Gleaming white paint, blue and red striping, polished alloy and plenty of attention in the wash bay gives the Tranzliquid Logistics fleet a sparkling clean appearance.

And the Mt Maunganui-based operation is cleaning up in another arena – by putting the first Euro 6 compliant Cummins X15-powered Kenworth to work on New Zealand highways.

The Kenworth T610 6x4 tractor unit was delivered in April this year. Look closely and it’s identified by a subtle variation of the blue/red Tranzliquid signage and wears Euro 6 badges each side of the bonnet to signal its special status in the feet.

The back story to the inclusion of this truck in the Tranzliquid Logistics fuel-hauling operation runs like this.

Since late 2018 Cummins has been field testing a small number of X15 Euro 6-engined trucks across the Tasman. There have now been 12 units involved in the Australian programme – with Tranzliquid’s T610 (rego number TLL 41) adding some Kiwi input to the programme as it makes bulk fuel deliveries across the North Island.

Yes it’s a truck test but sometimes it’s not all about the truck on some of these jobs.

We usually like to test everything the truck has on offer, but with this test the focus is mostly on the engine.

This Kenworth offers a chance to sample the first Euro 6 engine to arrive in the country from renowned enginemaker Cummins. It has this one on trial, powering a T610 in the Tranzliquid Logistics fleet running out of Mount Maunganui, with Kerry Rusling and Matt Norton rotating shifts behind the wheel.

The model, launched here back in 2017, delivered major improvements in cab design and build compared to its predecessors. Kenworth created a roomier and more comfortable cab for improved driver satisfaction – features which we have covered extensively…at the launch of the model and in tests since.