There is a strand of thinking in road transport today that looks at smaller engines, not bigger ones, another that looks at down speeding to reduce revs and decrease fuel consumption and another that combines a bit of both of those philosophies.
It was interesting then to find ourselves at the Volvo dealership at Beresfield in Newcastle to drive Volvo’s latest monster, a 17 litre FH16 prime mover with a whopping 780 horses and an even more important 3800 Newton metres of pure unbridled torque.
The task was to pilot Volvo’s latest flagship, hauling a B-Double rig from the capital of the Hunter to the VGA factory at Wacol on Brisbane’s south-western edge. It was a simple enough task, the sort of job many drivers undertake eery day of the week, especially grossing around 60 tonnes with the two trailer configuration. In fact the new ‘big banger’ Volvo would handle the task with such ease and accomplishment that it had us a bit rankled that we hadn’t had the opportunity to steer it as a road train, as some of our counterparts in the truck media had late last year.
For various reasons, mainly down to a stint in hospital, we missed that opportunity to steer it with a triple and 100 or so tonnes onboard. So when Volvo PR guy Matt Woods rang to offer an opportunity to drive the 780 for a leg of his mission to ferry the big truck back to national HQ, following time spent ‘demo-ing’ the truck to customers in Southern states, we seized the chance.
The drive would involve a morning start at the Volvo Newcastle operation in Beresfield, which happened to put us out into the middle of this hustling and bustling part of the Hunter, bang square in the middle of morning rush hour. Newie residents will tell you the traffic here is not anywhere near as bad as its big, bad brother, a hundred and fifty kays to the South. However there are time when things get a bit crowded and hectic around the Beresfield hub, and this particular Friday morning was one of them.
After some delays at the dealership when an empty LPG tank in a forklift blocked our departure, we were finally able to manoeuvre out of the dealership and into the traffic, heading for the Pacific Motorway, and negotiating the massive road works around Hexham that might finally rid us of this perpetual bottle neck.
Ostensibly when climbing aboard the big Volvo, nothing much appeared to have changed, save for some ‘780’ badges on the cab. However under the floor of the cab was that D17 Volvo diesel with a full 780 ‘Neddies’ inside that 17 litre turbo diesel sitting down below us.
Despite the early morning Newcastle traffic and the semi chaotic road system surrounding Beresfield, Hexham and the construction for the M1 extension bypass and the new route across the Hunter River and flood plains to Raymond Terrace, there was still plenty of chances for this ‘Big Banger’ to show its true torque characteristics. Often it’s at slow speeds and in crawling traffic that a truck like this can show its true colours. All of those 3800 Nms of torque are channelled to the prime mover’s back axles allowing this 60-tonne rig to accelerate efficiently with the traffic around it, and not to be slowed when baulked on the crowded climb up the ramp onto the northbound Hexham Bridge over the Hunter. Have we mentioned we are looking forward to the new crossing and bypass being finished? Just sayin’!
Once out of the traffic chaos and past Raymond Terrace, we could settle down and enjoy the flexibility and overall smoothness of the 780.
While the truck was running as, we mentioned, a B-Double and was hauling a total weight on 60 tonnes, a couple of tonnes shy of the allowance for a B-Double and well more than 40 tonnes less than its capacity as a road train hauler, there is something to be said for a big under-stressed power plant that can just amble up the highway with little effort. For a start the fuel economy is usually pretty good, as you really notice the lack of need to rev too hard or ‘drive’ it up hills.
The first test on our trip to Brisbane was as we approached the undulating climb over the range north of Bulahdelah. No where near as tough as the old goat track across O’Sullivans Gap, the Pacific Motorway route still has some stern tests of a truck’s climbing ability. Glad to say the 780 passed this first test with flying colours, cresting the most significant summit with Volvo’s terrain reading I-See adaptive cruise control.
I-See is able to button the throttle off automatically, just prior to the top of the hill. It is an unusual phenomena, and at first a little disconcerting, however the combination of the system’s GPS reading of the terrain and the built in ‘learning’ of the system means the system can figure out how and when to button off most appropriately, to maintain speed and to save fuel.
So the bottom line is that I-See saves fuel by optimising the truck’s speed, its gear changes and that ability to coast to the relevant topography. It means the truck can use the cruise control in more driving situations than before, saving fuel and reducing the CO2 footprint of the truck. The reality is that you often find the engine being sent to idle on what seemingly is a flat or up hill section. The I-See system detects the opportunity to turn the fuel and revs down in neutral and automatically the engine kicks back in at the appropriate second.
Logically Volvo has also upgraded the I-Shift AMT with this G-series of the smoother than silk, two pedal self-shifter, delivering an overall better driving experience with faster and at times almost imperceptible shifts.
The 12-speed splitter and range I-Shift, with its automated gear changing, can be fitted with a compact retarder, a power take-off, emergency power steering pump and oil cooler, and like the truck we were testing can be ordered with crawler gears, ultra-low crawler gears and reverse multi-speed.
The 780 with its 3800Nm torque output has also had a lot of ‘internal’ work with the engine overall being engineered to have a reduced friction load inside. Drag and friction are the enemies of efficiency and the Volvo boffins in Sweden have worked hard to make the D17 ‘slipperier’, although it still uses the same crank and block as the D16. However this 780 is pushing the limits, and it would be folly to think that those safe and conservative Swedes would cross fingers and hope for the best. In combination with that increased power 
and slipperier interiors the engineers have also beefed up and reduced friction in the upgraded G-series I-Shift AMT.
The extra capacity inside the 17 litre is as a result of the cylinder bore diameter boasting a 5mm larger bore din each of the six ‘pots’, while in each of those six cylinders are low friction liners, which have Volvo’s patented wave top pistons fitted, while they have also delivered a new design fuel injector.
The D17 also gets a new turbo design, compared with the D16 it is based on. The previous 16 litre featured a twin turbo system, which perfectly suited that power plant’s power range of between 500 and 600 horsepower.
However the new 780, uses an entirely new Variable Geometry Turbo (VGT ), which is a critical key to supplying that extra urge and torque that give the engine its true inspiration. What the VGT also means is that it makes the 780 capable of pumping out those higher horses in our often hot and testing trucking conditions across the wide brown land.
Volvo has also worked on some aerodynamic adjustments on the 780 for even better efficiency, with a lot of it hidden from plain sight, a little like current F1 aero tech, much of it is under floor and under the skin of the prime mover allowing air to ‘flow around and through various critical places to reduce drag and hopefully reduce fuel usage as a result.
What also helps is Volvo’s take on digital video rear view mirror system, which the Swedish company calls its Camera Monitor System. Just as we have experienced with similar systems pioneered with Daimler and specifically Mercedes-Benz and its so called Mirror-Cam brings some major steps forward. The removal of big slabs of aluminium and glass hanging off each door, blocking airflow and reducing forward facing side vision makes for some major improvements in aerodynamics, fuel consumption, wind noise and of course driver vision. With the improvements in the truck’s aerodynamics and reduction in the energy consumption, it also offers greatly improved direct vision, enhanced night vision , better judgement of where and how far other vehicles are behind you on multi lane roads, not to mention reduced blind spot areas close to the truck. we are big fans and Volvo has acquitted the concept very well indeed.
It might seem strange but as we intimated earlier, a big under-stressed engine can be more economical and efficient than a smaller horsepower powerplant and that appears to be the motivation behind the 17-litre 780. Volvo reckons it is all about sustainability and efficiency.
While the 780 is the ‘flagship’ of the D17 offering 780 hp and 3800Nms, the D17 litre is also available with 600hp and 3000Nm or in a 700hp -3400Nm version.
Although the headline number is the 780horses, the really important ingredient is that 3800Nm torque figure. That is what gives this truck its effortless response and incredible climbing performance.
The peak performance range for both torque and fuel efficiency is in the band between 950 and 1450 rpm, with the new revised I-Shift ensures that the truck maintains that and rarely slips away from that ‘ideal’ rev range. The faster shifts from the new transmission also make a difference in this regard, with the perfect timing of shifts controlled by the Volvo’s electronic brain always seeming to be absolutely spot on.
There is no way a human being could make the shifts more efficiently, faster or at more appropriate time. Apart from anything else the truck’s ECU, that controls all this, is receiving and processing more information than is available to the driver and can work things out much more efficiently than even the smartest of human steerers.
Clearly the motivation for purchasing a 780hp-3800nm prime mover like this for a fleet will be fuel efficiency and the further we travelled up the Pacific, the better the economy numbers became.
When it comes to fuel efficiency, Volvo and in particular its PR man riding with us, points out that the 780 also offers fossil-free fuel alternatives available with all power versions of the D17 certified to run on the renewable fuel sch as HVO. As well as that the 700 Hp version is also certified for 100 per cent biodiesel (B100. So when it comes to sustainability these are trucks that will also appeal to fleets seeking a lower environmental footprint from their operations.
Volvo says that both HVO and B100 biodiesel are renewable fuels that can be produced from 100 per cent renewable resources such as food waste or vegetable oils and that running on HVO or B100 significantly reduces carbon emissions.
Volvo says its engineers have done a huge job, addressing all the details in the development of the engine, claiming they have thoroughly tested in real applications around the globe and reports confirm the reliability and performance of the new D17 engine.
By the midway point of our journey around Kempsey the onboard trip computer was indicating we were returning just shy of 2km per litre, not bad for a 60 tonne total load, but that would improve further before we arrived at Volvo’s Wacol HQ in Brisbane. We have to say that we weren’t mucking about when it came to velocity. We had the I-See cruise plugged in and set at 100km/h and rarely did the speed drop much below this.
As a driver you often watch the tacho needle on many trucks plummet as you climb big hills and the gear shifts start peeling down to lower gears to ensure the urge to make it over the hill with a reasonable road speed. The thing about the D17 in this FH16, is that it surprises with its ability to just dig in. Instead of a progression of downward gearshifts and falling revs, and an even faster drop in road speed this is a truck that digs in on the climbs.
The ability to maintain high road speed and holding on to a higher gear means that 17.3 litre donk is not revving as hard as it would in lower gears and thus not drinking as much of that diesel, HVO or B100.
Onwards up the highway and the infuriating traffic around the bottleneck of Coffs Harbour made for a slow trip through the bustling coastal town. Again we can’t wait for that to be eliminated which is happening but not nearly fast enough.
Free of that hurdle, and again being dazzled by the torquey 780 to recover road speed from a standing start or a crawl, the FH16 tackled the climb up the ranges toward Grafton, again with that effortless urge showing through.
From here it was the easy amble up the far north coast climbing the undulating hills with the I-See allowing plenty of coasting off the slopes of each and every hill. As a result the fuel efficiency was improving and making for some impressive numbers.
The ergonomics of the Volvo FH16 have never been questioned, and for a day at the wheel there are few trucks that are as comfortable and fatigue free as this truck.
You will find a massive array of creature comforts inside this big Volvo, but the main changes, as we mentioned are below the floor of this machine. The cab was already very good, with ergonomics aimed at those who appreciate comfort, practicality and a stereo and infotainment system that not only delivers superlative performance, but just works properly everywhere you turn. From switchgear to controls and the accuracy and precision of the steering as well as the comfort of the seats this truck measures up.
We have to say that the truck’s unique steering assist relieves the strain while adding stability to driving. Volvo calls it ‘Dynamic Steering’, which it says improves control at all speeds, provides active steering to your driver support systems and boosts safety. We have to say the steering is one of the things that makes driving the FH16 so relaxing and stress free.
There is a whole suite of electronic safety system built in along with the Volvo Dynamic Steering. There is also Lane Keeping Assist, which helps keep the truck in its lane by actively bringing it back into the centre of the lane.
There is also Stability Assist, which is designed to detect if the truck starts to skid and will immediately counter steer the truck to stabilise the combination and avert the situation.
There are a bunch of other safety systems, too many to mention all of them here, but suffice to say Volvo’s pre-eminent position on safety over many decades should speak for itself.
Another slog through the traffic jams around the never ending construction around the southern reaches of the M1 motorway on the Gold Coast, was easily negotiated without hassle and with the smoothness and ease the 780 FH16 had made us appreciate all day.
By the time we arrived at Wacol to park up we were fresh and still raring to go despite a day at the wheel of a B-Double on the Pacific. Fuel economy was sitting on a very respectable 2.1 km per litre, a number that will interest many a fleet operator, while we still could not get over the power and torque of this remarkable prime mover.
This is a flagship, it’s not Volvo’s volume seller, most buyers will choose lower horsepower models. However this truck will appeal to specific operations and delivers both performance and versatility, not to mention smoothness. They won’t sell a lot of these but the ones they do will be impressive ambassadors for the Volvo brand.
