Street Smarts: Freightliner Debuts 5th Generation Cascadia Tractor

Key aerodynamic improvements give the fifth generation Cascadia a fuel economy boost of 1.9% compared to the previous model. (Photo: Jack Roberts)

With over 1 million models sold, it’s understandable that Freightliner would be hesitant to tamper much with its Cascadia Class 8 highway tractor. Yet time, and technology, wait for no one.

With the dust finally settled from Daimler Truck’s spin-off from Mercedes-Benz, the North American arm of the brand-new trucking OEM proved ready to refine its best-selling design.

At a test track outside of Detroit in early October, proud DTNA employees drew back the curtain on the fifth generation of the Cascadia, showcasing a design intended to take the existing model’s acknowledged strengths to even higher levels.

Safety, efficiency and profitability

First, however, Greg Treinen, vice president, On-highway Market Development, called out the elephant in the room: the Cascadia enjoys 40% market share in on-highway applications. And it’s never wise to mess too much with a winning formula.

But there are always ways to take advantage of customer feedback and new technology to improve vehicle designs, he said.

“The journey never stops in trying to continue to fight the battle against fuel costs,” Treinen stated. “We listen to our customers to continue to innovate in the safety space… to make the driver safer, to make the public safer and to continue to develop tools and connected services that help our customers continue to improve their profitability.”

For Freightliner engineers, that boiled down to three key design goals: safety, efficiency and profitability.

“We feel like we’ve hit the mark in those three spaces with those ideas,” Treinen said. “A big part of that is Cascadia’s new electrical system. This new electrical architecture is an enabler for a lot of the key features, such as enhancements to Detroit Assurance Suite and safety systems, or whether it’s the pairing with our new CTP3 connected services platform.

“So, it’s about faster processing speed, about core memory and delivering the data to our customers that they care about to make better business decisions for their fleet.”

Refined inside and out

With the exterior of the truck, Miranda Richardson, highway product marketing manager, DTNA, said key aerodynamic improvements for the fifth-generation Cascadia give the truck a fuel economy boost of 1.9% compared to the previous model.

These enhancements include a new hood design, redesigned A-pillar deflectors, new three-piece front wheel well closeouts, a new hood-to-bumper seal and new bumper air ducts that direct airflow around the underbody and tires to increase efficiency. Additionally, a new Max Aero Bumper offers even greater aerodynamic efficiency for the truck without sacrificing ground clearance, durability or serviceability.

A new air dam gives the Cascadia improved ground clearance, Richardson added. “What this does is help it protect all those major components under the body of the truck,” she said. “But it also helps keep air from getting up under the truck and into the underbody. The air dam features a three-piece design for easy repair and replacement. And it is very durable.”

Inside the cab, Freightliner engineers focused on driver safety, with all-new expanded capabilities and features for DTNA’s proprietary Detroit Assurance Suite safety system.

The system now features enhanced computing power and an upgraded camera. Four new short-range radar sensors and an improved long-range radar sensor work together to provide new and updated safety offerings, including:

• Active Brake Assist 6 (ABA6) is now capable of adding automatic braking when detecting vehicles stopped at odd angles, vehicles in curves and stopped vehicles across multiple lanes, and recognizing both moving and now stationary pedestrians.
• Active Lane Assist 2 (ALA2), in addition to previous capabilities, now features Lane Change Assist, which can help mitigate out-of-lane accidents by providing counter-steering in case a truck attempts to enter an already occupied lane.
• Attentive Driver Protection – when Lane Keep Assist, a feature of ALA2, is on and active – monitors driver attention through steering wheel input and can initiate a sequence that keeps the vehicle centered in its lane, slows it to a stop and turns on the hazard lights if the driver is not responsive.
• Side Guard Assist 2 (SGA2) is now able to detect and warn drivers about objects on the driver’s side as well as the passenger side of the vehicle, from the cab to the end of the trailer.

Also new is a factory-installed MirrorCam System that enhances driver visibility. It features high-resolution cameras mounted above the cab doors. These cameras provide a wide field of view and are equipped with infrared technology and hydrophobic coatings to repel water and other contaminants.

Richardson explained that MirrorCam improves driver visibility, especially at night and during inclement weather. The system also improves driver comfort by minimizing repetitive head and neck movement.

The new Cascadia incorporates all-new, expanded capabilities and features for its proprietary Detroit Assurance Suite safety system. (Photo: Freightliner)

Cummins engines and connectivity

If you’re a fan of red diesel engines, you’ll be happy to learn that Cummins power will make a return to Freightliner as an option for Cascadia models beginning in 2025.

Available at launch, customers can spec the fifth-generation Cascadia with Detroit DD13 and DD15 engines with ratings up to 505 hp and 1,850 lb.-ft. of torque.

The Cummins X15 will be available for Cascadias built in 2025. In 2026, the X15N, the first natural gas engine designed specifically for heavy-duty and on-highway truck applications, will be an option. Both are available with 400 to 605 hp and 1,450 to 2,050 lb.-ft. of torque.

The newest connected telematics platform powering Detroit Connect provides real-time support for Cascadia powertrains. This includes the ability to now relay more real-time information back to fleet managers. Additionally, a new electrical architecture enhances cybersecurity and enables faster processing speeds, Treinen noted.

New key features of Detroit Connect include:

• Detroit Connect Video Capture 2.0 automatically records and captures data during safety events or when initiated by a driver, providing fleet managers with remote access to valuable insights on driver behavior and potential risks. Videos are available in near real time through an improved user interface within the Detroit Connect Portal.
• Remote Lock and Unlock is a new feature derived directly from fleet manager feedback. It brings the ability to lock and unlock vehicles on demand, reducing roadside assistance costs and increasing vehicle uptime.
• Geofencing allows customers to create custom-defined geographic areas in the Detroit Connect Portal and receive notifications when vehicles enter or leave that area.
• Detroit Connect Safety Plus is a subscription service that allows fleet managers to remotely track and receive notifications about the status and health of Detroit Assurance safety systems.
• Premium Remote Parameter Updates expands the number of parameters that are available for update over the air from seven to more than 50.

The fifth-generation Freightliner Cascadia is scheduled to begin production mid-2025.

Jack Roberts is a Tuscaloosa, Ala.-based independent journalist and licensed commercial driver with more than 20 years’ experience covering the North American and global trucking industries.