The Trucknews.com and Today’s Trucking team spent a few days at Volvo Trucks North America’s customer center in Dublin, Virginia, taking an in-depth look at the all-new VNL truck series launched this January.

Volvo says the new models—VNL 300, 440, 640, 660, 840, and the Flaglishp VNL 860—are designed for North American roads and climate to enhance driver experience and productivity, fuel efficiency, safety, connectivity, and uptime.

As Volvo strives towards a vision of zero accidents, it says the all-new VNL is the safest truck built yet, as the new active safety platform has various new features, including pedestrian and blind spot detection, adaptive cruise with traffic stop and go, and collision warning with emergency braking.   The system is also capable of reading basic road signs and has a built-in E-call feature, which, in the event of a collision, will dial 911 by itself to save valuable seconds that can be a matter of life and death for those involved in an accident.

While safety remains one of the manufacturer’s top priorities, the new trucks were designed with driver comfort in mind, as well. Customers can choose from four aesthetically pleasing trim levels – Core, Edge, Edge Black, and Ultimate.

Volvo is particularly excited about the new cab design. While three inches were removed from the overall cab size by going from 77 to 74 inches- long, the designers were able to accomplish this without compromising interior space.

And the cab features 30% more insulation, with an option of up to 82% more insulation compared to previous legacy models.

There is also an option of integrated parking cooling system that keeps the cab cool for up to eight hours without needing to start the engine. Other features include a refrigerator, airplane-style shades, and overlapping curtains with a magnetic strip that blocks the light.   Our associate editor, Leo Barros, explored the pull-down bunk in the VNL 660 model.

Leo Barros: There’s plenty of room up here. I am what, I am 6’2?

Keith Brandis: Yes, plenty of headroom.

Leo Barros: [You] can have a meal here. There’s a big fridge out here.

Keith Brandis: So you can quickly get to the drinks.

Leo Barros: How big is the freezer?

Keith Brandis: It is enough for a little bit of ice.

Leo Barros: Yes, I guess so.

Leo Barros: So what was the thinking about what goes here? So you have your seat here. And then, of course, you have your wardrobe here.

Keith Brandis: Right.

Leo Barros: So, more like a work surface kind of thing?

Keith Brandis: Yes, when you’re in the bunk, right? You can put your phone or tablet or whatever here when the bunk is down. So we try to think about multifunctioning — when you are using it as a dinette, you are probably using the table. When you have the bunk down, you can use the top.

Leo Barros: And then where is the wireless phone charger?

Keith Brandis: It’s on the top here.

Leo Barros: Right here? Okay.

Keith Brandis: You can set your phone there.

Leo Barros: And then you got plenty of storage space right here. And then you can store stuff inside here. [There is] a microwave. You pull this down, climb on top…

Keith Brandis: Even you can put this up, right? And that will hold things like you put a duffel bag and keep it from rolling forward.

Volvo also says that the all-new VNL aerodynamic design, featuring a new roof, wedged cab, longer side deflector extenders, and more, will increase fuel efficiency by 10%.