Paris debut for XL cab
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by John Kendall • Volvo is raising the roof on its flagship FH cab. The Globetrotter XL will be launched at the Paris Show in September: as its name implies, the cab is a bigger version of the current FH Globetrotter.
The higher roof is matched with a lower floor to compete with the latest generation of max-headroom luxury cabins; storage space is increased too with lockers over the top bunk.
Lowering the floor means Volvo will probably have to delete the Globetrotter's low air intake option: the floor height was originally designed to make room for the air intake above the taller 16-litre engine for the FH16. Removing the low air intake option should leave enough room for the 16-litre engine beneath the lower floor.
Scania's 4 Series truck is due to make its debut in October: Volvo clearly hopes to steal a march on its Swedish rival by launching the XL at Paris.
The company seems to have listened to criticism of the existing Globetrotter cab.
Even at its launch two years ago, critics warned that the cab was too small to compete with the likes of the Mercedes Eurocab and MAN Roadhaus.