1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154 
Volvo F10
Page 73
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Economy plus
APPROPRIATELY enough the last vehicle to be tested over the existing Scottish route turned out to be the most economical ever by breaking the eight miles per gallon barrier for the first time. This was the F10 Volvo which averaged nearly 8.1mpg for the 1,183km (735 miles) coupled to an identical Crane Freuhauf trailer to our own which was going through its annual test.
Impressive by its consistency was the best way to sum up the F10 (the full report of this test was published last week). On the motorway stages it recorded consumption figures in the mideights and even on the Gretna to Rochester section which includes the long Carter Bar climb it bettered seven mpg.
The Volvo's mechanical make-up includes an eightspeed gearbox with a splitter giving 16 forward gears so it was easy to find a gear which would keep the engine working "in the green" on the revcounter.
New cabs usually add weight to the chassis compared with the outgoing model. As the F10 cab incorporates many improvements from both the comfort and safety angles compared with the 88, and the cab is heavier Volvo has counterbalanced this by the use of aluminium notably for the front bumper and the fuel tank.
The F10 was also a rapid machine as well as an economical one although the extensive road works on the Al prevented it from equalling the Seddon Atkinson and Berliet journey times.
As I mentioned earlier, the CM long distance test route is now to be changed. Full details of the new operational trial circuit will be published in CM October 13 and the first road test will appear in full colour in our mammoth show issue on October 20.