Page 36 - Demo

Trevor Test
AS I CLIMB UP INTO THE WESTERN
Star’s cab, my first experience with
the truck is less than favourable. Many readers will know I’m not as
athletic as I used to be, but this cab entry is a real challenge for anybody.
The door doesn’t open to anywhere near 90 degrees, the steps bring you up under the door, the spacing between the steps
is far from ideal and I can’t find a forward grabhandle other than one on the upper door pillar....and you can’t reach that until you get onto the top step.
Owner Robert Kingi later points out that there IS a small forward grabhandle almost hidden from view...so I was making things harder for myself than I needed to. And writer Mike Stock discovers by accident –
by slipping back against it – that the door does open wider. That would have helped too.
Nevertheless, it is a difficult entry arrangement – a result, quite clearly, of the addition of the second steer axle. I’m sure though that Western Star’s design engineers should be able to do a lot better.
Once in the cab the driving position is easy to get comfortable with. There’s plenty of room for the driver and all controls are in easy reach.
Though there’s no room around the pedals to push your leg forward, there’s plenty of room behind them to make yourself comfortable.
As far as the powertrain is concerned, it’s back to the good old Eaton Roadranger
18-speed manual gearbox, matched to the great Cummins X15, rated at 620hp at 2000rpm and producing 2050 lb ft of torque at 1200rpm. So a drive over the Taupo-Napier highway is an exciting prospect.
As we climb up the hill from Taupo the sun rises over the horizon. I pull down the internal sunvisor....but it’s a waste of time:
34 | Truck & Driver