Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/87831
FINDING 10 MPG The 2014 Cascadia Evolution shows the way forward. BY STEVE STURGESS 32 | Overdrive | November 2012 FINDING 10 MPG DRIVE TEST W e looked at the Freightliner Cascadia in these pages earlier this year, but this one is different. Way dif- ferent. It's the 2014 Cascadia Evolution. When it becomes available early next year, Evolution will offer revisions to the Cascadia's extraordinarily good aerodynamics with a package that wins a few more decimal points in miles per gallon. Also, some changes to the fuel and air handling systems on the DD15 engine bring a contribution that, old model to new model, shows 7 percent fuel savings. It was hard to imagine how the Cascadia could be much improved. But it has been, and since the changes impact the pocket- book, they are significant. Paired with the new Detroit DT12 smart transmission, it's a combina- tion that's hard to beat. We were let loose in the demonstration truck for these and other new components that, bundled together, allowed a test-track fuel economy of 10.67 mpg. To prove this wasn't just the result Cascadia's big, distinctive grille hides a new, smaller radiator. SCR engines run cooler than all- EGR, so the smaller unit offers some aero gains with no cooling compromise.