This truck on test is set up exactly as a Mack enthusiast would want it, with the gold bulldog on the bonnet (in this instance, replaced with a black dog to go with the paint job) and this denotes the full Mack proprietary driveline.
The MP10 engine in the the Superliner and Titan has delivered the kind of engine Mack buyers are looking for. Any initial skepticism about an engine coming from the Volvo Group stable has disappeared with a set-up which delivers good torque and power at the right rpm in the right amount.
The ability of the engine to hang on at relatively low revs and continuing to push through when needed, has got the engine over the line. When it first arrived in Australia, the mDrive was also met with a similar skepticism, much of which has dissipated in the last few years.
The option to take control is always there for the driver if and when it is needed. Going into manual mode on the AMT can be used in a number of different situations. When the gear is set, the driver can choose a half gear or full gear up or down by tapping the controller once or twice.
Going into manual mode the driver can keep dropping gears until the truck is in crawler gear and set up for slow manoeuvring. There are two reverse modes and the driver can pick whichever mode suits the conditions.
Like all of these sophisticated systems there is a lot of options available, for the driver. The breadth of options is too big to pick up in a casual test drive like the PowerTorque journey out of Mount Isa. However, a targeted round of training will be able to equip drivers with all of the available options to suit their particular applications. This truck is capable of handling all of the difficult situations a truck from the previous generations could handle, it’s simply a matter of what switch or button to press, as opposed to how to press the pedals and stir the gearstick to get the desired outcome.
In a lot of these cases, as the traditional North American-style trucks are being brought into the 2020s with all of the latest technology, there is a balance to be made between that old-style look and feel and the needs of the modern truck industry.
From the driver’s seat this truck does push the right buttons. I am looking out over the bonnet to the Bulldog’s back side, there are a pair of west coast mirrors mounted on the doors and the air cleaners sitting either side of the bonnet. There are also round analogue instruments along the top of the dashboard, red and yellow maxi-brakes and a split windscreen.
One thing it doesn’t have is suspect steering response. The new design sees a straight uninterrupted steering shaft all of the way from the steering wheel to the steering box at the front axle. The result is a smooth firm and highly responsive steering feel for the driver, with no surprises. Very useful on bumpy outback tracks with two trailers in tow.
Added to this, the overall package does also bring you much of the latest technology and a truck which behaves in a way which is up to the standards set by the market leaders. There is enough of the old style, but there is plenty of the modern world and the latest safety innovations to suit a modern trucking fleet in the 2020s.
