Volvo FL – built for the city beat

The FL is Volvo’s new truck in the medium segment between 12 and 18 tonnes – an altogether brand-new product whose only common denominator with its predecessor is its name. With the Volvo FL as the base, Volvo Trucks aims to meet customer demands for efficient transport solutions with a range of services that make ownership both simpler and cheaper.

The new Volvo FL has everything from one of the market’s most fuel-efficient drivelines with excellent driving characteristics to a wide range of chassis and cabs. The chassis design is flexible and can be tailored to suit specific demands on bodybuilding for a variety of applications, such as local distribution, refuse collection and emergency rescue services, thus simplifying the entire production process. In addition, the truck is further tailored for each respective application area with a range of equipment packages.

New 7-litre engine with first-class driveability

The heart of the new Volvo FL is an all-new driveline that makes the truck a particularly easy to use and economical transport tool. A new 7-litre engine, the D7E, powers the Volvo FL with a choice of two power outputs – 240 or 280 horsepower. Maximum torque is available across a wide rev range, from 1200 to 1700 revs a minute.

"We focused firmly on giving the truck first-class driveability," says Mats Franzén, Engine Manager with the Product Strategy and Planning department at Volvo Trucks. "The new 7-litre engine produces high torque across a wide rev range, and it is easy to drive and pulls eagerly all the way from idling speed. This is important to customers in the segment for which the Volvo FL is designed. What is more, compact engine architecture gives us an engine with a displacement of no less than 7.2 litres."

SCR for Euro 4 and Euro 5

The new engine is an in-line 6-cylinder turbo diesel with common rail technology. It meets emissions legislation according to Euro 4 with the help of Volvo’s SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) exhaust filtration system, which uses an additive known as AdBlue to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides. In addition, the D7E is available in a version that meets the Euro 5 emissions standard, which can provide both financial and environmental benefits in a number of European countries and cities.

The modern engine design promotes efficient combustion, which also makes the engine economical. The consumption of AdBlue corresponds to between 4 and 5 per cent of fuel consumption. AdBlue can be topped up at any of the filling stations that are being rapidly established all over Europe. Moreover, Volvo’s dealership network offers a number of convenient and cost-effective solutions for refilling and storage of AdBlue at the customer’s own premises, tailored to suit each customer’s specific requirements.

Robust transmission for city traffic

The Volvo FL offers a wide range of easy to use gearboxes. It includes manual gearboxes with six or nine gears and a six-speed automatic transmission.

"The manual gearboxes are easy to use, robust and well matched to the engines, which translates into few and comfortable gear changes. The servo-assisted gear selector is characterised by crisp feel and low vibration. The automatic transmission is ideal for applications such as refuse trucks with the constant stop-go of such operations. It also permits the inclusion of electronic speed limitation for the refuse truck segment," continues Mats Franzén.

There are three different low-friction rear axles to choose between – two solo axles with single reduction and one solo axle with hub reduction.

Versatile chassis concept

A versatile chassis concept makes it easy to tailor the truck to its intended transport assignment. Volvo takes this tradition further with the new Volvo FL, which is primarily available with two chassis packaging alternatives – Standard and Crew cab. ‘Standard’ is designed for distribution transportation and ‘Crew cab’ is intended for municipal operations. The chassis can also be further tailored with regard to chassis height, wheelbase, suspension and fuel tank size.

Ergonomically designed cab built for work on the move

A truck that spends its life on the city streets has to be easy to get into and out of and it has to offer the driver perfect visibility. That was the starting-point for Volvo when the time came to design the cabs for the new FL. There are three cab options – day cab, a somewhat longer comfort cab with space for a short-stop bed, and a crew-cab with space for up to seven people.

The seats are built on the same platform as those found in Volvo’s larger trucks. The seats are available with various equipment levels – from simple and robust to sophisticated comfort variants with air suspension. All the instruments and controls are angled towards the driver for better ergonomics. Another ergonomic benefit is the two foot steps that make it easy and safe to get into and out of the cab several times per shift.

Close-quarter visibility vital in the city environment

There is the possibility to specify a rear window along with a rear-view camera, as well as extra windows in the lower part of both front doors and an additional window behind the passenger door of the Medium cab, all of which helps improve close-quarter visibility at otherwise hidden angles.

"In order to drive safely in city traffic, the driver must be able to see what is happening around the vehicle. With the extra windows, we give the driver better potential for working safely in the urban environment," says Ulf Andreasson, Manager of FL and FE at the Product Strategy and Planning department, Volvo Trucks.

EBS for safety and comfort

All Volvo FL variants feature Volvo’s EBS electronically controlled disc brakes. This system not only shortens the braking distance, it also makes it possible to integrate features such as Hill Start Aid, which prevents the truck from rolling backwards when starting on a gradient. The brakes remain engaged when starting and are automatically released once the engine has built up sufficient torque to get the vehicle moving. In order to protect the driver, the Volvo FL has been crash-tested according to the same tough norms that are applied to Volvo’s larger trucks.