Scania Super 11 2026 Review

Scania’s new Super 11-litre five-cylinder engine arrives in Australia with a clear brief: deliver more torque, better fuel efficiency, lower tare weight and greater flexibility for distribution and vocational operators, without compromising durability, drivability or productivity.

There is a real-world logic to Scania's new Super 11 that becomes obvious once you stop judging it by litres alone and start thinking about the jobs it has been built to do.

Not every truck needs the mass, capacity or outright muscle of a big six-cylinder engine, yet plenty of operators still need serious torque, useful engine braking, good payload, long service life and a driveline that doesn't gasp for help every time the road tilts uphill or the job gets dirty.

That's the space Scania is chasing, because distribution and vocational trucks may not have the glamour of long-distance linehaul, but they live hard lives.

The Super 11 sits between Scania’s 9-litre five-cylinder and the larger 13-litre Super six-cylinder, giving operators a middle ground for jobs that need more muscle than the 9-litre could comfortably provide, without stepping into the extra size and weight of the 13-litre platform.

It's part of the broader Super powertrain family and shares 85 percent of its engine architecture with the 13-litre Super, which has helped reshape fuel economy expectations in Australia.

The Super 11's mid-range position also says plenty about where Scania is heading.

The Super 11’s lighter weight, stronger torque delivery and improved fuel economy compared with the 9-litre have effectively signalled the end of the line for an engine family with a remarkable production history (first introduced as the DSC9 in 1985).

For nearly four decades the 9-litre five-cylinder has been one of Scania’s enduring workhorses, but the Super 11 applies the same thinking to a lighter, more compact engine aimed at distribution, regional and vocational work.

Scania says it's 85kg lighter than the Super 13, yet it still offers three Euro 6e-compliant ratings: 350hp with 1800Nm of torque, 390hp with 2000Nm and 430hp with 2200 Nm.

Scania is claiming up to seven percent lower fuel consumption compared with its existing 9-litre engine, along with higher torque at lower engine speeds.

The payload angle should not be underestimated. In bulk work, tipper operations, fuel distribution, car carrying and waste collection, every kilogram saved from tare weight can become useful payload, extra compliance margin or greater flexibility in how the vehicle is specified.

Scania is aiming the Super 11 at general cargo, tippers, flatbed and crane combinations, hooklifts, fuel delivery, car transport, waste collection, temperature-controlled work, high-volume bulk transport and emergency service vehicles.

More interestingly for Australia, it's also offering the Super 11 as an agitator powertrain, giving the brand a genuine shot at pushing deeper into a tough, conservative sector where drivers remember every truck that ever struggled up a hill, lurched through a roundabout or turned a long day into a slow-moving argument with gravity.

A concrete agitator is not a gentle highway cruiser. It's a top-heavy, stop-start, urban and site-work machine that spends its life loaded, turning, climbing, braking and maneuvering in places where nobody has ever looked at the access road and said, “Yes, that was designed by someone who understands trucks.”

If the Super 11 can deliver strong low-speed torque, better control and lower operating costs in that environment, its case becomes much broader than a distribution engine with a new badge.

Mechanically, the Super 11 is more than a downsized idea.

It uses Scania’s cam phaser technology for variable valve timing, allowing real-time thermal management and improved combustion performance.

Add new engine software, balance shafts to reduce vibration and the Variable Valve Brake system, and it's clear Scania has built the Super 11 to feel smooth and controlled, not merely light and efficient.

The Variable Valve Brake is significant because it adds meaningful engine braking without a major weight penalty. Scania says the system can deliver up to 344kW (460HP) of engine brake power, with the additional components adding only nine kilograms to the engine.

Scania has long been associated with its gearbox-mounted hydraulic Retarder, and the Variable Valve Brake adds another layer by combining compression release braking with variable valve timing to increase braking power while keeping it manageable and progressive.

For drivers, that means more control and a driveline that helps the truck hold its line instead of waiting for the brake pedal to solve every problem.

Scania’s patented turbo dosing system feeds urea into the exhaust system before and after the turbocharger so the engine can operate in a more efficient mode while still meeting emissions requirements.

The Super 11 is Euro 6e-compliant, compatible with HVO across the range and, in the 390hp and 430hp versions, supports B100 biodiesel, with potential CO2 reductions of up to 85 percent depending on operating conditions. That gives operators a lower-emissions pathway without changing the basic way they run their fleets.

Scania also says service intervals are up to 30 percent longer than the 9-litre engines, while the engine is designed for a 25 percent longer working life and expected to clock up to two million kilometres, depending on application.

On the launch we spent some time with Scania’s P350 agitator demonstrator, which was not loaded with wet concrete, but with a dry aggregate mix designed to simulate a working load inside the barrel.

Even so, it gave a clear indication of how this truck behaves where agitators spend most of their lives: suburban roads, tight intersections, roundabouts and the stop-start grind between batching plant and building site.

With the barrel turning behind the cab, the Scania felt remarkably settled. In some agitators, you're always aware there's a large rotating mass behind you but, in the P350, the rotating barrel was barely noticeable.

In fact I was constantly glancing in the mirror to check it was still rotating. The truck felt composed, predictable and unusually calm for something carrying a load high enough and lively enough to keep most drivers honest.

That impression strengthened once the route moved into roundabout country, north west of Craigieburn in Melbourne's north.

The Scania stayed impressively flat and controlled on a route that included 11 urban roundabouts, displaying a level of confidence that would be immediately obvious to anyone who spends their working life in concrete delivery.

The 14-speed gearbox gives the truck a broader spread of ratios and a more deliberate way of keeping the engine where it wants to work; it's a big step up from the standard 6-speed Allison in other agitators.

Rather than flaring, hunting or giving up, the truck settled into the task and climbed with the calm assurance of something properly matched to the application. Having said that, Scania has included the 6-speed Allison auto as an option if required.

Visibility was another standout. The 360-degree camera system, complete with bird’s-eye view, was genuinely useful. Reversing around obstacles and into a parking bay was easy, with the camera system filling in the blind spots.

The P-series' driving position, low-entry, wide-opening doors and general Scania ergonomics make the truck feel like a workplace designed by people who understand that the driver is climbing in and out of it all day. Noise levels were low too, and ride quality excellent.

After a few hours behind the wheel, the P350 comes across as light, stable, quiet and far more polished than many operators might expect from a truck wearing a concrete barrel.

It does the hard, dirty work of the segment, but with a level of control and driver support that makes old-school agitator thinking feel exactly that: old.

It also brings big-engine thinking into lighter work; not by pretending every job needs more horsepower, but by recognizing that many operators need more usable torque, more control, more payload and more efficiency in a package that suits the real world.

For distribution and vocational fleets, that could make Scania’s new five-cylinder far more important than its size suggests.

Engine: Scania DC11 350 11-litre five-Cylinder
Output: 350 hp (257kW) @1800rpm/ 1327lb/ft (1800Nm) @ 950-1360rpm
Gearbox: Scania G25CM1 14-speed Overdrive with super-crawler
Gearbox shift: Opticruise
Retarder: Scania Variable Valve Engine 344kW (460HP)
Alternator: Scania 24V 100amp
Propeller Shaft: P604
Steering Box: ZF8098 17-20:1
Front Axles: Scania AM420S
Front Suspension: Scania Air with extra stiff anti-roll bars
Rear Axles: Scania AD200SA axle housings
Rear Axle Ratio: 3.52:1 with diff locks to both axles
Rear Suspension: Scania Air with extra stiff anti-roll bars
Brakes: Scania electronically controlled disc brakes
Tyres: Michelin 275/70R22.5R
Safety: EBS with integrated ABS and traction control
Wheelbase: 4550mm
Cab Tilt: Electronic
Interior: Vinyl and textile trim
Seats: Medium driver’s seat velour black
Battery Box: 2 x 12V, 180-amp Chassis mount LH side
Fuel Tank: 1 x 200L R/H side
Adblue tank: 1 x 47L R/H side