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OPERATOR
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Volvo's 'next generation' FH and FM boast a brand new 13-litre Euro-4/5 six-pot lump driving through a revised I-Shift auto
box. Brian Weatherley and
Kevin Swallow have driven them.
Although Volvo nailed its Euro-4/5 colours to the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) mast many months ago, it wasn't until September that it revealed its low-emission 'tools for the job' the next generation FH and FM chassis with the allnew D13 engine.
Someone at Volvo must be superstitious: the D13-powered chassis is badged FH or FM without a"13" tag. About the only thing the new engine shares with its 12-litre predecessor is the bore. Everything else on the longer-stroke 12.8-litre D13 is different; in fact it has more in common with Volvo's D9 and D16 engines Volvo reckons it's more economical too. Just as well, as the old D12 went distinctly off the boil fuel-wise after Euro-1. Drain intervals with mineral oil now stand at 100,000km while a rear-mounted geartrain layout has reduced noise levels too, not least on idle.
After confi rming a 1313 power spread from 400520hp the Swedes have added an extra 360hp rating for multi-wheelers and mediumweight artics, partly to suit the UK market.
Behind the D13 is the option of a new I-Shift two-pedal auto with more computing power, better cooling and faster gearshifts (by up to 10%). It's 70kg lighter than an equivalent manual box and with a higher (2,500Nm) torque rating it can be specced for heavy haulage work up to 130 tonnes.
I-Shift set new standards for autos, but it's lately been overshadowed by ZF'sAS-Tronic (CM 17 November) so we were keen to see how the new version performed with the 013.
Our Spanish test route was a 374km motorway circuit heading northwards from Granada up towards Valdepenar, taking in steep gradients and long downhill descents guaranteed to tax any braking system. All the vehicles we drove were fully laden to 40 tonnes.
Cab comfort
Volvo hasn't gone overboard here so at first glance it looks much as before. The biggest change is the new-style seat options with the Globetrotter cab. A Deluxe version offers an all-electronic seat that adjusts for longer legs and lumber support on top of the usual up, down, forwards, back and tilt; the pads are thicker too. FM drivers will get the Comfort package.The bottom bunk is 3mm thicker (at 160mm) and the internal lighting set-up has been enhanced. The issue of limited headroom between the front storage and top bunk hasn't been dealt with, but the lockers over the dash have grown, dropping 50mm to give the driver a tighter forward view, and making room for two more DIN slots in the centre.
Small design points can make a big difference to the driver's wellbeing and we have to applaud Volvo's design team for modifying the two manual sunvisors to move in opposite clirections.The drivers' visor moves towards him while the passengers' moves away.neatly eliminating that small, irritating gap where the sun always streams in. Genius.
The Globetrotter gets a darker dash to balance the light walls and bunks, and the display resolution has been improved.There are no external changes, apart from the FM and FH badges, but the improved seat, thicker bunk and effective sunvisors are welcome innovations.
D13 engine The Renault-Volvo-Mack 'partnership' is said to be the biggest truck company on the planet and the launch of the SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) D13 engine for Furo-4 and 5 reflects that industrial muscle one range with three Euro ratings.
Operators will be tempted by the 520hp (Furo-5) option with its 2,500Nin promising effortless hill climbing and potentially class leading residuals.The Euro-44-80h p engine also delivered the goods, though it was hard to find any significant difference from the performance of its Euro-3 equivalent. Perhaps time and fuel economy will tell.
But possibly the most impressive engine on the day was the 400hp Euro-4 lump that powered a 6x2 FM drawbar rig at 40 tonnes. It drove astonishingly well through tricky hill climbs and the trend towards more torque for your horses (in this case 2,000Nm) translated into better pulling power.
We had to keep reminding ourselves that it was only' developing 400hp, and in these power hungry times that's below the accepted minimum for a big engine.There have been question marks about the pressure of the effect of lower horsepower and higher torque on the longevity of the clutch. Some operators SCR tank is neatly sited are certainly expressing doubts about high-torque engines and manual boxes but Volvo's automated transmission should preserve the clutch-pity this is not standard, as it is in the lveco range.
The Volvo Engine Brake (VEB) has a braking program that allows you to work down the box via a switch on the dash; when the revs drop enough you can take another gear. It might not have retarder status but VEB is lighter, but with the right technique it's every hit as effective.
We didn't get a chance to compare the new engine directly with the Dl 2, but the D13 is bigger, stronger and designed for a longer service life. 111
I-Shift
Unlike Renault.with its simplified version of 1-Shift marketed as OptiDriver,Volvo continues to offer four software control options on I-Shift.The most popular is the long-haul Fuel Economy version which includes EcoRoll and smart cruise control. The new version retains the economy/power mode switch but has last the Eco-Power option,which delivered an extra 200Nm in top gear.
The new 1-Shift is even smoother than before, especially when pulling away from rest. The throttle control is such that you can easily hold at the biting point of the automated clutch without anyjumps or jerks. In fact the D13 engine, whether at 480 and 520hp, feels perfectly matched to the 12-speed box but with 2,400 and 2,500Nm of torque respectively to play with so it should be.
When driving with the D13's two top ratings we left 1-shift to its own devices, especially on steep gradients where it only ever needed one downshift, clinging tenaciously to 11th even when the revs dropped to 1,000rpm.
With that kind of lugging power it really is a `point,shoot and forget' box. combining the D13'sVEB with 1-Shift's layshaft brake produces lightning fast up-shifts that simply couldn't be matched on a manual.
With the 400 and 440hp options we had to get the whip out a hit more, especially on the hills, shifting down early manually then holding gears longer and switching from the economy mode to the power mode -which is hardly a major chore.
Under normal conditions I-Shift operates in a pretty tight 1,2001,600 rev band well within the D13's green hand.
A stubby control stalk on the right of the steering column controls the VEB which, in auto mode, is brought in off the footbrake.The final stalk position has a spring detent: push down and I-Shift drops a cog to boost backpressure for the VEB.And as long as the revs won't damage the engine it will continue to change down. However, this knocks out the cruise control which then has Lobe reset. •