The Fleet Management Institute in Poland and Polish trade magazine Flota have named the Volvo FL the 2009 Fleet Vehicle of the Year in the Fleet Awards Polska Trucks category.
The Fleet Awards Polska recognizes the top fleet vehicles on the market, based on opinions of fleet managers. Nominated vehicles are available for testing and votes are submitted online over a three-month period.
It is the third Fleet Vehicle of the Year award for Volvo Trucks and the second consecutive year the FL has won. In 2007, the Volvo FH was victorious.
"We are very pleased that our Volvo FL series received the Fleet Vehicle of the Year award," said Pontus Stenberg, gm of Volvo Truck Center, Poland. "It proves that the Volvo Trucks offer is very strong in the segment of trucks for lighter applications as well, such as local and regional distribution."
The FL comes in the 12-18 ton range and because of its easy maneuverability, Volvo said it’s perfect for operation on congested city streets. The engine is an in-line, 6-cylinder diesel with 7.2 liters of displacement pumping out between 240 and 290 hp, depending on the engine spec’d. It includes an electronically controlled fuel injection with common rail technology. Choices include a 6-sp. or 9-sp. manual gearbox, an automatic transmission or I-Sync, which Volvo said combined the benefits of a manual gearbox with the convenience of an automatic transmission.
