk fridge on and off. Of course, there’s a LCD screen set into the dashboard, just to the driver’s left. It can show stuff like the radio or CD info, but can also be set up to show a series of traditional looking ‘virtual gauges’. Drivers can pick and choose which ones they prefer to see on screen, up to five. They look very similar to the real gauges,

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with silver rings around the dash. On the test drive, working the truck hard on a hot day, the front drive temperature gauge on the screen clicked over, out of its comfort zone, and close to the red zone. Immediately, an alarm alerted the driver and the gauge grew to fill the screen with a red background. There is no mistaking the message and a kilometre later when the grade was behind us, the gauge returned to normal. There is a space to the left of the screen, around the same size, which is set aside for any extra gauges a truck buyer would like to have fitted. However, if a physical gauge is fitted, it is no longer available as a virtual one. Traditionalists will be disappointed to learn a pyrometer is not included among the gauges on offer so far. There is also no sensor on the turbo that produces a signal for the CANbus

to pick up. The system monitors turbo condition in other ways, but I suspect some customers will still be choosing the option to have an analogue gauge fitted. Of course, the screen will also be able to handle navigation systems, reversing cameras and the like. The whole set-up also has all of the connectivity we have now come to expect, with Bluetooth streamin, phone connection et al. The smaller LCD screen straight in front of the driver’s seat provides basic information to the driver. There are a number of options to choose from that can be scrolled through using a turn-and-press button to the left of the steering wheel. Options include trip, fuel consumption, digital speed read out and even driver performance score. There is also an option to turn the screen off. The ergonomics are good. The

switches/controls the driver needs all the time are close at hand and the more occasional ones lie further afield. Gone are the gold bezels around the dials. Instead, silver rings on the set of instruments are included on the new dashboard. In fact, these dials come out of the Peterbilt parts book and look the part. The simple takeaway at the end of the drive is the impression that it all works. The individual elements of the drive, in terms of feel, comfort, power and control, all work just as they should. No news there, it’s a Kenworth. But is it an Aussie Kenworth or just an ‘Aussification’ of a US truck? The team at Kenworth has done the calculation and reckons that if you take the axle choices out of the equation, 70 per cent of the installation is Australian content. Now, that’s an Aussie Kenworth. The best yet? Let’s wait and see.