It’s all in the details, the little things that make life easier while working and resting. The truck is a driver’s office and home, sometimes for weeks at a time.

I spent a couple of days with the Volvo experts at their Customer Center in Dublin, Va., and got to touch, see and drive new VNL trucks that will soon roll into the North American market.

Remember the time you fumbled for keys to open the cab after walking from the truck stop through a hot parking lot. Once you open the door and climb in, a sweltering cab welcomes you. And if it’s cold, you get into an icebox.

The VNL has a key fob, just like a car. You can set the climate control from a distance and open the door with a click. You could also get the lighting pre-trip inspection going with another click.

Talking about PTIs, you’ve got to open the hood to inspect components. No need to open the clasps on the sides here. Pop a lever inside the cab, just like a car, and open the hood by pulling it down from a central handhold. It is weighted just right, the operation can be done one-handed.

When I drove for a living, a pet peeve I had was LED headlights freezing over in winter. The solution was to find a safe parking spot, heat water in a kettle or microwave, and pour it on the lights to remove the ice and snow.

Heated headlights

Volvo has added a heating element in the headlights, and if you look closely, you can see venting provided to dissipate the heat. It’s the little things.

Once in the very comfortable driver seat, things get even better. The steering wheel has a multitude of adjustments to fit a driver’s comfort level. The engine brake is integrated into the gear shifter stalk, so you don’t have to reach for it on the dashboard.

Coming down steep grades you have to use the engine brakes along with the service brake to maintain speed. Only using service brakes downhill can lead to disastrous consequences. The VNL has a downhill cruise control setting that will use the engine brake and shift the transmission to hold the speed on long downgrades. This makes life so much easier, especially during good weather conditions.

Blind spot monitoring

The tractor and trailer air supply knobs have been replaced with levers. The cool part is that the braking system engages when a driver either removes the seatbelt or opens the door. And the transmission shifts to neutral. I love the parking brake knobs, but I also love the safety the new system offers. Okay, I still miss the knobs.

I could not see the hood from the driver’s seat, which is a good thing. It removes the guesswork while making turns, especially in urban settings and while maneuvering into tight parking spots or docks.

When you drive a large vehicle, you are always aware of your blind spots, and wary of vehicles, bicyclists and pedestrians getting into them. Trucks normally use the right-most lane on highways. I used to dread four-wheelers merging onto the highway, especially those that sat next to my right front drive tire and snuck in front of me as the merging lane ended.

The multitude of cameras and monitoring system does away with these concerns. There’s a back-up camera on the truck, so you snag the trailer’s fifth wheel in the dark with ease. There’s an optional camera for the trailer, too. How nice!

At the back of the cab, the bunk is roomy. A journalist who said he was 6’7” tall was chilling in the bunk, waving his hands around and commenting on the space with a smile. I particularly liked the reclining bunk option, perfect for relaxing after a hard day’s work.

I noticed the fairing outside the cab was wide, intended to close the space between tractor and trailer, thus boosting fuel efficiency. There wasn’t much room to slip onto the steps to get onto the walkway behind the cab. Volvo has installed the fairing on hinges and it moves outward, opening up space to access the walkway.

This truck is different from the one I used to drive a few years ago, which also happened to be a Volvo. The difference is in the details.

Old-school drivers may scoff at new features and technology. But if trucking wants to be more inclusive and inviting, these innovations are welcome. They also increase safety, for truck drivers and other road users.