Volvo FH16 750 6x2 truck review

Colin Barnett
January 27, 2025

“Few UK operators need a 750hp tractor for general haulage, but plenty want one,” says the stock cliché. And they do buy them, at the rate of two FH16s out of every 100 Volvo FHs sold in the UK in 2015.

 

Although the FH16 range comprises ratings of 550, 650 and 750, it’s the top one that takes the sales. Having decided to buy a Volvo FH16, five out of every six buyers go for the 750. We weren’t able to obtain a breakdown of FH16 750 sales by region, but it’s a safe bet that as many are sold in the flatlands of East Anglia for container haulage as in the hills of Scotland or Wales.

 

In reviewing this 6x2, we weren’t expecting record breaking fuel performance as its spec wasn’t exactly optimised for ultimate economy. For a start, our FH16 750 had less than 10,000km on the clock at the start of the review, whereas most manufacturers will insist on at least 50,000km of running in, while the half-dozen large spotlamps on the front of the FH16's roof didn’t exactly help the aerodynamics, carefully crafted in Volvo’s design centre.

 

D16 engine

Volvo’s 16.1-litre big banger motor is built to the tried-and-tested straight-6 configuration, with a single overhead camshaft operating four valves per cylinder. In the interests of noise and general refinement, the camshaft is fitted with a hydraulic vibration damper, as well as the more usual one fitted to the crankshaft. Common-rail injection supplies the fuelling, but unlike the smaller Volvo engines, it’s into an airstream delivered by twin sequential turbochargers. The smaller one spools up rapidly to provide a quick response to demands for low-speed torque, while the second, larger unit provides high volumes for outright power.

 

The big technical changes across the latest Volvo engine family are the mid-life updates to comply with the next step in Euro-6 emissions. OBD2 (Step C) doesn’t change the emissions levels, but it does ensure that they are fully maintained throughout the first seven years of the truck’s working life.

 

The big changes are on the D13 engine, which could fairly be described as a new engine, based around an 18kg lighter cylinder block. Other significant revisions include changes to camshafts, pistons and crank, common-rail and turbochargers, giving weight savings of 18kg to 34kg, and a fuel consumption improvement of up to 1.3%. The changes to the D11 are a bit less radical, but still result in a claimed fuel improvement of more than 1%.

 

However, the current D16 engine, as reviewed in this FH16 750, already incorporates the physical requirements and just needed a major software update to comply with Step C.

 

Cab comfort

The FH16 750 experience begins outside with the silver grille, then leads on to the unique use of yellow highlights on the black leather interior trim. The Volvo’s top-of-the range driving seat is certainly luxuriously specified, but over the course of our review, I found that either the cushion, or my backside, needed a little bit more padding for a four-and-a-half hour stint.

 

Over the past four years, the current FH’s ergonomics have become very familiar. The instrumentation is clear, and the driver information display is easily customisable to your own preference. The tacho information is particularly helpful, including its 15-minute warning of break time.

 

Cab storage

With only a single bunk fitted, there’s almost enough storage space in the cab of the FH16 750 to open a small shop, including the generous full-width rows of high-level lockers, front and rear. There are enough lesser storage facilities to fill a small book, including a couple of pop-out cup-holders and a trio of 2-litre bottle-holders within reach of the driving seat. You needn’t die of thirst in this truck.

 

There are enough power sources in our review vehicle for most users’ gadget needs and in the centre of the dash is a big red panic button, which sounds the horn and flashes the hazard lights. Nearby, the Action Service button calls for help in the event of a breakdown which, if the problem is an electrical fault, can often be rectified remotely by the data-over-the-air connection.

 

The FH16's electric roller blind is easy to use but if the sun is in the wrong place, it can shine through the small gap in the corner. There are two external lockers per side, the larger ones at the top also accessible via the lift-up bunk base, with smaller ones beneath which are ideal for wet and dirty kit. Opening the large ones is a departure from the otherwise well-considered ergonomics of the Volvo FH16 750, as one hand is needed to pull the interior catch and another to lift the lid, so you won’t have one free to hold what you plan to put in the locker.

 

Bunk and sleeping area

The single bunk in the FH16 is not a bad place to spend the night, with plenty of width and just the right degree of firmness. The thin Swedish mattress topper is meant to retain heat, avoiding the need for a sleeping bag, but we found that only worked to a point, even in late summer. The electrically-operated raising bunk head section removes the need for a pillow, as well as providing lounging support. This is part of Volvo's Living pack, along with TV preparation and the fridge beneath the FH's central bunk area.

 

There are no cross-cab bunk curtains, but the yellow full curtains are easy to deploy and a lot more opaque than you might expect. The bunk control panel controls heat, lights and audio volume. At the foot of the bunk, there’s a semi-hidden lidded bin containing another 12V power socket.

 

Power and performance

The FH16 750’s unique selling point is, of course, its prodigious power output. Compared with a conventionally-powered fleet tractor such as the Renault T480 that we reviewed most recently [ADD LINK TO RENAULT T480 REVIEW], the 0-80kph figure is 18.5 seconds faster in this 6x2, and 6.9 seconds and 15.9 seconds faster in the mid-range 32kph-64kph and 48kph-80kph tests. However, the really interesting result to come out of analysing these figures is when you compare them to the Volvo FH500 Dual Clutch [ADD LINK TO VOLVO FH500 DC REVIEW], whose blindingly quick gear change almost makes up for its 250hp power deficit, the 750 only having a clear advantage at higher speeds, when its torque gives it a 6.5-second advantage from 48kph to 80kph. Sadly, there are no plans for a 750 Dual Clutch.

 

Once clear of the test track and heading north towards Gretna on our review route, two clearly distinct sides to the FH16 750’s character were apparent. To be honest, on the A5 and M6 up to Lancashire, it did little that a 500 couldn’t have done. Traffic was good except for the idiot car drivers on the northbound M6 vying to be the last to blink and move into the correct lane to go to Blackpool, causing three miles of congestion for anyone who doesn’t want a kiss-me-quick hat. The weather was pretty favourable too, unlike on the Swedish drive, when sudden gusts of headwind were enough to briefly knock a couple of kph off the 750’s cruising speed.

 

It was only when the topography became more varied on our review route that the big power of our 6x2 started to show itself. Quite simply, the hills became a plateau as the FH16 750's rev counter resolutely refused to drop, even where Shap used to be. The only thing preventing a straight-line speed trace on our tracking app was going downhill. The Volvo engine brake was reasonably effective, but a full-blown retarder would be beneficial in keeping the FH16’s downhill speed as well-regulated as it is uphill. Unfortunately, this particular FH16 was built during a brief window when the retarder spec was changed and the option wasn’t available.

 

Driver assistance systems

Volvo's adaptive cruise control (ACC) works well, even on relatively crowded British motorways. If you are using ACC frequently, you might find it pays to have the road speed displayed on the information display and keep a watch on it, as it’s all too easy for your speed to drop gradually and unnoticed behind a lesser vehicle. When you do get stuck behind a 50kph supermarket special, the 750’s grunt makes it easy to get past without getting in anyone’s way.

 

Setting the cruise speed and vehicle spacing for the ACC is easily achieved from the steering wheel buttons, although Volvo hasn’t adopted its French cousin’s feature of having two speeds stored in memory simultaneously. The ECO button, which adjusts the overrun speed before the engine brake joins in, is set on a neighbouring button.

 

Naturally, the Volvo FH16 was equipped with the latest AEB, which only revealed its presence once by panicking as we were about to safely pass a cyclist on a narrow cycle lane on the A69 near Corbridge.

 

Ride and handling

The wide 385/55 tyres on our review 6x2 showed the merest hint of understeer once on a greasy slip road but for the rest of the time the handling was spot-on, with the VDS dynamic steering providing just the right amount of assistance for every situation, a real but unobtrusive help in tight spots. Having had the luxury of driving the same truck in seven different countries, we’re still not convinced that Volvo’s suspension engineers have quite got to grips with the peculiarities of ride quality on British road surfaces.

 

Review verdict: 81%

As flagships go, the Volvo FH16 750 6x2 is up there with the Ark Royal. The purpose of a flagship is to generate a halo effect that reflects on the rest of the more prosaic Volvo range, and the FH16 does that effectively. The 750 adds maximum bragging rights.

 

Fuel consumption: Volvo FH16 750 6x2 mpg performance

A flagship needn’t be the most sensible purchase in pure economic terms, and on the face of it, the FH16 750 is not. But neither is it disastrous, with overall fuel consumption, at 7.09mpg (39.8 litres/100km), on a par with our Volvo Group fleet benchmark Renault T480, and around 1.4mpg shy of the record-holder on our current test route, the little DAF CF 440

Power ace

Put an STGO plate on the grille of those tiddlers at the sharp end of a 150-tonne outfit, though, and they’ll not only struggle to make much progress but will probably burn rather more fuel than the FH16 750 in the process. Start hauling timber out of a North Wales forest and you’ll appreciate that you can’t have too much power, so long as you can control it, and the combination of I-Shift and the full package of Volvo chassis safety aids do give the requisite control.

The last full day of our Swedish trip, which ended in heavy traffic and heavy rain chasing a ferry check-in while pursued by an almost full driving allowance when every minute counted, gave a much better idea of real world operations than our regular road tests, carried out in a repeatable fashion every time. There are few trucks that could have delivered driver and load to the waterfront with as little drama.

There’s more to the FH16 750 than its power, however. It’s a symbol of what’s behind the power – a business, whether a big fleet in arduous northern territory or an owner-driver hauling containers out of Southampton, that’s doing quite nicely, thank you.

For us, though, we’d probably opt to save a significant amount of front-end cash and buy an FH 500 Dual Clutch.

 

Images: Tom Cunningham

 

About the Author

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Colin Barnett

Colin Barnett has been involved in the road transport industry since becoming an apprentice truck mechanic and worked on Commercial Motor for 27 years

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