Volvo appear to be selling large numbers of motors mainly tractor units , are they that good , or is there something special about them , ie , the I/shift box , the big cab , the fuel consumption etc , I would like to hear some honest answers and opinions based on how you or your company rate them ?.
shugg:
Volvo, are they that good ?.
Personally I don’t think so, just a normal truck, a bit cramped for the big & tall…
shugg:
is there something special about them , ie , the I/shift box
No, that box is way overrated, nothing a #Scania can’t do…!
shugg:
how your company rate them ?.
Last company I worked for had loads of them, they even stopped using MANs & opted for more Volvo so they must be cheap or something.
Don’t forget that the economy is improving so a lot of hauliers are renewing their fleets.
They are a pretty simple ,reliable ,practical motor even the manuals were usually four over four with a splitter and at the end of the day when you are running a fleet of a reasonable size that’s all you want.
I had 64 plate FH500 this week. Last week was a R460 14 Scania. The Volvo was far nicer. Lovely bit of kit. Only moan with Volvos for me is the seats are not cushioned enough under the bum. A 4.5 hour drive and your back side knows it.
Never driven a Scanny or Renault, but out of Daf, MAN, Merc, Iveco and Volvo, the Volvo gets my vote.
To me, they seem smoother and quite punchy. Being a small scrote (bout 5 9"), i cant comment on any space issues, but thats my current ride of choice. The Iveco i had a brief liaison with was surprisingly pleasant, tho` the dash was rather too much like a mobile disco.
You won’t beat the new i-shift box, end of !
I drive a 15 plate 540, and performance wise, I can’t fault it, even tho’ I’m 90% 44ton, I think the cab interior although very spacious is a bit plasticy & not as well made as the FH 3 series, plus some of the outer panelling is quite flimsy, far too much dinging & pinging on the dash, telling you about 90% of crap that you don’t need to know !
Not as well made inside as a scania, even tho’ the scania design is 10 year old now !
Overall, disappointed with the build quality for a Volvo, but performance is bang on !
Hopefully all will be ironed out with the next series !
The old fh/fm were great rugged built trucks,the 2002 and 2003 examples in our yard still doing a full weeks graft are testament to that.
Iv never driven the new one but to me the old volvos take some beating and I doubt the new one will beat it.
To be honest I prefer th shape of the new fm to the new fh it just seems more traditional volvo shape
The company I drive for have FH4’s, FH3’s and Scanias. I’ve not driven an FH4 yet but the drivers who are on them like them. Good cab to be out in all week, ok storage space and even has a freezer in it. Angle of bed can be adjusted for when you park on a hill apparently. There are a few technical issues with some of them but being a new version I’m sure they’re teething problems that Volvo will iron out. I’ve heard of leaky windows and rain water damaging the heater, issues with high adblue consumption too. Volvo customer care usually pretty good so maybe that’s why they are so popular with haulage firms.
As for Scania/Volvo gearboxes, I prefer the I-shift. Only Scanias I’ve driven have had a manual box or the autos with the clutch (Opticruise?), not tried the type without the clutch so can’t comment on them. Not bad boxes, clutch good for reversing but I don’t like the way it remembers the last gear you were in before you stop. My own personal preference is both Volvo manual or auto boxes over Scania boxes but each to their own. I don’t think anyone makes a perfect lorry yet, would be good to cobble together one with all the best bits of the others! Might look like Johnny Cash’s cadillac though…
The drive train is better than any other standard spec on the market, end of. The 500 will pull a house down, I shift is the best box on the market by a country mile. Loads and loads of storage and 7ft standing room on the engine hump!! Comfy bed, seats are better than most. Only down sides are as heskey pointed out, poor quality finish. The dash and door cards scream Renault premium. They seem to have fixed the euro 6 ad blue pumps now too
Outstanding auto gearbox (better than all others by a country mile) and decent standard engine brake, those two things alone put them ahead of the competiton, the engines have good low speed lugging power where many of the others are gutless until you get them up and running at premium revs.
Previous models, eg FM 420 not as economical as its Scania equivalent when worked hard (on car transporter work the Volvo would average 6 mpg the Scania 7), don’t know how the latest models compare in the real world.
Lets hope the move to electric parking brakes and other silly fads doesn’t mean they become too unreliable as they age, that would be a pity especially now they’ve finally, 12 years late, ditched the idiotic wardrobe door mirrors that someone bolted to the sides, presumably as a practical joke and they got left there.
I have driven a new FM460 with an i shift dual clutch gearbox pulling a fully loaded trailer, in my opinion nothing comes close. Gearchanges are instant (up and down) - it seemed a bit like doing a manual split change only faster (and automatic).
Pimpdaddy:
Don’t forget that the economy is improving so a lot of hauliers are renewing their fleets.
Improving for who?
rhudson:
I have driven a new FM460 with an i shift dual clutch gearbox pulling a fully loaded trailer, in my opinion nothing comes close. Gearchanges are instant (up and down) - it seemed a bit like doing a manual split change only faster (and automatic).
Haven’t had the pleasure yet, but i’m due a new motor in a little over 2 years and i’ll jump in the lake if me next one has another bloody ArseTronic ZF hell box, so i’ll be making noises in about a years time.
tommy t:
Improving for who?
For the country in general.
Pimpdaddy:
tommy t:
Improving for who?For the country in general.
Have a quick poke nose at the national debt clock, then please explain the miracle that is the improved economy.
Juddian:
Pimpdaddy:
tommy t:
Improving for who?For the country in general.
Have a quick poke nose at the national debt clock, then please explain the miracle that is the improved economy.
Egnore him juddian ,most members do 
,he just types random bollox and admitted the other day hes not a driver so why comment on a lorry forum 
it must get a bit lonely in that security shed on a building site on nights 
seth 70:
Juddian:
Pimpdaddy:
tommy t:
Improving for who?For the country in general.
Have a quick poke nose at the national debt clock, then please explain the miracle that is the improved economy.
Egnore him juddian ,most members do
I know i know, but this cobblers about the economic miracle from Gideon (i wear my y fronts on the outside) Osborne seems to be accepted widely by a brainwashed populace.
Can’t help it, its like when a magpie gets into one of my trees to attack the songbird chicks, it simply has to be shot, end of.
