A couple of months ago, we reviewed Volvo’s ultimate FH 460 I-Save with turbo-compound technology, which raised the benchmark for fuel economy significantly. Shortly afterwards, we repeated the exercise with the rather different FH16 750. But anyone expecting the same level of economy from what was, at the time of our review, Europe’s most powerful production truck will be disappointed, even if there are many other reasons to want one.
The FH 460 I-Save had everything in its favour, of course: from the fuel-optimised specification (such as the optimum long final drive ratio and the basic Globetrotter cab) to the dry and windless conditions and relatively few traffic delays, the gods of truck reviews were smiling upon it. The polar opposite, however, was true of this Volvo FH16 750. Almost every traffic light turned red as we approached. And it rained – to the point that numerous cars were left drowned on the hard shoulder on the few bits of motorway where such a luxury still exists, or had simply aquaplaned into the barriers.
On top of that, there were the self-inflicted factors. The 3.40:1 final drive ratio on the FH16 750 is more suited to getting big weights rolling, the I-See predictive cruise control wasn’t fitted, and the taller Globetrotter XL cab was surrounded by more illuminations than the tower just visible from the M6 review route as it passes Blackpool. And we had access to 300hp more than was really needed, too.
Engine design and emissions
Our FH16 750 6x2 review truck was built literally days before the introduction of the latest Euro-6d engines, but it’s worth taking some time to cover what you’d get if you bought one now. While the main emphasis of Euro-6, Step D is on increasing the level of ongoing self-compliance on emissions levels, many manufacturers have taken the opportunity to improve the overall efficiency of their engines – and Volvo is no exception. The most significant changes have been focused on the high volume 13-litre engines, with substantial internal hardware changes and, of course, the availability of the reborn turbo-compound technology.
Although overshadowed by the 13-litre engines, however, the 16-litre D16K hasn’t been ignored in the quest for greater efficiency. The first stage in achieving this is reducing internal friction and external parasitic losses from ancillaries.
The D16K engine had its major internal upgrades even before Step C was introduced. On the latest Step D engines, new cylinder liners and piston scraper rings have improved the former, with a new two-speed cooling pump contributing to the latter. This is on top of improvements to exhaust after-treatment regeneration and throttle mapping, introduced quietly in late 2018. Combined with some detail changes to aerodynamics, the latest changes bring a claimed 3% improvement in fuel efficiency. The D16K retains its twin sequential turbochargers, with a large high-volume unit to provide top-end power paired with a smaller, faster responding one to overcome turbo lag and improve low-speed torque.
The improvements haven’t just been limited to fuel consumption, though. Driveability has also been addressed through measures to provide faster and smoother gearshifting by maintaining exhaust manifold pressure during changes. By closing the EGR valve and the VGT variable-geometry turbo during shifting, torque losses are minimised and full turbo pressure is regained more quickly. The upshot is that acceleration performance is improved by up to 10% without any fuel penalty.
Camshaft modifications have also been made to increase the maximum retardation of the VEB+ engine brake from 475kW to 500kW.
And last – but certainly not least – on trucks built since this one, the I-See predictive cruise control has received the same improvements as seen on the I-Save 13-litre engines.
Cab exterior and interior
The FH16 is trimmed with the best soft furnishings in the Volvo FH inventory but with added yellow. This works even better than usual with yellow exterior paint, which on this example extends to the hubcaps. The hot and cold driving seat comes in black leather with yellow side panels, and even the cup-holder bases and drawer linings, curtains and carpet stitching are yellow. If you suffer from xanthophobia, you’re stuffed.
The last time we reviewed an FH16 [ADD LINK TO FH16 750 2016 REVIEW], we mentioned that either our backside or the seat cushion needed some extra padding. Statistics prove that the former hasn’t happened, so the latter must have, as no discomfort was noticed during this review.
The FH4’s driving environment hasn’t changed a great deal in its seven-year life, obviously working on the principle of not fixing something that isn’t broken. It remains a paragon of ergonomics, with everything within easy reach and clearly identifiable.
In-cab infotainment
One item in this 6x2 which was almost certainly unheard of in 2012 is the top of-the-range media pack with navigation, which incorporates features such as Apple CarPlay, DAB radio, TomTom truck-specific navigation, and Dynafleet telematics. You can hear it better as well, because for some reason, this version of the FH16 is measurably quieter than the last example we reviewed, especially at tickover. The peace is only disturbed by the bong of its overspeed warning and the occasional confusing car horn of the blind spot alert.
Daytime visibility through the FH16 750's standard rear-view mirrors – once the butt of our criticism for their blind spots – is now among the best. Auto lights and wipers, headlamp washing, cornering lights and bi-xenon headlamps all aid visibility, but they are literally put in the shade by the extras fitted.
Running on motorways as we always do at 85kph, we get overtaken quite frequently by other trucks, but no-one could fail to notice being flashed in by the Volvo FH16’s light show. As well as all the regular inventory of usual options, plus four traditional looking but LED-powered large round spotlights on the grille, we counted another 178 LEDs above the windscreen of our 6x2 review truck, enough to be in danger of singeing the road signs. We didn’t feel out of place in the Borders, though, among all those accessory-loving Scots operators, and when you’re negotiating miles of gravel forest track in the wet darkness, no doubt every single LED will be welcome.
Living space
The off-duty driver of the Volvo FH16 750 is spoiled for choice when it comes to relaxing. How about starting off in the tilting and swivelling ‘Relax’ seat, from which you can reach a cold drink from the 33-litre fridge under the bunk or make a brew in the coffee-maker next to it, while watching the TV above the driver’s door?
We managed an early enough departure to make it to the J38 Truckstop for lunch, despite the conditions. While there, it would have been rude not to buy something from the excellent farm shop to give the fridge a test, so its running weight increased by a couple of T-bone steaks and a pound of sausages.
You’ll have to stand up to warm your Waitrose ready-meal in the microwave but if you’re less than 6ft 6in you’ll be OK, thanks to the cutaway roof section beneath the glass roof hatch in the FH16, taking care not to stub your toe on the emergency hammer. The traditional Volvo gear quadrant takes more space than the increasingly popular dash push-buttons, but when folded it isn’t really a problem.
Even if you like to dress for dinner, the aptly named Globetrotter XL will accommodate all the kit you could conceivably need for a week on the road. When standing in the middle of the cab, your head is surrounded on all sides by lockers, mostly double-decked, with more under the bunk.
And once dinner is out of the way, you can continue watching TV or catch up on the latest CM from the comfort of the electric reclining bunk.
If you’d rather do some housework, you could even use the fully type-approved air blower to move the dust around. And finally, Volvo’s traditional orthopaedically efficient mattress should ensure a good night’s sleep, with access to controls for heating, lighting and audio. The yellow curtains, meanwhile, are easy to use and more opaque than they look.
On-road performance
Unfortunately, as we’ve pointed out, the FH16 came without the I-See predictive cruise control option that proved such a beneficial factor in that recent FH 460 review, although based on that experience, we’d recommend speccing it on any Volvo that ventures out onto the open road.
Having to make our own decisions, we adopted what seems to be the best compromise, using the normal CC cruise control most of the time, then switching to the ACC adaptive system when stuck in slower traffic with no opportunities to pass. The overspeed control was set manually to 3-5mph. A welcome feature is that if you don’t remove your tacho card overnight, personal settings such as cruise control settings remain in memory.
I-Shift transmission
Our review FH16 750 came with the overdrive version of the I-Shift, with a 3.40:1 final drive ratio partly compensating. This still gives an overall gearing of 45mph/1,000rpm compared with 51.6mph/1,000rpm on the economy-optimised set-up of the recently reviewed FH 460, and means that often the direct-drive 11th gear is more economical than top gear.
Engine power and performance
The power of the FH16 750 was welcome on the hills of the northern M6, with no drop-off in speed even on the likes of Shap, although that has been said of every FH16 we’ve been in since the first FH16 500.
While the extra swept volume of the 16-litre engine gives a certain amount of extra retardation from the VEB+ engine brake, we can’t imagine that if you’ve chosen an FH16 750, you wouldn’t invest another 180kg and £4,000 in the optional retarder. Not only does it virtually eliminate use of the 6x2's service brakes in normal use, it makes staying within the speed limit in hilly terrain less of a chore. If only tachograph makers would make their devices aware of UK limits and stop pestering the driver with spurious overspeed warnings!
Driver assistance systems
Lane assist helped in the sodden conditions, its electronic eye even spotting the white lines in the M6 roadworks that were almost invisible to our human ones. Unless you really take your eye off the ball, minor interventions are almost unnoticeable. For when the driver is in full control of the steering, we selected our favoured setting, Stable, on the snappily named ‘Volvo Dynamic Steering with personal settings’, which seems to give the best feel in most conditions.
Ride and handling
As our co-driver wasn’t prepared to lean out far enough to check, we’ll take Volvo’s word for it that the Active Chassis option, available with full air suspension, lowers the FH16's ride height by 60mm at speeds above 60kph. While we sometimes moan about the Volvo steel front suspension’s attunement to British roads, there’s no such criticism of the full air option, the ride being greatly improved.
The handling in our 6x2 on twisty A-roads at near 80kph was exemplary. The FH16's twin-steer chassis proved reassuring with no lack of steering or braking grip from the Michelin X Line Energys, 315/70 on the drive axle and 385/55 on the steers. Even so, putting 3,550Nm of torque onto a damp road to accelerate out of a roundabout calls for a bit of self-restraint if the traction control isn’t to intervene.
Even without the improvements made to the latest engine to speed up the gearshifting, ongoing improvements to software mean this example certainly seemed a bit slicker than the previous one reviewed. While the overdrive I-Shift is still nowhere near as fast as the Dual Clutch option, the gap is certainly closing, and you don’t get the latter’s incongruous pause during the range-changing shift from sixth to seventh. Our benchmark proving ground standstill-to-80kph acceleration figure was trimmed by 1.2 seconds compared with the 2016 example. To put the acceleration into perspective, it’s 13.5 seconds faster than the recently reviewed economy-focused FH 460 I-Save.
Fuel consumption: Volvo FH16 750 6x2 mpg performance
And so to fuel consumption. No-one buys an FH16 750 for economy, which is just as well. Our previous review of the model, a Euro-6c version in 2016, came in at 7.09mpg. This FH16 750 was worse, by one hundredth of a mile per gallon. Factor in the appalling conditions, though, and we’d call that a noticeable improvement.
Our results in this 6x2 on the most directly comparable section of our review route on the second day, when conditions had improved, backed this up. On the easier run down from Normans Cross to Barnsdale Bar, mostly on the A1, we recorded a half mile per gallon improvement, from 7.35mpg to 7.86mpg. The AdBlue consumption rate also dropped from 4.9% to 4.3%, which helps the equation.
Review verdict: 87%
At the risk of repetition, few operators buy 700hp-plus tractors because they need to (though there are obviously some applications in which there is little choice). But it would be a dull old world if we were only allowed to buy what we needed and certainly, not needing is not the same as not wanting.
Volvo’s UK sales of 16-litre FHs remain steadfastly at around 2% of total FH sales. There are clearly enough operators out there who can justify the FH16's continued existence, even in these days when we seem to be heading towards a new eco-puritanism. Compared with a supermarket special, there’s no question that the FH16 750 is expensive to buy – although probably not to own over its whole life. It is certainly more expensive to fuel, but not to a crippling degree. It’s not too long ago that fleet tractors were delivering exactly this kind of economy with lower weights, lower speeds and much higher emissions.
Whatever the case, we look forward to repeating this review exercise in the future with the full armoury of efficiency aids at our disposal, and hopefully with more benign weather and traffic conditions. And leaving its environmental credentials to one side, if you’re an owner-driver who feels you’ve earned a treat, a fleet operator wishing to reward your best drivers, or just one of those operators who do actually have that need for this level of ability to get the job done, it’s good to know that the common sense brigade haven’t won yet.
If you want a flagship 6x2 tractor with a 7 on the grille, you only have two choices, and both come from Sweden. And when your shortlist is that short, then your existing personal preference will probably make the decision for you.
Images: Tom Cunningham