Letting a four-year old loose behind the controls of a high-powered 18-tonne truck is usually the sort of exercise that would result in complete and utter chaos.
Luckily, that’s exactly what Volvo was looking for when the company invited four-year old Sophie Brown to take its new heavy-duty FMX construction truck for a test drive.
In order to demonstrate the toughness and durability of the new 533bhp truck, Volvo’s engineers cleared a gravel pit in Serbia and set up a series of challenges and obstacles for the truck to navigate.
Ricard Fritz, vice president of Volvo Trucks, said: “To show what the truck can do, we want to give it a real challenge. What test driver is more reckless than an unpredictable four-year-old?”
Of course, Sophie wasn’t actually allowed to physically get in the driver’s seat, so instead Volvo rigged up an elaborate remote control system before handing it over to the toddler.
The resulting video, ‘Look Who’s Driving’, which you can watch below, not only succeeds in showing just how tough the Volvo FMX is, but it also happens to be a heck of a lot of fun.
Once the mischievous four-year old is given the green light, she instantly ploughs the truck straight into a crate swinging from a crane, which smashes upon impact.
Later, the truck even manages to flip upside down after Sophie accidentally loses concentration and sends it hurtling down a slope, before rolling over and landing back on its wheels again.
Gunnar Eliasson, Volvo Trucks’ launch manager, said: “The test demonstrates beyond question the ability of the truck to cope with the most extreme environments.
“To help it do so, it has functions such as the new Automatic Traction Control, keeping it going even on severely sloping and soft surfaces. They also demonstrate its total strength with an unbeatable cabin design with sturdy front corners and a reinforced sub-frame.”
Hats off to Volvo; if a truck can survive a run-in with a reckless toddler it can literally survive anything!
Of course, Car Keys doesn't do FMX trucks, but why not take a look at how we got on with the (almost) equally tough XC90 below?