On The Road
Although the cab interior was never silent, it was quiet enough so that during a brief shower the loudest noise was the rain hitting the windscreen. The only exception was when the cooling fan cut in while descending the English side of Carter Bar- it sounded like we’d run over a helicopter.
Just to satisfy a few inner suspicions, we carried out our standing start 0.80km/h acceleration testing in both E and P modes. The surprising result was a time more than a second quicker in Economy mode than in performance. The extra time to visit every gear more than offset any benefit from the changed shift points. On the road, the ease of using the throttle “kick-down” facility means the P button is largely redundant, although the detent of the throttle pedal could do with being stronger in order to prevent its inadvertent activation.
On various occasions during the test we tried to improve on Geartronic’s decisions by using the switch on the gear lever to force changes, but almost without exception the electronics beat us to it by the time we’d decided to go for it, so we gave up in the end.
The electronics can work out whether the truck is going up or downhill and modify its behaviour accordingly, so apart from pressing the H button occasionally and using H to aid manoeuvring or to hang on for the crest of a hill, there’s little point in manual intervention at all. Even running 41 tonnes the 380 was never seriously in need of any more power, as the journey times prove. The proving ground hill start was easy on the 1-in-5 slope, and gave the impression that it would handle much tougher gradients, but a problem with the trailer’s under-run bar grounding on the test hill approach meant we couldn’t actually prove it. An excellent secondary braking setup consists of an exhaust brake first stage followed by the powerful VEB (Volvo Engine Brake). Combined with H mode, VEB allowed us to complete the hilly run down from Kinross Services to the Forth bridge without touching the service brakes. The all-drum braking system worked perfectly well on the rare occasions it was needed. Cruise control continues to work throughout gear changes, with the engine brake beginning to operate automatically at 7km/h over the set cruise speed.
One point to remember is that cruise control won’t work at all until the brakes have been applied for about four seconds. The ride was always comfortable but controlled, while the steering of the pusher chassis, though never quite as precise as a twin-steer, gave us no grounds for complaint.
Cab Comfort
Climbing aboard this truck gave us an incongruous feeling, caused by the mix of fleet FM and inter-galactic Globetrotter. The navel-height floor means the cab interior is not over-blessed with space but its an acceptable compromise. The main benefit is the easy access given by the two steps, wide door and well-placed grab handles.
The wrap-around dash is dominated by the binnacle housing the retractable Dynafleet screen; its control unit is mounted just above the Volvo RDS EON radio-cassette unit. The instrument panel has lots of dials to look at, with the usual essentials complemented by gauges for turbo boost and rear suspension pressure. The display for the DIS (Driver Information System) is located between the rev counter and the pop-up integral tachograph.
The most urgently needed switches, for axle lift, diff-lock and engine brake, are mounted within easy reach of the driver’s left hand, while the work light switch can be reached from outside. Heater controls are straightforward sliders, with a rotary blower switch and the usual (for us) untouchable air-con switch. A phone mounting panel is included as part of the central cupholder moulding.
Above the screen, the upper header section has two elasticated pockets and a largish locker, while the lower selection houses the audio speakers, two lockers on the left side, a spare audio housing and minor switches, including an item not previously seen – a panic button linked by GSM to Volvo’s support centre.
The green/grey cloth-trimmed driver’s air-suspended and heated seat has all the electric adjustability anyone could need, including three lumbar pads and movable bolsters; the passenger’s perch has almost all the adjustability, but without the air. Door locking, windows and mirrors are all electrically operated and heated, as appropriate.
The bunk is rather low to act as a sofa, although there is some legroom thanks to a well on the side of the engine hump. A panel on the rear wall carries the night heater timer and thermostat, light and radio switches and a power socket. There’s also a smoke alarm above the bunk area. Beneath the bunk are two external lockers; the one on the driver’s side also has access from inside.
The left-hand stalk operates the cruise control, headlamp dipping and indicators complete with Volvo’s traditionally intrusive bleeper. As well as controlling the wipers, the right stalk acts as the HID (Human Interface Device) for the DIS. There are two separate horn controls from the airbag equipped steering wheel: thumb pads for a polite “excuse me”, and the central boss for “get out of the ****ing way!”
