W E W E ith the arrival of the latest version of the Cummins
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14-litre engine Strato 365 6x2 looked set to build upon the 350's reputation for good fuel economy. In the event it did
not live up to expectations. Over our artic test route (CM 29 March-4 April 1990) it returned 45.051U/100km (6.27mpg) — more than 10% behind the average fuel consumption in its class. The blame was initially placed on the fuel injectors which were said to have become clogged with carbon; in fact the real culprit was probably the fuel pump, which was originally set up for low emissions. This fault plagued the Strato 365 for some time and no other manufacturer offered us a vehicle powered by the Cummins E365. In other respects it Performed well enough with average acceleration and journey times. Despite sharing its cab shell with the Pegaso Troner and Daf 95 Series, a little Panel engineering made sufficient difference in appearance to give the Strato its own identity. The four-point mechanical suspension, backed up by the high-roof Stratocruiser's air suspension seats, could hardly fail to be comfortable. There was a hint of nod but roll was well contained. The chassis' long, soft Parabolic springs deflected a long way under load, so mudguards had to be set with an adequate clearance. Brake tests revealed a slightly slow response to initial pedal effort but this was undetectable during normal use. As we had come to expect, Eaton's Twin Splitter gearbox took a lot of the effort ' out of driving once the relatively easy gear changing sequence had been mastered.