FM – Fast Moving Frugal Motor
Volvo’s FM400 Euro 4 tipper literally sailed around our Scottish test route. Our regular steersman, John Henderson, reports back on a pleasant day’s cruising. LADY LUCK is a feisty companion out on the road, some days you catch every red light and have to stop at all the roundabouts and junctions encountered to give way. But just once in a while you feel like it’s all coming together, the sun is shining, the world is a better place and you sail through every green signal and deserted junction. Thankfully our Volvo FM400 road test was one of these rare latter days and the nearly perfect traffic conditions set us on course to deliver some new performance parameters on our 197 mile sortie encircling central Scotland. Volvo’s tried and tested FM range offers a vehicle for almost any application from 18 tonne rigids right up to 44 tonne tractors, with of course a multitude of axle configurations and power and driveline options. Our 8x4 rigid tipper for testing came in Euro 4 guise with the manufacturers B ride suspension set up, which seems to be a popular choice for premium tipper operators these days. The ultimate testament to this truck’s reputation is that there are plenty of Volvo 8 wheelers on Scotland’s roads today, as the marque enjoys ‘backbone of the fleet’ status for many of these specialised contractors. The UK tipper market has been a funny old place in the last 18 months with the relaunch of a certain Far East manufacturer offering three day delivery times on bodied examples, albeit initially with Euro 3 specifications. Now that most hauliers have embraced Euro 4, with a small percentage going straight to the higher 5 level emissions control, the marketplace is more of a level playing field with some buyers looking to the long term future and residual values, instead of perhaps the economical quick fix that was offered last year. Most FM tippers I see on a daily basis have the sleeper cab options, but our steed came with the smaller day cab, complete with the Swedish manufacturer’s metallic gold paint job, apparently one of approximately 350 customer colour options available! Despite being the smallest cab in the range, it enjoys the ‘Tardis Effect’ and looks a bit slim from the side profile but once aboard, a roomy, bright and comfortable place to work is what you get, with plenty of room to store all the gear required for a day’s work, on or off the road. All the truck makers now offer full steering column height, rake adjustment etc, but to my mind Volvo’s control lever for this is amongst the best. A small pedal discreetly located above the accelerator unlocks the wheel and column when pressed and automatically locks when released – all of which lets you set up your preferences swiftly and accurately. The driving controls and switchgear are naturally shared across Volvo’s ranges and the build quality and operation of these is top notch. The fleet cab package offers blue textile trim and upholstery with electrically heated and operated mirrors, roof hatch, rubber mats and smoked sun visor, all of which are nice touches adding to the upmarket feel of the general finish. The only concerns noted were both minor; firstly with the side windows which don’t seem to go down all the way to the bottom edge and the heater on this particular model that seemed to have a fine line between all or nothing! With straight beam axles for ground clearance the FM’S twin fixed metal steps are supplemented by a lower flexible foothold, which along with ample sized twin grab handles, make arrivals and departures to the cab as easy as it gets. Moving on rearwards to the money making section, our chassis was fitted with a Thompson’s tipping body complete with easy sheeting device and Edbro hydraulic gear. A full load of pea gravel brought the test weight right up to the 32 tonne maximum. Parabolic leaf springs with stabilisers and shock absorbers take the weight at the front end, with the rear bogies enjoying the same protection along with rubber cushion mountings, a V stay and reaction rods. In true Volvo style the engineering of these units is impeccable and together with the 8mm thick chassis rails they form a considerable package, which looks the epitome of longevity. Once on the road the handling characteristics of this set up is generally excellent and although all 8 wheeled rigids suffer to some degree from instantaneous momentum surges, particularly when cornering downhill, this Swede felt rock solid and easy to keep in a predictable check. Murky, damp conditions on our first leg saw traffic levels slow slightly, skirting around the east side of Glasgow due to the occasional downpour, but with full auto mode selected, cruise control on and the first stage of the retarder engaged, we sailed along smoothly staying out of the large HGV moving bubbles that the regulatory speed limiters seem to create. The aforementioned engine brake is located on a stalk on the right hand side of the steering column and offers considerable additional stopping power through three of its four switch positions. The first increment works in tandem with the cruise control and under all but the steepest downhill runs, keeps you overspeeds limited to within 7km/h. The other three manually implemented positions really make the difference on deceleration and after a short experiment using only the main service brakes on approach to some junctions etc, I was left totally convinced that both stopping mechanisms should always be used in tandem to facilitate the best retardation with minimal wear to the major components. The last 8 wheeled tipper to run our Transport News test was the DAF FAD CF85 back in the May edition, which ran in Euro 5 trim and had a slim 10hp advantage in the engine dept. The close results comparison for the first sector between the Volvo and it makes interesting reading, with both trucks returning a first fuel return of exactly 9.05mpg. The Volvo did the initial leg six minutes quicker, but the DAF did encounter some tricky wintry weather. Hill climb honours went to the FM on both occasions, but only by about five seconds per climb, as I suspect that the Volvo’s I Shift is marginally quicker in operation than the ASTronic. After the best part of two hours on motorways and dual carriageways, it’s always a pleasant change to start the trunk road circular around Fife’s arable fields, as the narrow villages and slower speeds focus attention on the finer driving points. As per my minder’s recommendations, the I Shift is really best left in auto when on any tarmac surface and the tipper switched almost unnoticed between 11th and top gears often on this undulating section. If you had the radio on at any kind of level, you’d really have to rely on the dashboard display to detect a change in ratios, such is the speed and smoothness of the shifts. Volvo’s well established auto gear selection system can be specified with different programmes to suit the potential sphere of intended operations. This useful option shows just how the latest technology can be fine tuned to suit each type of customer and I’m in no doubt we’ll see much more of this as time progresses. With such a vast range of components produced and used across the world, it comes as no surprise that Volvo offer 10 choices in the FM’s rear axle set up, with single reduction units having three possible ratio fitments and the remaining seven specifications possible featuring in the hub reduction assemblies. Summing up on the front to back transmission set up, I’d give the driveline top marks for smoothness and quietness of operation. Although I’m not a betting man, my guess was with such a good run enjoyed so far, the last stretch would no doubt throw up a delay or two, but thankfully I was proved wrong as warm afternoon sunshine on reasonably clear roads welcomed us round the Edinburgh City Bypass and down the A702’s scenic last lap back to Abington. FM buyers can choose between 9 or 13 litre power plants, with both units sharing the same 6 cylinder turbocharged basic designs. Power and torque outputs across this brace of renowned Selective Catalytic Reduction units ranges from 300 to 480hp and 1,500 to 2,400nm respectively. There’s been a fair bit of healthy debate in the CV trade press recently about the engine design with the smoothest operational running and at this point having tested quite a few trucks this year, I’ll stick my hand up and join the 6 cylinder, in line camp. As with its FH16 big brother, the FM400 excels in the engine dept with its quietness of operation and deep digging torque, which in addition to a free revving character proved useful in the series of climbs away from Fairmilehead. The seemingly never ending corners and crests of this section keep the steering components busy and this tipper literally never put a wheel wrong with the good sized steering wheel offering pinpoint positioning and subtle feedback. Back at Abington services, some quick calculations showed that the Volvo FM400 did indeed make plain sailing of our Scottish route, with the Swedish 8 wheeled tipper taking the top HGV honours (to date) for the quickest journey time and the second best overall fuel consumption, missing the first spot by just 0.09th of a gallon! Keeping with the nautical terminology, it’s fair to say that Volvo are riding on the crest of a wave this year and that’s no great surprise as the FH16 and FM400 I’ve tested this year have both oozed quality inside and out, whilst displaying class leading performance figures. This gold coloured Euro 4 tipper left me in no doubt as to why Volvo have had such a strong presence in the UK construction market and looking ahead to Euro 5 and beyond, it will surely be business as usual for this Swedish truck maker, onroad and off.