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Ageing beauty
Page 70
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Commercial Motor tests more vehicles than any other magazine so here's a chance to get the lowdown on the favourites in the used market. This month its the Volvo FLE 220 18-tonner.
The FL family can trace its roots back to the late 1980s, but a major revamp early in 2000 gave it a fresh new face as well as a host of less visible improvements. The biggest mechanical change was the adoption of electronic control for the engine to meet the Euro-3 emission limits.
As well as keeping the fuelling under control, this has allowed the FL to benefit from features previously only seen on its bigger brothers, such as cruise control and the driver information display.
Other changes affect the running gear, with disc brakes front and rear and a lighter two-bag rear air suspension with electronic levelling.
The lowdown
The prospect of testing Volvo's veteran delivery chariot didn't fill us with unalloyed ecstasy, but the further we got into the test, the more we came to respect the FL.
The torquey engine provided the kind of flexibility that meant that six gears were quite enough, with an economy that disproved the theory that cleaner engines must be thirstier.
The 2000-season improvements brought the chassis specification and characteristics bang up to date, matched by the attention to detail that is one of Volvo's greatest strengths.
In fact the Volvo FL reassuringly proved that having a few years under your belt doesn't stop you delivering the goods in style —which comes as a great relief to those of us who already suspected it.