On The Road
You’d have to be pretty picky not to enjoy the FH12’s overall ride and handling. That said, with all the extra weight up top the Globetrotter’s tall cab does roll a bit, especially when you push it hard through the curves.
It’s not alarming, just noticeable. It certainly warns the heavy-foot brigade to ease off in tight turns. However, we still reckon Volvo could stiffen up the cab damping a little, or speed up the levelling function on its four-point air bag suspension without loosing out.
We have no complaints, however, with the FH12’s steering; it’s got a nice amount of feedback and resistance and is more precise than many we’ve tested. The only time we felt it going anywhere other than where we wanted was on a greasy, rain-slicked roundabout on the A9, where the 6x2’s back-end started sliding out of line. Fortunately, when you feel you need a touch more traction, you can quickly dump the second axle using the dash mounted switch. In common with other 6x2’s we’ve driven, the FH12’s second (pusher) axle also tramps a bit when it hits a poorly fitting manhole cover or a bad bump. Volvo’s mirror pack ensures good vision, especially as our test tractor had an extra wide angle mirror on the driver’s side and a Japanese-style blind-spot mirror for the front bumper. The wide gap between the solidly mounted mirror arms and the A-post also helps overcome the traditional blind spot when coming onto roundabouts.
After whetting your appetite for I-Shift, it’s about time we told you what it’s like to use. There are basically four steps: fire up the engine; select auto with gear knob; release the park brake; press down on the throttle…and go. It’s that simple. We could go on and on for hours about the features of I-Shift but instead we’ll simply say it’s the most intuitive auto we’ve driven. It’s not important as it can’t physically see the road ahead. It reacts to any situation with such phenomenal speed that it doesn’t matter.
Based on our previous experience with autos, we finally expected to have to take control over the ‘severe gradients’ section of CM’s test route. In fact, the big Swede shrugged off the worst bits of the A68 in full-auto mode and even threw in a few surprises of its own. On some of the speed-sapping 1 in 7 climbs, I-shift was actually changing up the box – at moments when you wouldn’t have dared to with a manual box. By the time you could have dipped the clutch, moved the lever, lifted the clutch and re-applied the throttle, a fully-laden 44 tonner would have ground to a halt. Not so with I-Shift. Moreover, its changes are so smooth as to be virtually seamless.
In auto mode, it normally pulls away in 2nd – although in tight spots and hills you can manually select first then hold it for ultimate control before re-selecting auto and letting I-Shift take over again And when you’re done with manual, simply push it back into auto.
Thanks to the microchip, the D12D diesel and I-Shift ‘chat’ away to each other with never a cross word, so the 12-litre lump is invariably left spinning in the green band, set between 1,100 and 1,750rpm. The 460hp six-pot is a very torquey performer, pulling hard around 1,300 – 1,400rpm and down to 1,000rpm before coming back fighting.
Unlike the first generation autos, I-Shift changes when it thinks conditions are right to hold the next gear – rather than at a fixed point on the rev counter. As a result, it’s a far more fluid drive all round, with the box responding instantly to individual driving style and power demand.
We love the Eco-Roll function, and encouraged it to kick in at every opportunity by easing off the throttle as soon as possible. Only on the odd occasion did it seem ‘confused’, dithering between a gear and E+ before finally making up its mind.
The combination of I-Shift and the Volvo Engine Brake together provide impressive secondary braking plus a downhill cruise control which dials in the VEB to keep you to your pre-selected set speed. Using the steering column-mounted lever, you can also adjust the level of retardation from the VEB, based on the number of cylinders that are turned into a compressor.
On the track, the FH’s EBS discs felt fine, delivering high peak deceleration readings. However, with an extra three tonnes on-board overall, stopping distances for 44-tonners are inevitably creeping up.
Cab Comfort
The FH’s pronounced curving front profile has always been good news aerodynamically, if less than handy for cab access – thus its step layout has meant that climbing into the FH has never been quite as easy as its more slab-fronted rivals. But once inside, you’ll find the trademark curving FH dash vanished in a practical grey trim. While ergonomically it ensures that everything’s well within reach, we’ve found it rather restrictive in the past. Despite being a top-of-the-range cabin, the Globetrotter GXL still does not have a completely flat floor, unlike the MegaSpace Actros or Magnum. However, replacing the normal manual lever and pedestal with the less intrusive I-Shift gearstick (which also folds flat) means its easier to slide across the seat and move across the cabin. The freedom of movement is further enhanced by the lack of any centre console.
Inside the FH cab there’s plenty of storage space including three big lockers within the solid headlining, which oozes build quality. On the rear wall above the top bunk are more lockers with neat roller shutters, although the bad news is there’s not much headroom beneath them. Meanwhile, the doors have useful pockets; there are also two can holders and a bottle holder in the fascia.
With the ‘Office’ options pack it is easy to convert the bed base into a table top and back again – although we would question how many drivers will actually want to do it after three hours on the road.
The bottom bed cushions don’t look particularly supportive, although when we tested a 6x2 FH12 with ‘Office’ pack in our last Sleeper Cab Test (CM 30 May – 5 June 2002) its four-piece mattress didn’t stop our tester getting a good night’s sleep. Ultimately, we reckon that more operators will want a fixed bottom bunk which provides for a central slide-out cabinet or fridge.
It’s worth noting that, while the FH has two side lockers, you can only get to them from outside – when it’s blowing a storm we’d prefer to have access to at least one of them from the inside. The FH instrument panel is easy to read but Volvo (like Daf) needs to fit a proper right-hand-drive speedo marked in mph first, and then km/h. Tucked down in the left-hand side of the dash was a Dynafleet data logger which provides information for both driver and manager, including trip and fuel consumption details as well as vehicle status. In the middle of the main binnacle is the central driver information display that can be set up to show whatever you want to see, such as service intervals. Noise-wise the big Globestar cab is on a par with the likes of Scania and Daf.
“Attention to detail” is an expression that inevitably comes to mind when you’re inside the FH, prompted by the smoke alarm, neat sliding side blinds and fingertip radio controls on the steering wheel.
