rogress is a good thing, by and large, but with
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it comes obsolescence. If the latest model is the best for the job, what gets left behind? Just a few years ago 32 ohp was considered plenty for hauling a 38-tonner, but now— with tighter speed limiting, heavier traffic and more pressure to make timed deliveries— anything less than lohp/tonne seems a little inadequate. That's why we've tested this three-year-old Volvo FLio at 32 tonnes all up, which is an appropriate weight for the distribution work that is its likely role.
PRODUCT PROFILE
Thomas Hardie Commercials of Middlewich is offering this Euro-2 FLio 320 for sale after a modest 220,000km of contract work, though you will find it on Volvo's used truck web site too (see Net Benefits, page 27). The tractive unit is very clean, though, as you might expect, equipment is pretty basic: there's a sleeper cab, and that's about it.
Glass's Guide gives the retail value for an Rreg Euro-2 model with a more typical 310,000krn on the clock as it8,85o. That's better value than the 1.50,7oct it was listed at when new. Just for comparison, Glass's reckons that a Scania RtiA.LA 340 of similar age and mileage would fetch around /28,000.
There's little to say about the spec of this vehicle: it uses Volvo's familiar To-litre DI oA engine with Electronic Diesel Control and the eight-speed-plus-crawler Rhi.00 rangechange synchromesh gearbox (rather than the optional 12-1-2 SRI400 splitter box). The single-reduction RAEV85 drive axle is mounted on a four-bag air-suspension system with parabolic leaf springs and an antiroll bar up front, and drum brakes (remember them?) all round.
The cab is a straightforward, low-roof sleeper with a window in the back wall, and no sign that it's ever been slept in. The 3.8m-wheelbase tractor is ffited with an adjustable • roof spoiler, and that's it—no other extras at all.
PRODUCTIVITY
We have come up with a new route for this test; a combination of Midlands motorways and some pretty challenging A-roads through mid-Wales. It's a much shorter circuit than our standard Scottish route at just over
5iaolcm, rather than almost i,zookm, but it includes a similar range of terrain and should give roughly comparable results. In this con text, the s fuel return ofjust under 8rnpg is pretty creditable, comparing well with the 8.17mpg of a Scania P94.310 we tested round the Scottish route at 32 tonnes (with a more slippery boxvan trailer) as recently as 1997.
The Volvo's average speed was also fair; the motorway figure of 8.83mpg was better still. When Volvo adopted EDC for the FLio it boosted peak torque a little, to a competitive 1,35oNm at just 4200rpm.
The Volvo's kerbweight of 6,68okg all up (including driver, fifth wheel and a full tank of fuel) isn't at all bad for a sleeper cab, and a usable payload of over 18 tonnes is quite practical. Mind you, not everything is equal: the extra sound insulation and safety gear of more modern vehicles tends to bump their weight up.
ON THE ROAD
Grasp the Volvo's steering wheel and you could almost believe you were in a new truck. Hang on a minute, it is new! Well, the steering wheel is brand new, and shows none of the expected smoothing-off that's inevitable after 220,000km. Evidently this vehicle had been fitted with a steering-wheel knob, which doesn't look too good on a vehicle that's up for sale.
Steering wheel apart, the Volvo still behaved much like a new truck: it had the typical growl of an FLio, and retained a pretty crisp throttle response—one of the pluses, most likely, of electronically controlled injection.
The gearchange had probably benefited from its three years' running-in, but the action was still a little notchy. Unfortunately the range change didn't want to be rushed, any more than it ever had. Driving at 32 tonnes certainly makes life easier for the
II With a finite pool of used trucks around, few dealers are big enough to match every buyer to the precise vehicle he requires. Volvo is convinced that the Internet can help, by providing a virtual clearing house for all the trucks on its dealers' books.
"It's important that the retail transaction process is still dealt with by the dealer," says Chris Sansome, Volvo's used truck business development manager. But he champions the Internet scheme as an important tool for dealers: "It gives the small dealership in a remote area as good a chance as a bigger dealer r a better place."
The Volvo Truck Finder web site can list every truck, Volvo or otherwise, at every Volvo dealer in the country. The site includes details of the specification (and sometimes the history) of each vehicle, as well as the location of the dealer with a contact number and e-mail address. The only thing missing is the price...that's for you to negotiate directly with the dealer.
The site is open to everyone. Official Volvo dealers are free to add vehicles to the listings, with an easy-to-follow template for entering information over the Net. The site isn't restricted to the UK: at the moment, it covers ri dealers in nine countries across Europe, with a lot more to come.
Sansome points out that this opens the possibility of buying from the Continent, and it also provides a shop window for overseas buyers: Sansome cites the example of a Malaysian operator who is looking for AND vehicles from Britain, and a Swedish dealer who specialises in logging trucks and has found new customers in East Europe.
Neither is the site restricted to Volvos: around 35% of the trucks listed across Europe come from other manufacturers.
Finding the truck is one thing, but buying it is more important. Volvo is offering a variety of contract-hire packages, and the Internet is an obvious medium for delivering individual quotes to customers. The trucks listed on the site all have factory-backed warranties of three or six months (dependent on the age and mileage of the truck) and the full Action Volvo pan-European assistance service.