Sterling’s Acterra 7500

The creative types at Freightliner Corp. never seem to be short of ideas, and good ones at that. The Acterra medium-duty truck family, from Freightliner’s Sterling Truck Corp. division, is a case in point.

Needing a versatile, midrange conventional in the line, but not wanting the cost and time required to develop one from the ground up, Freightliner and Sterling raided the bin for parts. Big parts. With four models covering class 5 to mid-range class 8, the Acterra family combines the tough and roomy cab used on class-8 Sterling trucks with the well-proven 106-inch-BBC Freightliner Business Class chassis. The combination of ready-made components allowed engineers to create a new truck in months instead of years-and without having to spend loads of money on R&D.

The truck will be built at Sterling’s plant in St. Thomas, Ont., starting in April. But who wants to wait? I hooked up a hand-built, pre-production Acterra 7500 tractor to a little 28-foot van (empty I’m afraid) and took a spin on a variety of roads around southwestern Ontario.

The 7500 is a single-axle tractor (or truck) with a maximum gross vehicle weight rating up to 33,000 pounds. It rounds out a truck family that includes the 5500 and 6500, both single-axle straight trucks, and are aimed at lighter-duty work requiring a professional-level truck, and the 8500, a light class-8 truck or tractor for vocational use.

Climbing into the truck was made easier because the Acterra sits five inches lower than the class-8 Sterlings. Once inside, I was reminded how much I like this underrated cab. It’s roomy and bright, with a purposeful dash and easy-to-reach controls, as well as width enough for three. But it really shines when you’re looking out, with first-rate vision over the short snout and to the side.

Combine that with its setback front axle and tight 50-degree wheel cut, and the Acterra has two key elements of a winning mid-range formula: visibility and manoevrability.

The Acterra buyer can tailor his spec almost infinitely, with Cummins and Cat engines as well as the MBE900, plus a wide variety of other options. The test truck had the 280-horse Mercedes-Benz MBE900 6.4-litre diesel, with peak torque of 800 pound feet at 1250 rpm, linked to an Eaton Fuller FSO-8406A six-speed all-synchro transmission. It moved off the line smartly, as it would with no load out back, but I took a while to get used to things. Having spent much of the previous day with a Volvo VN 660 with 465 horses and a 13-speed gearbox, I found myself reaching for another gear at 70 km/h or so. It wasn’t there, which left me with what seemed like a screaming engine and no road speed. I soon settled into it, and the engine felt energetic and very responsive.

Handling was also in the “responsive” category, with a light but solid steering touch, and the brakes were strong and easy to modulate. In short, the truck is easy to control. And while in its unloaded state it’s hard to say much about the ride, the truck was suspended by a “leaf and a half” front taperleaf spring and the very effective Sterling-Freightliner AirLiner suspension out back (air-ride cabs will also be available for Acterra, incidentally).

On the noise front, this Acterra sits above middle of the pack, better than many medium-duties I’ve driven over the years but not quite as good as the Business Class, for example.

All in all, my quick spin left me happy. With its fine cab and big-truck features, the Acterra should find success-especially among buyers who want the look and feel of a real truck.

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ROAD NOTES: Acterra 7500 o Availability: April 2000 o Power choices: Cummins, Caterpillar, and Mercedes Benz midrange engines ranging from 175- to 300-horsepower. o Transmissions: 5-, 6-, 7-, 9-, or 10-speed manuals from Eaton Fuller; and 4- or 6-speed automatics from Allison. o Front frame extensions-integral or bolt-on-and custom wheelbases are available. o Hydraulic disc brakes with Meritor WABCO four-channel anti-lock are standard on the 5500, 6500, and 7500.