Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/339485
28 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | JULY 2014 W hen Göran Nyberg was settling into his position as the new presi- dent of Volvo's North American opera- tions a few years ago, he noticed an opportunity: a heavy-haul on-highway tractor that also could handle occasional off-highway work. Nyberg knew well Volvo's large presence in Europe's high-horsepow- er/heavy-duty markets, but there was nothing comparable for North American buyers. So Volvo's North American engi- neering team threw themselves into their work and crafted the VNX. The result, said Jason Spence, Vol- vo's marketing product manager for long-haul business segments, is a truck that takes the best from the company's aerodynamic VN tractors and vocational VHD truck models. The VNX handles well on the highway but is tough enough to work on the most rugged jobsites. For our test drive, Spence selected a fairly arduous route through the Smoky Mountains near Asheville, N.C. The VNX was pulling a flatbed loaded with concrete blocks, rated at 77,500 pounds – a tough assignment on the steep 6 and 7 percent grades as I-26 winds its way into Tennessee. "It's a great chance to show the pulling power this 550-horsepower D16 engine offers," Spence said. "And it's also a great way to show how well our I-Shift auto- mated manual transmission works in tough terrain with heavy loads." I-Shift routinely is spec'd for severe service applications in Europe, he said. "In North America at the moment, automated manuals are making the most inroads in the on-highway/long-haul markets. But the I-Shift is not limited to those types of jobs. It was designed from the get-go to be robust and durable." Spence pointed to I-Shift's Power Launch feature as proof. Stopping the VNX on an unpaved grade covered with loose gravel, he had me shift to neutral, rev the D16 up to 1,300 rpm and then shift into drive. The transmission imme- diately delivered a smooth, metered burst of rear-wheel torque that easily powered the truck forward. "This feature allows iShift to precisely deliver the power needed to get a big, heavily loaded truck like the VNX out of a deep hole or sandy soil," Spence said. Stylistically, VNX shares more than a passing resemblance to the company's VNL family of tractors, though with a more robust look, bold chrome grille and wider stance. The truck stands tall on vocational floatation tires. The daycab interior is appointed nicely with large windowpanes allowing plenty of daylight inside while providing panoramic 360-degree views that are helped by large rearview mirrors. And while Volvo's D16 diesel is a quiet engine anyway, when you pair that with ample sound insulation, you get remarkably low cab noise levels. Continued on page 31 Tough enough With I-Shift, Volvo's heavy-haul VNX easily transitions from road to severe service BY JACK ROBERTS C C J T E S T D R I V E : V O L V O V N X Pulling a nearly full load of blocks, this VNX showed strength and grace on the curves and grades of the Appalachians.