It would do me !
Although I’d need the pedals modified as I drive with my left foot. (Motorbike -V-Cortina, I lost)
Oh and the company to put me through my LGV test.
Nice looking truck the Volvo though.
I quite like auto boxes,as you still have the choice of manual,should you need it,only without the pedal.
When I started driving our Premiums last year,I even started left foot braking again!!!
It’s a motorsport thing.
Ken.
hi there
i got to shifts with the agency last night and wednesday night doing a trailer change over at purdy lodge on the a1 just by belford . i have done this run before and i quire enjoy it even though you dont get home till about 1am but i dont mind atall.
i arrived at depot in plenty of time and got told my trailer number,checked my paperwork and the tm handed me the kays to a new 05 plate fm12.
they are currently replacing theie fleet which are mostly 51plate fm12 s which i think are quite good to drive.
anyway back to the new fm12 .first impressions were that it was really comfy,the steeering was light,i like the smaller steering wheel aswell however the auto box took some getting used to. i think they call it an i-shift??
i kept on wanting to go for the clutch , suppose it just takes some getting used to. i did find though that sometimes it wont select the correct gear when its coming down the box and you get a feeling it will struggle at a junction or a roundabout .
what does everyone else think of this type of box??
Small world…
I was on the up “up” leg to purdy last night. 
double post 
do you work for exel running out of shedburn then?
yep,
Was up there for a 19.30 changeover last night. only second time i have done it.
that was my 4th i have been there now . im pretty new to the driving so still learning loads but loving every minute of it . i never got there till gone 10 last night . i was meant to be going to glasgow but somebody never turned up for their purdy run so it wa a last minute thing.
the i shift box is very good imho …
has always selected the right gears for me and responds straight away as soon as you kick down the accelerator …
you can manual change if you are uncomfortable with the gears it is selecting …you have to remember though its selecting the most economic gears … to get more razz out of it press the button on the top of the box , marked with an e and a p . the i shift is default e which is economy and the p is power . pressing the button engages the power setting , just holds onto the gears a bit longer , very good for steep hills …
man auto box on a steep hill PTOOOEEE be down to 30 mph before you know it …
tell you what compare the i shift to a man auto or even an iveco stralis in auto …
the i shift will be the best by far
just my opinion
ive got a daf with as tronic auto and im told they are both the same. when i come out of our yard up a big to the roundabout the gear box is murder it cant decide which gear to be in changes a couple of times so in the end trying to quickly nip into the traffic is followered by you coming to near standstill and plenty of horn blowing very embrassing. any time with weight on you try and pull out a junction is the same a right pain in the arse. 
paul@midway:
tell you what compare the i shift to a man auto or even an iveco stralis in auto …
the i shift will be the best by farjust my opinion
Totally agree with you paul@midway. I also find our DAF autos very inferior to I-Shift Volvos. When reversing the DAFs, it’s either stopped or doing 20MPH 
Not what you need reversing in busy London streets 
They are not actually ‘automatic’ as such - but a 12 speed manual with automatic clutch and this is the reason for the decent fuel economy.
Once you’re used to I-Shift you don’t want a manual again.
It needs getting used to - getting it right pulling out onto a roundabout for example - you need to put your foot down slightly ahead of the gap to allow the gear selection.
If you can see a long hill ahead and you’re heavy, pull the selector back to ‘M’, and drop a cog.
Our 380s have had the performance mode, and the kick-down functions disabled - but they’re still quicker than many trucks. Our 340s have not been ‘knobbled’ by Volvo - and I can’t really see any difference between ‘E’ and ‘P’.
Ever so slightly off topic,but…
I used to do the Purdy Lodge changeover when I worked at Sherburn as well.
The only difference was,I used to start at 01.00,and my trusty steed was silver, (Previously blue) Y674 XBV.
Ken.
flying fen man you will notice a difference between e and p with a full load on in a 460 …
where as in e it will change into 10 late and you lose a lot of momentum… in p it will change into 10 way before the e setting thus you dont lose as much momentum/power…, the p setting hammers the engine basically
if i,m in a 430 stralis then i will select semi before the incline and drop down into 11 as agin in the auto box it wont change down til you have hit 45 - 50 mph where as manually doing it you can on a reasonable hill maintain 50 56 mph by changing down early …
screws the fuel economy up but it gets you up the hill with a decent pace
and to add i also find the auto man’s a bit of a ■■■■■ to back onto a fully freighted trailer …
you just get under and it stops , you give it some rev and it dont move , give it some more revs and it still dont move , so give it a bit more , by this time the computer has thought OOOPPS supposed to be going backwards , and all of a sudden it launches back , slams into the pin and your left bouncing around the cab
paul@midway:
the p setting hammers the engine basically
It doesn’t ‘hammer’ the engine. In the Performance setting it is changing gear at higher revs to make the maximum use of the engine’s power, which is a bit different to hammering it. 
I’ve got the I-Shift in a 04 plate 460 globby and think its the best thing since sliced bread, it also has the VEB as well.
We tried a Iveco and a DAF and I couldn’t get on with either of them. We do all site work involving some very tricky reverses, and I feel in full control of what the truck is doing. 2 other firms drivers have a DAF and Iveco on the same contract as me and they struggle on some of the sites where I have no problem, due to the ammount of control.
My only gripe is that it sometimes holds a gear for a bit too long when climbing a hill, but I just knock it into manual and drop it down, then back to auto.
I can leave Scunny with a full load on, set the VEB and cruise when I get on the motorway, and aslong as the traffic is moving freely, I don’t touch a pedal till I get off the M42 at the NEC.
I wouldn’t go back to a manual for all the tea in China
been driving a 420 54 plate all week (fm12) and im in love
gonna sell the car ,house, kids, wife,dog in that order to get one
what a truck
paul@midway:
if i,m in a 430 stralis then i will select semi before the incline and drop down into 11 as agin in the auto box it wont change down til you have hit 45 - 50 mph where as manually doing it you can on a reasonable hill maintain 50 56 mph by changing down early …screws the fuel economy up but it gets you up the hill with a decent pace
i do the same with the iveco,for a little engine it really flys
jon
Volvo I-shift is 
I hate it. The only reason people like them is because they’re lazy that don’t know how to drive a wagon properly with a traditional gear stick.
There is nothing wrong with the manual box in the Volvo heavies (bar the later models with the cable shift) and has worked excellently for years without complaint so why go and ruin it by taking away the need for the natural movement of your left leg and also have something resembles a kangaroo when trying to reverse at a slow steady pace. 
As for trying to accelerate hard into a gap on a busy roundabout or junction, forget it.
I hate it. The only reason people like them is because they’re lazy that don’t know how to drive a wagon properly with a traditional gear stick.
Sorry Rob, I had a manual FM12 before the I-Shift, I had no problems with that, or the ERF with the eaton twin split I had, or the MAN with the range change box.
There is nothing wrong with the manual box in the Volvo heavies (bar the later models with the cable shift) and has worked excellently for years without complaint so why go and ruin it by taking away the need for the natural movement of your left leg and also have something resembles a kangaroo when trying to reverse at a slow steady pace
Fully agree with the bit about nothing wrong with the manual boxes in the heavies, but they haven’t ruined it, just made the drivers life a bit easier. I am less tired at the end of the day driving this instead of the manual, especially after doing loads into Brum city centre all day.
You must have had a badly set up/faulty one if it kangarooed, mines just as smooth as a manual.
At the end of the day all truck manufacturers see auto boxes as the way forward, so unfortunatly it’s something we will have to get used to sooner or later