UD Quester CGE

The overall interior cabin of the UD Quester CGE hasn’t got the finesse and modernity of the exterior design of the truck. It looks pale and basic, however, it gets all the controls just at the right place, with the cabin getting minimal features like power windows, AC and music system. The entire cabin is finished in a light grey theme, which brightens up the cabin and show decent levels of fit and finish.

The two-spoke steering wheel and the large instrument console with analog dials and a big orange backlit MID unit in between combine together for the driver’s cockpit of the truck. Like the driver’s cockpit, the center console of the truck too looks quite basic but has a systematic arrangement for all the controls, 1-DIN audio system and AC vents, all of which are placed in rectangular-shaped panels.

The UD Quester CGE shares its exterior design with the rest of the offerings in the Quester lineup from UD trucks. Given how modern the Quester range looks amidst the other offerings in the full-size truck category, the UD Quester CGE has got a good road presence, despite being one of the basic looking options in the Quester lineup.

The UD Quester CGE has got the same dual part enormous grille as the other trucks from the Quester range. This large grille is comprised of two trapezoidal units – a large one with two horizontal slats placed on the front apron and the other being an inverted unit with tapered vertical upper edges positioned on the front bumper. Both these parts of the grille are finished in a basic looking black plastic finish.

The lower part of the grille, along with the arrowhead-shaped slim headlamps on either sides extend all the way down to the lower edge of the front profile. The headlamps do miss out on the fog lamps but do come integrated with auxiliary lights along with turn indicators within them. The entire bumper, like the dual part grille, has been given an all-black plastic treatment, and miss out on body color.

The side profile of the UD Quester CGE looks quite simple and retains common characteristics like tapering down window waistline, hinged rearview mirror and semi-rounded wheel arches, the last one of which gets black molding over them. The door panels get simple looking black colored door handles and turn indicators mounted on their lower edges. The window panels also get sleek looking covered black panels behind them. 

The UD Quester CGE is armed with a capable chassis, the highlights of which consist of rubber springs between the leaf springs and rear axles and rubber journaled V-stays and reduction rods. The braking system of the UD Quester CGE is a combination of a full air brake system with an automatic slack adjuster and exhaust brake system.

The UD Quester CGE is powered by an 8-litre GH11E series diesel engine, which has been derived on the lines of the Volvo D8 engine. The engine is shared with a few other trucks from the Quester lineup, and like in them, the engine here produces 440 bhp of power. A 12-speed manual gearbox is employed to transmit the power to the rear wheels.

For a utilitarian truck, the UD Quester CGE is equipped with bare basic essentials like optional ABS and safety seat belts. However, a few more features would have been appreciated.

For its purpose as a dumper truck, the UD Quester CGE fulfils the needs of the prospective customer with a very capable chassis and reliable engine, which do make it a strong workhorse. The truck has a likeable design on the outside, and while the interior cabin looks basic, it has got all the essential elements one actually uses in a heavy-duty commercial vehicle.