Mack’s Vision

Allentown, Pennsylvania has been a source of excitement in trucking for more than 100 years, and the CX613 won't disappoint its ancestors. The Vision will certainly uphold the family tradition for rugged durability and solid workmanship, though some of the old traditionalists from a few generations back might be looking down the end of their bespectacled noses at this stylish upstart.

Launched in 1999 and cut from slightly different cloth, the Vision is a premium highway truck targeted squarely at owner-operators and driver-savvy fleets. This one's appealing on a number of levels: sleek styling that's aerodynamic by nature but truckish enough to please the purists; it's loaded with the latest technology to keep operating costs down; and there's nothing to complain about in terms of room, comfort, storage, style, or performance.

Vision represents a few firsts for Mack. It's the company's first truly aerodynamic design (except for perhaps the venerable B-model); it features Mack's first integrated sleeper; and it's the first Mack model that I've been in that really treats the driver to a premium living space. If you've got some wheel time on a Mack, you'll be familiar with how well the company manages the nuts and bolts. But if you're not convinced that Mack makes an owner-operator truck, the Vision should change your mind.

The Mack people offered me anything I wanted for the test-drive, so I opted for a middle-of-the-road model: 427 hp, a 10-speed tranny, and a 70-in. mid-rise sleeper on a 222-in. wheelbase. If this sounds like a high-end fleet spec, you'd be right. I'm a firm believer in the wisdom of spec'ing for profit. This particular spec represents an efficient, cost-effective platform upon which to build a small trucking business.

Hard and Soft Ware
This particular cab-and-chassis combination will satisfy the regional or longhaul driver with its spacious interior and highly maneuverable 222-in. wheelbase. It doesn't need a big hood to cover up the 12-liter ASET engine, leaving more room on the frame for the living quarters.

You'll find space under the hood at a bit of a premium, compared to a long-nose conventional, but the only issue I had was the placement of the speedometer cable. It ran directly beside the oil-fill port, making that a likely place for a large oil stain. Otherwise, getting up close and personal with the Vision isn't a problem, and from a routine maintenance perspective, all the service points were pretty easy to get at.

As for the driver environment, there are no compromises here. It's roomy and bright, and the Desert Sand trim has to be one of the easiest on the eyes I've ever seen. A couple of the gauges on the bottom of the instrument panel are partially obscured by the steering wheel, but they aren't critical. Otherwise, it would be a pleasant enough dash to stare at day in and day out.

When first launched, the Vision was available only with a U.S. weight spec - 12 and 40 axles. In 2002, Mack added 14k front-ends, 46,000-lb rears, and a 60-in. axle spread to the databook, along with a frame insert to support the extra weight. So in 2004, there's not much you can't spec a Vision to do, except suck back fuel. It's available with Mack AC engines only, to a maximum of 460 hp. A day-cab version was introduced in 2002, along with wider availability of Mack axles and transmissions.

Interstate 80
You'd be hard pressed to find a better place to test drive a truck than Interstate 80 that runs across Pennsylvania. It's up and down like a toilet seat, rough as all get out in places, subject to really gusty winds in the mountain passes, and very heavily traveled. I ran west out of Allentown on I-78 to Harrisburg, then north on 11/15 to I-80, then west to a flip-flop at I-79. Did some two-lane time too, on a loop north from Dubois to St. Marys and Ridgeville, then back to the interstate and a nasty stretch of Rte. 309 from I-81 back into Allentown. All told, 900-plus miles over two enjoyable days.

As far as pure pull is concerned, the 427 did the job, and at 8.4 mpg, it was hard to complain. EGR and the variable-geometry turbo make the engine feel bigger, and once I figured out how to manage the torque output to time my downshifts - with the help of the VIP - I was keeping up with most of the trucks out there. Sure, it took a moment longer to crest a hill, but it would likely do better at the fuel pump. It's the classic owner-operator conundrum: power and pizzaz vs. money in the bank. That's for you to decide. Mack's AC 460P (487 peak hp with 1660 lb ft of torque) might be more to the liking of most owner-ops.

The AC 427 does run a little warmer than its predecessor, but that's the case with all the EGR engines we've driven to date. The water temperature climbed to about 210 degrees on the long pulls (normally about 195 - 200). The downside is fan noise. Running the air conditioner caused the fan to cycle on more frequently too, thus making noise more of an issue. Exhaust temperature never exceeded 800 degrees.

But road noise in the cab was minimal - when the fan wasn't running - even with the windows open. Top marks for the slippery cab and the tight door seals.

There was a full load on the steer axle when I left Allentown - 11,800 lb - and with the fifth-wheel well ahead of center, it still rode extraordinarily well. The MaxAir 40A rear suspension took care of most of what I-80 threw at it, and what was left was deftly dealt with by the cleverly crafted cab suspension. I never spilled a single cup of coffee (that's my suspension acid test).

The definitive aspect of a truck's engineering pedigree has to be the steering geometry, and Vision's is right up there with the R-Model, probably the best steering truck ever, in my opinion. Even with its modest wheelbase, the Vision goes where you point it and doesn't stray. That goes a long way in reducing fatigue, and saves tire wear as well.

As business tools go, this one is very well suited to the owner-operator. It's a light truck considering all you get (around 17,000 lb, full of fuel), and it's certainly roomy enough and distinctly un-fleety, even if it's spec'd as such. That can be your little secret.

VIP: Your Assistant Manager
There's a nice bit of vehicle management software built into the Vision called the Vehicle Information Profiler (VIP). It's an optional dash display that can really help a driver keep the truck in the green. There's way more information available here than you'll need, but three display screens stand out as must-haves. The engine 'sweet spot' indicator, the torque-output display, and the fuel-consumption display.

The first is a pair of '$' symbols that light up when you're operating the engine at peak efficiency. EGR has had an effect on fuel economy, but Mack has worked out the performance and fuel parameters, and has programmed the VIP to alert the driver to the optimum engine speed in any gear. It's a floating value, so one couldn't just run at, say, 1400 rpm all the time and expect the best. Mack says the actual value is closer to 1600 rpm in most cases, but just watch the VIP for real-time updates.

Current fuel consumption is displayed on a bar graph, but VIP is always comparing current to average consumption over the trip, making it more useful.

And the absolute must-have is the digital torque-output display. You can watch the torque output increasing as the rpm drops, letting you drift down in the rpm range until just before you reach peak torque. That's when it's time to downshift if you're pulling a hill. A quick look at the distance to the top of the hill will tell you whether you should shift or not. Sometimes lugging it a bit works; sometimes dropping too far below peak torque means a miserably slow climb up the hill.

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