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V olvo's FM9.380 eight-leg,ger is pitched as a lightweight alternative to
Page 45
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its FH12 8x4 at 32 tonnes.It probably didn't help that our test truck came with a highground-clearance muckaway spec and a steel body — its 12,140kg kerwbeight didn't really prove the point.That said. you only save 250kg by speccing the smaller engine, but you do get a rear-mounted PTO with it. making the FM9 Volvo's first real contender in the mixer market. In terms of driveability it's an astonishingly gutsy performer. It handles well and, despite a rather cramped interior, it's comfortable too. Unfortunately. strong winds well and truly clobbered our fuel results and left us with more questions than answers. Overall it's still a niche product.
What can you say about a truck that does everything well and nothing bactly?The Scania P114.340 eightlegger delivered good econonriy, a surprisingly good payload and on-the-money journey times to boot. It also drove well and was a solid all-rounder.The downside was its cab, which was a bit too `artic-derived' for our taste and needed more storage space with a simplified dash. While it was comfortable to drive there's not much room in the P-Cab and you can forget about easy crosscab access. No one ever said Scanias come cheap hut our Euro-3 P114 cost less than its Euro-2 predecessor.
Neu) is pinning a lot on new Eurocargo and CM was (naturally) the first to test a 120E21P in the UK.At the risk of sounding ungrateful we'd have preferred a 7.5-tonner to the 12-tonner we were given hut the good news is that the latest cab answers most of our grumbles about comfort, ride and handling and seating.However,it's still rather noisy inside and the dash needs more work in terms of finish. Fortunately the Tector engine is a strong performer and the latest version is • Scanla P114.340: Only downside is its cab A Mitsubishi Canter Comfy and roomy better than ever.Fuel-wise it also put the Eurocargo at the top of the rather limited table of 12-tonners we've tested and made a strong productivity case for moving above the old non-HGV licence limit.
Isuzu. Mitsubishi and more recently Daewoo have all started to make their presence felt in the UK 7.5-tonne market —and not just in niche sectors like car transporting and local delivery work.With their small cabs they offer big potential payloads.We tested Though it's hardly a mainstream product we still warmed to the 26 tonne urban artic Atego 1323L:if not on performance then certainly on economy and payload.When compared with a mor powerful Scania P94 6x2 rigid running at I same weight. the Atego won hands-down fuel over the motorway and A-road secti( of CM's Welsh route —and remember this is primarily an urban warrior. It did what i was supposed to do effectively,and with tl Atego rigid cab as a starting point it score well for good access, useful storage space and reasonable levels of driver comfort. steering was precise. if a bit nervous. whil( ride was a bit too firm for our liking. altho given its short wheelbase that wasn't altogether surprising. It has definite niche apr The days when we used to break fuel records regularly on CM tests have long since passed thanks to ever more demanc ing engine emission standards. So it came as a surprise when the Euro-3 Daf LF55 leapt straight to th top of our 18-tonn economy league table —and the go■ news doesn't stop there because its body/payload alio ance is attractive t The Daf cab also s the benchmark in class for interior b quality.The down is that cross-cab ac could be better an we'd definitely re( mend speccing the 220hp Paccar engine rather than the 180hp version.
Dafs EBS brakes need more 'feel' at pedal:overall the ride is firm but fair. On i economy alone the LF is a worthy winnei 18 tonnes. •