The past week has seen a new Kenworth medium duty range launched in the US. The new trucks use the 2.1-metre cab which we have seen introduced in Australia, in the T610, T410 and T360 models.
Examples of these trucks are not going to make an appearance in Australia. The US market demands bonneted medium duty models, while here, the cabover from Japanese truck manufacturers is king.
These six new larger cabbed Kenworth medium duty trucks have undergone a complete redesign from top to bottom to accomodate the new standard cabin across the range. This increase in size will enable three-person seating with configurable options with high or medium-back seats and passenger bench seats for up to three people.
Kenworth has developed a new instrumentation cluster with a seven-inch high-definition digital display centred between four standard analog gauges for its medium duty models. The integrated Kenworth Digital Display allows drivers to personalise information that is shown on the screen to match their preferences.
These medium duty vehicles are available with the PACCAR PX-7 engine rated up to 325hp and PACCAR PX-9 engine up to 380hp, depending upon BBC. With the introduction of the new medium duty vehicles, Kenworth offers, for the first time in its medium duty trucks the low-zero emission Cummins Westport L9N natural gas engine that delivers 320hp.
Included in the package when the new Kenworth medium duty range launched was the new PACCAR TX-8 automatic 8-speed transmission as standard for the new Kenworth medium duty trucks. This 8-speed transmission is said to be suitable for a wide range of applications from pickup and delivery to utility service and a variety of vocational applications. When matched to the PACCAR PX-7 or PACCAR PX-9 engine, the transmission has a maximum torque rating of up 1356Nm of torque and a 26 tonne GCM.
