Road Tests: Volvo FM9 380 8x4

Disregarding the I-Shift for a moment and looking at the FM9 purely as a tipper, it is the sort of competent tool you'd expect from Volvo. Given decent weather and traffic it's acceptably efficient in every respect without setting any records. High points are cab comfort and ride, while the low spots are the over-assisted steering and the mirror location. However, Volvo's traditional attention to detail is obvious throughout the truck. Add probably the best automated transmission on the market, and you get a verdict that raises the tipper driver's life to another level. We can't praise the application highly enough, and the recently announced upgrading can only help. Expect to see that figure of one in every six Volvo tipper drivers dumping the clutch rising still further.