Review: 2014 Mack Super-Liner

It has a Euro heritage but the 600hp MP10 still gives Mack's Super-Liner plenty of bulldog bite for local conditions – as David Meredith recently discovered…

If it wasn’t for Sweden’s Volvo Group, this road test would never have happened. Or it may have been in a Chinese-owned Mack chassis with perhaps a Cummins or Detroit Diesel engine. As it is, the run in Mack’s Super-Liner with its biggest engine, the 16-litre MP10, was a master class in why US-themed trucks will always have a place here in Australia, even though it’s taken big Euro dollars to keep the best known US brand alive.

When emissions regulations for heavy-duty trucks got serious in the early 2000s, Mack didn’t have the money to engineer new technology. That’s why at the core of Mack’s heavy-duty Super-Liner beats a Swedish heart, painted red. The fuel systems and the top end have been specialised for Mack, but the basic architecture is Volvo.

If you never opened the hood you could still pick the difference, even before starting up. Volvo engines draw fresh air through a single air intake and filter, and exhaust via a single pipe that usually aims at the ground. Mack is the American solution – twin chrome intake pipes mounted externally on dual filters for intake, and dual exhausts reaching skywards behind the cab.

Turn the key, however, and it’s chalk and cheese. In its Mack MP10 guise, the Volvo-based engine spits out a traditional and unmistakable US diesel grumble. Open the passenger’s window when driving up a hill in a cutting and the sound sends tingles up a truckie’s spine. Close the window and it’s just as remarkably quiet.

The Super-Liner I had for the day was used to serious work. Usually road test trucks are brand new but this unit had just clocked over 273,000 kilometres as a demo rig for major fleets, working in real-time commercial operations and having to perform with the trucks that earn a living.

The MP10 engine has opened new highways for Mack, with the 685hp version becoming almost standard fare for road train operators. Its giant torque and standard mDRIVE transmission delivers a driveline that is up to any transport task, also keeping its cool in the process.

But the MP10 is also available in 600hp form, and I wanted to see how this rating performed in the more usual linehaul B-double arena. With Mack’s trailer set on the back we left Brisbane just after the morning peak hour headed for Warwick via Cunningham’s Gap with just under 60 tonnes on board.

From almost any angle, Mack’s Super-Liner impresses. But the cab design has its roots in decades-old US styling that makes European truck designers shake their heads in disbelief. The cab is narrow, the driver’s door doesn’t open anywhere near 90 degrees and, despite the token aerodynamic shaping of the bonnet and wheel arches, the chrome and stainless steel hardware bolted around the windscreen and on the roof makes it as aerodynamic as a brick dunnie. But truckies still buy it. The end.

Heading out was just a push of a button, and the mDRIVE skipped from third to sixth, then ninth, and 12th. At each change the system dropped the revs down to around 1050rpm, where the immense torque gathered speed more rapidly than if every gear was being used. The mDRIVE had already convinced me to change my driving style on manuals, using more of the torque band and losing less time changing gears, and saving fuel to boot.

The cab is high and places you well above the bonnet line, so you’re looking down on the silver bulldog emblem. Vision was fine for a conventional and, with its big side windows, maneuvering around the industrial area streets was a breeze. The mirror sets are large and clear and helped when reversing.

I settled in behind the wheel easily thanks to the large range of adjustment on the seat and steering wheel. But the Mack dash is overdue for a big rework. Cruise control and engine brake controls belong on the steering wheel. While they’re at it, Mack can ditch the ancient parking brake plungers with a Volvo lever that at least belongs in this century.

The revs stayed in the sweet spot on the long grind up Cunningham’s, courtesy of a 3.73 rear axle ratio that was also a perfect pick for cruising, without requiring a change-down over the more gentle hills. The Super-Liner steers with precision and ease, and was never upset with bad road sections.

Including the long climb, our test returned 1.5km/L at an average speed of 70km/h. Historical data told me the truck had averaged 1.8km/L for its 273,000-kilometre lifespan – a very good result for a demo truck used by a wide variety of drivers.

Conclusion? I loved it. Those 600 Mack horses are plenty for linehaul work. The MP10 has reserves to handle heavier-duty stuff when required, but unless you’re doing three and four trailers regularly, any more is a waste of money and horsepower.

MACK MP10 600 SUPER-LINER SPECIFICATIONS

ENGINE: Mack 16-litre MP10 in-line six-cylinder turbo-diesel

POWER: 600hp at 1500-1900rpm

TORQUE: 2800Nm at 1000-1500rpm

EMISSIONS: ADR80/03, SCR

STD TRANSMISSION: 12-speed mDRIVE

OPT TRANSMISSION: 18-speed Eaton Roadranger

CONFIGURATION: 6x4

GVM: N/A

GCM: N/A

WHEELBASE: 4575mm to 6250mm

BBC: 4085mm to 4235mm

BRAKES: Drums with ABS (traction control optional)

CABS: 710mm super cab to 1329mm high-rise premium sleeper

WEB: www.macktrucks.com.au

Review: 2014 Mack Super-Liner

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