The Big Easy!
The Holywood film featured New Orleans’ laid back, easy going residents and John Henderson finds that the Volvo FH16’s massive power output encourages the same attitudes to driving on our Scottish Test Route! TELEVISION programmes usually ‘road test’ high powered vehicles by taking them to a disused airfield and brutally wringing every last available ounce of speed out of them, no doubt wrecking a set of expensive tyres in the process. That’s all very well in the name of entertainment, but thankfully appraising big horsepower commercial vehicles is a far more realistically technical process and directly related to what the potential purchaser can expect from a vehicle. On entering our start rendezvous at Abington Services, Volvo’s FH16 test truck for the day was not that hard to spot with its white Gray & Adams triaxle trailer adorned with the manufacturer’s current galloping equines, 660hp logo. Although my steed for the day was the advert subject’s 580hp ‘wee brother’, this was still the most powerful truck tested on our Scottish route to date and I had naturally built up great expectations for the test’s results. Surely with that amount of power on tap, I should easily break the current journey and hill climb times set by the recent batch of commercials, but what about diesel consumption? There were more questions than answers circling in my head as I met Volvo’s Rod Collett, who would be my minder for the trip. This particular metallic green tag axle 6x2 tractor unit originally debuted on the Swedish producer’s stand at the 2006 Birmingham CV Show and top marks go to Volvo’s staff for presenting a vehicle that was, inside and out, polished to perfection and better than new. On my habitual initial walk round inspection, a fully ballasted concrete block load, alloy wheels, extra spot lights, twin diesel tanks and an offside AdBlue reservoir were noted and I had a wry smile at the motor’s B1 GFH registration number. Already I’d ticked a few more boxes than normal on my mental ‘that’s good’ list, but it was now down to the serious stuff as we moved out to do business, heading north for the initial leg of the test. My approach to the first few miles of any test is usually cautious as to allow me time to become acclimatised with the controls, features and anomalies of a new truck. In the past few years I’ve been lucky to drive a few FHs, so the settling down process was minimal and I was able to concentrate on the 580’s road going progress. The cruise control switches are fitted on the left indicator stalk and when set to 55mph the FH16 drifted effortlessly over the undulations of the M74 towards Glasgow. I gradually became aware of the lack of other HGVs overtaking me, albeit the road was generally quiet, but the realisation struck me quite subtly just how much this machine flattens out all but the steepest of hills, without fuss or any noticeable effort. The six cylinder turbocharged D16E engine produces a mighty 2,800nm of torque between 1,000-1,450rpm and with the timing gears fitted at the rear of the engine block, operational noise is reduced dramatically. Power is delivered in the smoothest and quietest way possible and with in cab sound levels at such a low rate, it takes a good ear to notice any changes in the power plants beat. The build quality and general operation of this Euro 4 SCR unit is remarkable, with even the outside fitment of ancillary equipment an engineering work of art. In addition to all that pulling power, mechanical retardation is extensive too thanks to Volvo’s vehicle engine brake (VEB) which produces up to 425kw’s of deceleration, all controlled from a stalk on the right of the steering wheel. I used this function often en route and the three graduated settings proved more than ample for most normal road situations encountered, leaving the service brakes cool and fresh. As the motorways and dual carriageways of the first part of the trial continued to be unusually clear, we sailed on smoothly towards the two Perthshire hill climbs. Cairnie Brae is a double bite hill with the sharpest second section hitting just before the land levels out again and the FH16 barely seemed to notice the first three quarters of the ascent, just dropping one cog to 11th on the final quarter. No new records this time as the Volvo set an identical time to DAF’s capable 510hp XF105, tested just a few months ago. Temporary speed limits for roadworks kept our approach to Perth’s Broxden roundabout slower than normal, and once clear of the narrower lanes we headed south for the next timed test of Balmullo Hill which raises the M90 carriageways steadily out of Strathearn. On this tough climb the 580 was really up for the challenge and recorded a blistering time of four minutes and 10 seconds, a full 13 seconds quicker than any other HGV measured so far! Once again, the I-Shift dropped just one ratio towards the summit and from there on it was all downhill to the first stop at Kinross and yet another heavy truck record as our journey time was bang on the two hour mark. A quick calculation revealed my fuel consumption to be a respectable 8.61mpg, with all of this achieved in the most comfortable and stressless drive I’ve enjoyed in a long time. Volvo’s FH cab has been around for over a decade now and to my mind even with the recent revamp, it’s as fresh and aesthetically pleasing as ever. Once you’ve lived with the Globetrotter XL version for a few hours, you come to realise just how good and well designed the interior is. ‘BIG FH’, as I nicknamed it throughout the day, was fitted with the interior Prestige and Living 2 package, meaning that, amongst many other refinements you enjoy breathable leather seats, which are great at keeping your back cool or heated, depending on the conditions. The bottom bunk converts into an office desk with opposing seating and the top bed logically folds upwards to give you more headroom. A fine selection of storage cabinets above the windscreen and top mattress offer acres of room for TV, microwave and any other essential driver’s equipment! I had the impression that my Volvo passenger had obviously been doing some clandestine research on me, as the sizeable under-bunk pull out fridge, had been thoughtfully stashed with chocolate and bottled water for the trip! The wrap around dash and switchgear are well laid out and the fit/operation of all the controls can only be described as superb. The general feeling of the interior finish is one akin to being inside a luxury car. The subtle FH16 badging on the chromed door handles, quite rightly lets you know that you’re entering something just a bit special and once aboard, the terracotta edging detail on the trim and steering wheel provides some welcome relief from today’s seemingly essential use of light grey and black finishes. Forward and side visibility from the cab is good and much has been reported in the past about the FH’s rear view mirrors. I personally find that if you’re prepared to move your neck and shoulders slightly (good exercise anyway), you can easily all but beat the blind spots. Even this issue should be eliminated soon, for as reported in Transport News recently, a new much improved mirror set up has been introduced for the range and will soon be standard fitment. After a hearty lunch, we hit the roads of the kingdom for our hour long loop on the A roads and now the chance to explore the capabilities of the latest V2812AT, I-Shift which has been further developed to handle the FH16’s considerable torque output. The gear change can, if desired, be operated manually, but for the entire day I left it in auto, as I suspect you cannot beat the electronics for thinking, speed or smoothness! Sticking to the 40mph limit on rural roads, the unit worked away between top and 11th gears with again the changes barely perceptible either to the ear or foot. Amongst the finer functions of the ‘boxes features is Volvo’s ECOROLL, which electronically disconnects the main shaft when neither engine power nor braking is needed on flat roads. In theory I was not entirely sure of this concept, but the working practice is surprising good, with again concentration required to even notice its cut in/out and once ‘rolling’ and there’s absolutely no sensation of the old ‘Aberdeen Overdrive’ which drivers of the past used to increase their speed on some descents. Various programme packages of I-Shift are available for different types of deployment including, heavy haulage, long haul, distribution and construction etc. BIG FH and its sleek, streamlined Gray & Adams trailer were both equipped with all round disc brakes and apart from a few test jabs at the start of the route, up until now I’d never really used the anchors seriously. True to form though, a couple of car drivers in Fife, executing rather unusual manoeuvres caused me to apply the brake with a bit more purpose than normal and the EBS and ABS assisted stopping force displayed was seriously impressive with little effort and travel required on the pedal to bring the rig’s 44 tonnes into a controlled halt. The second leg’s progress round to the Forth Road Bridge was again brilliant and delivered another eyebrow raising average fuel figure of 8.29mpg, but the chance of another potential quick journey time soon evaporated when we were stopped by the overhead gantry lights for a good six minutes at the Admiralty junction just short of the span, to allow a wide load to cross safely. Thankfully our next stop at South Queensferry would permit the oversized low loader and its rooster tail of traffic to be long gone by the time we negotiated the A8000 roadworks. REFINED Refinement is a word that often comes to mind when driving the FH16. After just a few hours this truck gets under your skin and you become comfortable with its build quality, performance and the sheer lack of effort required from the driver. All of which keeps you refreshed, alert and without fatigue, which is just exactly how I felt as we set off on the last of the day’s sectors climbing back around the Pentland Hills to head south west to Abington again. The secret with I-Shift and indeed the FH16 in general, is to have as smooth driving style as possible, to get the best out of a well set up range of controls, for example tickling the accelerator gently to encourage up changes when increasing speed. Climbing way up the A702 to Carlops village this 580hp super Swede just eased in some extra grunt when required and the well honed air suspension, driveline and power steering allowed confidence boosting cornering and handling in general over this notoriously tricky road. Interestingly enough though with such a lot of horses at your disposal, you never feel as if the Volvo is running away from you or out of control. Such is the set up and driveability of the FH16 6x2, that to unsettle it at all, you’d need to go mad on one the aforementioned television airfield tests and throw all common sense out of the electrically operated windows. EXPECTATIONS MET As we crept, sadly all too soon, towards our finishing point my thoughts turned to how I could perhaps do a deal with Rod in the passenger seat and let him have my house and car in exchange for this demonstrator! But seriously, this is one truck which delivered much more than my high expectations could ever anticipate. Despite more and more nit picking as the day wore on, I could not find a single issue with this motor to report. Our last posted time of the route, returned a predictable 1 hour 20 minutes as most of this leg is subject to a 40mph limit. Driving the Volvo FH16 can be likened to wearing a top quality Saville Row suit! – It looks good from the outside, is extremely comfortable and is available with a wide range of tailor made technical options to accommodate every customer. Traditionally this type of range topping truck has been the preserve of heavy hauliers, owner drivers and occasionally filling the role of a big fleet’s flagship, but our test results show that big power does not have to mean big diesel bills. With the added attraction of a competitive price, these two factors widen the appeal of Volvo’s premier commercial product substantially. Bear in mind too, with such plentiful horsepower available; the additional lack of effort and strain on all the mechanical components should effectively return superb reliability and longevity levels, thus widening again the potential customer platform. To sum up a truly remarkable day, there is absolutely no doubt that the ‘BIG FH’ with its ‘Big Easy’ driving style has thrown down the gauntlet in the high horsepower stakes. I look forward to hopefully testing some of its contemporaries from other stables, in the near future on our challenging Scottish route.