There’s not even the tiniest factory or aftermarket frivolity on this whole vehicle. Just a plain, no-nonsense 4×2 straight truck, yet it’s telling you exactly what its main job is: transporting (fresh) vegetables and fruit to the market.
The Volvo is powered by a 7.7 liter inline-six engine with a maximum power output of 255 DIN-hp. Just a plain, no-nonsense turbodiesel.
Given its legal maximum gross weight of 18,600 kg (41,006 lbs) and a curb weight of 7,420 kg (16,358 lbs), it can haul 11,180 kg (24,648 lbs) of healthy products.
A 4×2 chassis, whether it’s a straight truck or a tractor unit, can never go beyond 21,500 kg (47,400 lbs) GVM in the Netherlands. In which case you’ll need a chassis with an optional heavy-duty 10 tons front axle, as a drive axle is rated at a maximum axle load of 11.5 tons.
Van alle markten thuis, (feeling) at home on all markets. That’s certainly a big plus for a market vendor, but normally it’s an expression to say that someone is an all-rounder, a very handy man.
The cool truck has a Lamberet temperature controlled body and a Dhollandia hydraulic cantilever liftgate. It’s also equipped with a trailer coupling for towing a full trailer. Couplings for a close-coupled, mid-axle trailer are mounted lower, directly behind the rear axle(s).
The first and still current owner opted for the sleeper cab with an adjustable roof spoiler. The FE is a typical short distance delivery truck, but if you want, you can have a sleeper cab. The other tilt cab options are a day cab, which speaks for itself in this segment, and a comfort cab. As a specialty, a low-entry cab is also available.
From top to bottom: the FE day cab, comfort cab and sleeper cab (dimensions in mm). Obviously, it’s all in the length of the cab.
The whole, current Volvo Trucks cabover family, from left to right: the FL (the lightest model), FM, FH16-750 (the top dog), FH, FMX and FE. The FL and FE are also offered as electric vehicles.
The FE’s cab is sourced from Volvo’s subsidiary Renault Trucks. Above a Renault D-Wide with the same cab, the French also offer a sleeper cab with a raised roof. The cab of the light Volvo FL-series also comes from Renault.
Inside, the Volvo FE and Renault D-Wide are different though, this is the Swedish version. Just a plain, no-nonsense interior. But it will serve the driver really well.
The cab looks like they’ve used the old Renault Premium cab but modernized it a bit.
And why do Renaults have to look so fugly today, since that the’re owned by Volvo trucks.
I see very few Renaults on the road today, are Volvo scavenging Renault for the sake of their own brand?
Story goes that Volvo wanted to buy Mack trucks from Renault group (RVI the Renault trucks group was named), but they refused by telling Volvo they could not buy Mack by itself, but they had to buy the whole RVI group, for me the beginning of the end for Renault, it would not surprise me if Volvo would let Renault die a slow death, like Mercedes did with Henschel (the latter manufacturer making a better truck)
Yes, the D-Wide is an evolution of the Premium.
Actually, Renault does quite well and has a market share of 8.5% in Europe ( > 6 tons segment). I wonder if they ever did better in the pre-Volvo-days.
https://www.automotiveworld.com/news-releases/renault-trucks-maintains-its-positions-in-2019-in-a-turbulent-market/
Lacking in frivolity, yes, but not completely ordinary… because it’s black. I can’t remember when I last saw a black box truck. One regional deli-meat brand around here operates a fleet red-and-black trucks, but just a regular black-painted truck cab? I’ve hardly ever seen one.
It was rather cloudy when I took the pictures, but it’s actually a very dark shade of brown. Dark colors on truck cabs are rare here too. A wide variety of bright shades predominates, regardless the size of the (trucking) company. So from owner-operators to large fleets.
Basically this Volvo is a king-size, RWD, turbodiesel powered, brown wagon with a manual transmission…
The basis of this cab begins with the Leyland Road Runner first introduced in 1984. When Daf Trucks bought out Leyland they inherited the cab and redeveloped it into what is now the Daf LF series. Being part of Paccar means it has also been used by sister companies Kenworth and Peterbilt.
No Leyland connection whatsoever. The cab you mean started as the Renault Midlum, back in 2000. That is the (smaller) cab used by Renault, DAF, Volvo, Kenworth and Peterbilt. See Volvo FL on the left in the line-up.
We got this cab in Brazil as Volvo VM. The VM is called the first Volvo exclusively to Brazil and was released in 2003, before the European FL and FE. Heavy duty model still uses the thinner headlights from the original 2003 model (pictured below) but road versions have the same look as the FE. Despiste being a good truck, the VM is always behind the cheaper VW Constellation and the Mercedes-Benz Atego on sales, but it has more sales than the even cheaper Iveco Tector and the very expensive Scania P-Series. We also got a semi-truck version of the VM for some specific uses and short trips.
https://s35.wheelsage.org/picture/v/volvo/vm_330_4x2_tractor/volvo_vm_330_4x2_tractor_2.jpeg
For some reason the picture I uploaded didn’t went with the comment, here’s the link
https://s35.wheelsage.org/picture/v/volvo/vm_330_6x4_tipper/volvo_vm_330_6x4_tipper_5.jpeg
Thanks, Eduardo. I especially like the 6×4 dump truck. For mixed on-/off-road use, Volvo offers the FMX here. (fully based on the FM)
We also got the FMX, the VM dump truck is a budget version of it. And Volvo also makes a version for the sugar cane farms with wider tires. Volvo was even developing an autonomous version of the VM for the sugar cane farms, don’t know if they finished it
https://s31.wheelsage.org/picture/v/volvo/vm_270_6x4/volvo_vm_270_6x4_3.jpeg
Wouldn’t be surprised if Volvo lets Renault wither and die. They already killed GMC and White. Mack is basically a Volvo now.
Daimler, Volvo, Traton, Paccar and Iveco control the global market for heavy trucks and tractor units.
Traton is the VAG Group’s heavy trucks division, they recently acquired (the rest of) Navistar International.
That’s how things go, globalization et al. Look at the farm tractor market, exactly the same. Just a few, massive companies dominate the global market.
I knew VAG bought into Navistar but I had not heard that they have now bought the whole thing. Interesting that the two biggest cheaters on 2010 emissions are getting together. I wonder if they will be comparing notes?
Navistar will get either MAN or Scania based diesels (other Traton brands).