Sure Volvo has better ride and all that

But which has better fuel economy, engine life, and day to day maintenance

Please help be decide which should I buy if ride, turns, and visibility is not a concern.

 

Well I guess they would be about the same. As far as engine life I would go with the Volvo with a Volvo engine seeing as the Freightliner you will get either a Detroit or a Mercedes which I don't care for.

 

Most people I have known, seem to do fairly well on fuel mileage with the Volvo's. Much of it will depend on how it is spec'd and the driver.

Since most trucks have the same drive trains and engines, there should be little difference between maintenance issues.

 

Volvo has a lot of thoughtful touches added for the driver, like easy to use controls with pictographs, marker and headlamp flash buttons conveniently located on the steering wheel, an optional 6 position jake brake lever on the steering column when equipped with a Cummins ISX engine, an optional webasto bunk heater that's integrated into the OEM sleeper controls and plenty of storage.

I think it's one of the few trucks you can order with auto temperature climate control as well.

Seems like Volvo mixed just the right amount of both north american and european model truck technology in the VN series. I dig 'em. 8)

 

When I was with Knight out of salt lake, I drove a 04 columbia with an ISX,an 04 Volvo with a volvo engine, and a 05 volvo with an ISX.
My ave MPG were

04 Columbia- 7.2
04 volvo -6.5
05 volvo - 7.4
Average speed was 62mph and average weight was 22,000
My columbia was always in the shop for something minor, Sensors and loose brackets and gauges going out. The 04 Volvo was never in the shop other than my B services, the same with my 05 volvo. However I did have some issues while using my power inverters for my laptop. Neither volvo really liked any of the ones I tried, but they would run ok on a 400v that you could plug in.

The 05 also pulled the best out of any of them, but knight also turns down their trucks powerwise, so not to sure how a full volvo engine would stack aginst a full ISX. I really like the ISX and got better consistant MPG with it regardless of the weight of the load. The Volvo engine had tremendous lower torgue, but petered out when you hit the range selector switch. I had never stalled a truck on an on-ramp before, but did it 3 times with that volvo engine. Hope this helps

 

If I were you, I'd get the cummins engine. It's just a better engine.

Especially in the jake brake department. Volvo engines need to be revved to 2000 rpms before they do anything. Cummins don't need to be revved at all, and they still have way more jam.

Also, if you compared a 425 volvo to a 425 cummins ISX, the cummins would out pull it.

 

i owned volvo 770 (2002) b4 i purchased freightliner century(2000) i got better fuel mileage with my freightliner and parts were hard to come by in the volvo!!!!!

 

IIRC Knight trucks use ISX ST (Smart Torque engines) rated at 400hp and 1450lb-ft/1650 lb-ft.

 

If you want the longest lasting engine, my opinion is Catepillar.

If you want resale value, its a Pete or a KW

If its aerodynamics, its a Freightliner or T600

Happy Holidays