What it takes to excel at Truck Test 2026

In South Africa’s most rigorous commercial vehicle showdown, it’s not necessarily the most powerful truck that shines: it’s the most complete offering. JULIA TEW explores exactly what it might take to stand out from the crowd.

When Truck Test 2026 gets underway in early November, 10 of the world’s leading truck manufacturers – Daewoo, DAF, FAW, MAN, Mercedes-Benz, Powerstar, Scania, Shacman, Sinotruk and Volvo – will line up with their latest extra-heavy commercial vehicles (XHCVs) for what has become the definitive benchmark test on the African continent.

While the machines are the stars of the show, excelling in this event is never simply a matter of raw power. It’s about the complex, interconnected relationship between vehicle technology, driver skill, road conditions and operational discipline. So, what does it take to stand out in Truck Test?

The metrics that matter

Truck Test is fundamentally a productivity exercise. Competing vehicles are assessed on fuel consumption and speed over a defined route, with these figures combined into a productivity index that reflects real-world efficiency: how much work a truck can do per litre of fuel, and how quickly it can complete the task. This is precisely the information fleet operators need when making multimillion-rand purchasing decisions.

To ensure those comparisons are meaningful, TruckScience – returning as the event’s technical partner – compiles the specifications and results for all participating vehicles, ensuring the testing process remains objective, transparent and data-driven.

Equally important is the role played by Afrit, which builds the standardised trailers that every truck will pull. Without identical trailer configurations and loads, comparing fuel consumption figures would be meaningless. With Afrit’s precision-built equipment hitched to every competitor, the playing field is as level as it can be.

Tyre choice and condition are other variables that can impact performance. Bandag joins Truck Test in 2026 as the official tyre partner, bringing with it more than 50 years of experience in the retread industry. Tyres have an outsized influence on rolling resistance (and, by extension, fuel consumption), making them a fundamental condition of fair testing.

Even the fuel itself is controlled. Engen is sponsoring the fuel for this year’s event, ensuring every truck draws from the same source under identical conditions. With fuel prices continuing to climb, this contribution is also a practical lifeline for an event of this scale and ambition.

Putting their collective weight behind Truck Test’s reputation this year are industry bodies including The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILTSA), the Road Freight Association (RFA), SAPICS and the Southern African Association of Freight Forwarders NPC (SAAFF).

The machine: technology that tips the scales

Within the constraints of a standardised test, the engineering choices made by OEMs still have enormous bearing on the outcome. Modern XHCVs are extraordinarily sophisticated machines, and several technologies in particular tend to differentiate winners from also-rans.

Aerodynamics have become a major battleground at highway speeds. Wind resistance increases exponentially with velocity, so even modest improvements in cab design, side skirts, roof deflectors and mirror profiles can translate into measurable fuel savings over a long test route. The manufacturers entering Truck Test 2026 have all invested heavily in this area, and subtle differences between their approaches will no doubt show up in the data.

Powertrain efficiency remains critical. Modern XHCV engines – typically turbocharged diesels displacing anywhere from 11 to 16 litres – are increasingly coupled with predictive cruise control systems that read topography via GPS and adjust throttle and gear selection accordingly. A truck that gathers momentum before a crest and recuperates energy on the descent, rather than braking it away, gains a compounding advantage over distance. Similarly, the calibration of automated manual transmissions (AMTs) has reached a level of refinement where the gearbox is often making better shift decisions than a human driver would – at least in theory.

Tyre pressure management is another area where technology can quietly tip the scales. Under-inflated tyres increase rolling resistance; over-inflated ones reduce traction and accelerate wear. Systems that automatically monitor and correct tyre pressure contribute to both efficiency and safety – and provide a relevant context for Bandag’s involvement as tyre partner.

ZF Aftermarket, joining as the official aftermarket partner, brings a lens that is easy to overlook in the excitement of competition day itself: the role of drivetrain and chassis component condition in sustaining peak performance. A transmission or axle that is not operating within optimal parameters will cost a truck time and fuel, even if everything else is perfect. ZF’s involvement underlines the fact that truck performance is a maintenance story as much as an engineering one.

Rounding out the technical picture is WearCheck, serving as the official condition monitoring partner. Oil analysis provides a window into engine health under sustained loads – data that may not affect the Truck Test result directly, but nevertheless offers manufacturers and fleet operators valuable insights into how each powertrain responds to the demands of competitive running.

The driver: the human variable

Here is where Truck Test gets genuinely fascinating, and where outcomes can be shaped as much by skill as by specifications. In a controlled test environment, driver behaviour can account for as much as a 23% increase in fuel consumption – more than enough to determine the outcome between closely matched competitors.

Experienced truck drivers understand that momentum is capital. Safely carrying speed through corners and over crests, rather than braking and re-accelerating, is an effective technique when trying to minimise fuel use. This requires anticipation: reading the road ahead, understanding how the loaded trailer will behave and making smooth, early interventions rather than reactive ones.

Gear selection – even in an era of sophisticated AMTs – still falls partly to the driver’s judgement in certain conditions. Knowing when to hold a gear on a long gradient, when to allow the engine brake to do the work on a descent and when to let an AMT do its job without interference are skills built over years.

Throttle discipline is equally critical. A smooth, progressive application of the accelerator – particularly from a standing start with a laden trailer – avoids the fuel-heavy surge that comes from aggressive pedal work. Over a longer route, dozens of small throttle decisions accumulate into a significant aggregate figure.

It is no accident that the OEMs competing in Truck Test 2026 will bring their most capable, experienced drivers. These are professionals who may have spent years developing the feel for a particular truck – its torque curve, its transmission logic, its braking characteristics – and who can extract performance that a less familiar driver simply cannot replicate.

The road: external demands

Road and weather conditions are the wildcard of any real-world truck test, and one of the reasons that Truck Test’s results carry more weight with operators than manufacturer-supplied figures derived from laboratory simulations.

The test route encompasses a mix of terrain – highway stretches, undulating secondary roads, gradient climbs – that collectively reflect the operating environment in which South African fleet operators actually work. The N3’s Gauteng – KwaZulu-Natal corridor, long the backbone of the country’s road freight network, presents a combination of heat, altitude variation and surface quality that punishes inefficient trucks and rewards well-sorted ones.

The weather on test days introduces an element that cannot be fully controlled. Wind direction and speed can meaningfully affect fuel consumption on exposed highway sections; ambient temperature affects air density and consequently engine breathing and turbocharger response. The drivers and trucks that adapt most fluidly to changing conditions will have an edge. Of course, it is very important to note that all the contestants will face exactly the same weather conditions, meaning even really grotty weather won’t disadvantage any company.

The bigger picture

Truck Test is an evaluation of the very best trucks available on the South African market. While it is a process that produces results, its value extends well beyond those results. This information feeds directly into fleet procurement decisions, influences OEM product development roadmaps and provides the transport industry with independent, real-world data at a time when the pressure to reduce operational costs and carbon emissions has never been greater. For the manufacturers lining up in November, the stakes are high. But for the industry watching and waiting for Truck Test’s outcomes, the value is higher still.

Truck Test 2026 takes place from 3 to 5 November. FOCUS on Transport and Logistics will announce the full results and analysis in the following week. Partners include Engen (fuel), TruckScience (technical analysis), Afrit (trailers), Bandag (tyres), WearCheck (condition monitoring) and ZF (aftermarket).