On The Road
On the day of our test the sun shone and there was barely a breath of wind. Despite the fairly relaxed gearing given by a 3.8:1 final drive – 50mph needing just 1,200rpm – the FM9.340’s 1,600Nm of torque allowed easy cruising. Our tacho chart shows a virtually straight line from Newbury to the new Severn Bridge, the only divergence being upwards as we crept up from speed limiter to speed limit on the seven downhill stretches.
Having previously sampled Volvo’s I-Shift only on long-distance tractors, we were keen to see how the £2,000 option copes with the distribution operations where it should yield the greatest benefits.
The controlling lever is on a seat-mounted quadrant, which can be folded away. The lever has positions marked R, N, A, M and L, with another button marked E/P (Economy or Power) behind it. L is for locking into a pre-programmed low ratio; A is for auto, which does what it says; and M is for manual. In M, shifts are made by a two-way rocker switch on the right of the lever.
While I-Shift has lots of subtleties up its sleeve, a training session is highly advisable. Simply selecting A will achieve easy results. In A or M all the changes are smooth, with the notable exception of an out-of-character clunk that accompanies the change into low range when coming to a full stop. Block shifts are the order of the day; we typically took only two shifts to reach the eighth of the 12 ratios from a standstill.
One of I-Shift’s more noteworthy features is Eco Roll, which engages neutral when it senses the truck is able to coast. Even on what appear to be uneven roads it operates surprisingly frequently, and is almost seamless in action.
Nice as it is for an automated box to make the odd unbidden gearchange on a motorway incline, as expected I-Shift really came into its own around town. Negotiating the congested traffic of Hereford, Ledbury and Cheltenham we were able to concentrate that much more on suicidal pedestrians and car drivers. It significantly reduces driver stress.
The engine brake is a four-stage device. The first two call on a butterfly exhaust valve; the second two activated the Volvo Engine Brake (VEB). The controller has a position for automatic and can force a downshift to raise engine revs. With cruise control and auto brake mode engaged the system will activate 7km/h beyond cruise speed. But it’s not the quietest of its type.
Our test truck was fitted with a 9,000kg front axle, complete with wide-section front tyres. The extra rubber helped the steering precision, with only a slight deterioration on badly rutted roads. The biggest downside of this heavy-duty axle was a very firm ride with a noticeable loss of bump dampening, but to be fair this seemed a small price to pay for the protection it gave against axle overloads in diminishing-load operations.
The hydraulically steered tag axle gives the long-wheelbase 26-tonner a turning circle not much greater than that of a large 3.5-tonne van. It turns at a ratio of about 1:3 relative to the front axle and is positively locked in the straight-ahead position above 25km/h and in reverse. The FM9’s brakes also proved extremely consistent in proving ground test, producing short, fuss-free stops.
One section of our usual proving ground routine was unusually impressive. We’re cautious on test-hill starts, given the potential for driveline abuse, but after a few moments to compose its thoughts the Volvo romped away up the 33% slope with absolutely no drama, even adjusting the tag axle loading briefly to aid traction.
Cab Comfort
The FM9 came with a Globetrotter cab, with its high roof and low floor. The bunk area can now be supplied in a variety of layouts. Ours came with a low-mounted single bunk and three large roller-fronted lockers in the roof. You can replace the lockers with a second bunk or, new for 2004 – and probably the best solution – a high mounted single bunk above a pull-out storage drawer or fridge.
The mattress on the version tested is too low to use comfortably as a sofa.
The bunk area is equipped with retractable restraining light, smoke alarm, reading lights, cab heater and a couple of storage nets.
All versions of the Globetrotter have three lidded lockers above the windscreen which, like those at the rear, are fully trimmed inside. There are side lockers beneath each end of the bunk, although access is only from the outside. A pull-out cupholder accommodates two drinking vessels of different sizes. The cab offers space for longer-term storage of larger items, but day-to-day oddment storage is less generous. Three-compartment bins in each door, and a smallish tray atop the dash are about it.
The instrument panel is a model of clarity, with red needles and white graphics on a black background for the large rev counter and speedo, and with half a dozen smaller dials monitoring fuel, air pressure, oil, water and turbo boost.
In the middle is the Driver Information Display panel, showing all kinds of data, from fuel consumption to driving time, via various temperatures and pressures to the status of gears and cruise control. One warning we rarely encounter was seen while waiting patiently for the temporary lights on the A40 out of Cheltenham to go green. After three minutes at idle the computer decides that fuel is being wasted, and lets you know it’s about to shut down unless told otherwise.
The left hand column stalk controls dipping, indicators and cruise control; the two stalks on the right look after engine braking, wipers and the information display. A switch panel towards the centre of the dash includes fuel drain and bleed, cab tilt lock, reversing camera, axle lift, diff-lock and traction control override. The heater controls are arranged in a compact group.
DC power is provided by a 24V cigar lighter socket and a 12V auxiliary socket.
Buyers receive a voucher entitling them to a choice of three different audio systems; ours had the RDS radio/single-disc CD player. A panel above the driver’s side of the windscreen contains the tachograph and switches for reverse bleeper cancel and lighting for the Globetrotter headboard. The driver’s door houses switches for electric heated mirrors, electric windows and passenger door lock. Central locking is not standard, however.
The Globetrotter cab came with the medium level comfort trim with a fully specced driving seat. The passenger side has a fixed seat with tilting cushion and a seat-belt with a fixed top mount (too high for our comfort). The interior is trimmed almost entirely in grey, relieved by an aluminium strip across the dash.
The FM9 certainly doesn’t have an deficiencies in visibility. The usual impressive standard set of mirrors is complemented by a Dutch-style front blind-spot mirror and a reversing camera. This displays its picture through the pop-up Dynafleet screen on top of the dash; it engages automatically with reverse gear or by a manual override switch.
