The XF Factor!
For readers familiar with Saturday night ‘reality TV’, it’s all about voting for the winner. John Henderson drives a recent big winner in the shape of the 2007 International Truck of the Year, round our new central Scotland test route. STANDING in the truck park of Abington Services, the bright yellow tractor unit and trailer was easy to spot at a distance, as it negotiated the roundabouts of junction 13 above the M74. Pulling up slowly alongside me, the redesigned lines of the DAF XF105 super space cab are indeed striking, but pleasing to the eye. As the day progressed, a fair number of fellow truckers and more than a few car drivers would give this outfit more than a intrigued second glance. DAF’s top of the range, long distance cab has been around for a good few years now and provides amongst the best available working and living conditions for national, international or cross continental operations. The main exterior panel differences with the new award winning XF are first noticeable above and below the windscreen/main grille areas which seem similar. Firstly, the restyled cab roof section looks much more part of the main cab than its predecessor and the 70 watt integrated spotlights still leave room for the owners name to be proudly emblazoned up top. Nearer the ground, an aerodynamic lower grille and bumper accommodate the optional xenon headlights with their super tough; lexan covers, above the cat’s-eye combi fog/drive lights. Once inside and away from the dazzling exterior colour, I was immediately aware of a quiet, comfortable calm, brought on by plentiful space and quality fittings, it’s a similar feeling to entering a 5 star hotel room after a long journey! DAF have for many years designed their cabs around the extensive feedback they have requested from drivers and operators alike and this latest XF105 has an interior that is beyond reproach. With a new, lower engine tunnel the interior standing height now increases to 175cm and at six feet tall, I still had to stretch up my arms some distance to touch the roof! Acres of storage space, located above, below, alongside and between almost every seat and bunk, should satisfy all drivers no matter how much kit they want to carry. I was particularly impressed with the under bed, floor fridge and the top bunk with its lifting handle, incorporating a towel rail and neat sliding fold away access ladder. So after a longer than average interior inspection, it struck me that I still had a driving schedule to catch up with! Without further ado, my chaperone for the day; DAF’s Richard Kingston and I set off north on the first leg of the test which exclusively sticks to motorways and dual carriageways. The first 25 minutes on the M74 saw us stuck in a 56mph ‘moving bubble’ of multiple HGVs, which hindered our progress slightly having to keep a safe distance, but gave me time to appreciate the flexibility of the new Paccar MX power plant. Available in 410, 460 and 510hp outputs, the six cylinder turbocharged engine can be specified in Euro 4 or 5 trim and our top option unit delivered a punchy 2,500Nm of torque between 1,000 and 1,400rpm, which coped efficiently with any challenges en route. It’s always a good yardstick with upper end power output engines when you have to remind yourself to pay attention to what they are doing rather than have an intrusive and increasing noise dictating that a gear change is required. The super space cab’s sound levels were good and normal conversations were the order of the day, with just enough feedback from the Paccar motor and its turbo to advise you of progress in the engine room below. Power to the driving wheels was provided courtesy of DAF’s now well established AS-Tronic automated gearshift, integrated to a ZF 12 speed box feeding a 2.69:1 reduction rear axle. The automatic gearbox override switch is fitted to the right of the steering column stalk and in addition to changing ratios manually, the driver can also progress the auto mode by changing up or down prior to the truck’s selection. I learnt to use this latter feature often, usually on downhill sections or on level acceleration as the truck would want to reach 1,400rpm to change, whereas with all that torque available, anything over 1,000rpm still felt effortless. Just a few miles short of Perth; the A9’s Cairnie Brae is our first timed hill climb and well into the gradient’s second bite, the AS-Tronic caught me out by dropping to 10th gear when level road was almost in sight and the truck could easily have ‘lugged it’ in 11th still within the optimum torque band. Perhaps the automated shift requires some factory fine tuning on the 510hp engine as this same scenario happened perhaps four times in the day. Forewarned is forearmed as they say and I selected manual mode for the next climb; Balmanno, just south of Bridge of Earn and this time I definitely needed 10th gear. But the big Dutchman flexed its muscles, only dropping to 35mph while capably hauling its 44 tonnes, with a super quick recovery as soon as any relief in the road was detected. Any potential over speeds on downhill sections are quickly brought into check with the MX engine brake and retarder, operated logically by pulling back the aforementioned right hand stalk towards you. The floor mounted exhaust brake button works well, but I found the location, at the top of the left footrest, a bit of a stretch, even after checking my seat adjustment was correct, I would have preferred it a bit closer. The Big Yellow came under a fair bit of scrutiny from other, unanimously approving truck drivers in Kinross lorry park and there definitely is some sort of driver psychology in colour reactions, as on our urban section through the north side of Edinburgh, other road users seemed happy to exhibit courteous behaviour and give us precedence with a smile! I was soon brought back down to earth with a full 10 minute delay on Ferry Road and some narrow road works to negotiate which required frequent use of the new spec mirrors, including the kerbside. Full width cabs with close mounted mirrors often equal blind spots, which I would say on the new XF were minimal, certainly compared to some makes I’ve driven in past years. A worse than normal 14 minute delay on the city’s bypass saw me crawl forward for over one and a half miles, but it put the slow speed manners of the DAF to the test. With full auto selected, throttle movements and gear changes were incredibly smooth, making me wonder if you’d ever need the tortoise marked modes available in the drive switches for delicate manoeuvring etc. After the challenges of the city, I welcomed the Biggar Road with its clean air and challenging widths and corners, as a chance to progress again, albeit for a short time, with yet again more rural delays causing us to abandon any serious fuel consumption measurement for the last leg. The XF’s all round disc brakes had never been seriously used prior to this road, but time and again shaved off any excess speed well with no apparent fuss. Three axled tractor units usually offer predictable handling and although the DAF cab is tall, no cab nod or in fact any other concerns were detected throughout. Tipping the scales at 8,580kg (with a full AdBlue tank and 580 litre diesel tank and alloy wheels) the XF105 is truly a joy to drive and the all round air suspension gives good cornering and handling feedback, instilling the driver with confidence in its abilities. Take a journey on any road today and you’re sure to see plenty of DAF’s previous XF95 models, such is the formidable all round reputation of these long distance models. The new XF105 moves the benchmark up to a new level of comfort and performance that will provide a familiar and predictable Euro 4 and 5 compliance platform for many operators. For European operations the super space cab is surely the doyen of the lot for drivers and offers practical and comfortable living conditions for weeks on end. When coupled with the AS-Tronic’s ease of operation and the 510 engine’s mile munching abilities, it’s no surprise that this manufacturer is market leader. They say the best things in life are free, but unfortunately this king of the road has to be paid for; with the tractor unit tested costing a cool £104,430. As with most test trucks, the full load of extra options supplied (and thoroughly appreciated I would have to say) brings the price as tested up to a heart palpitation inducing £120,760. You could argue that the long list of goodies are indeed surplus to many operators normal requirements and only the small fleets and perhaps established owner driver’s will want some, if not all of the bells and whistles. Another useful phrase may be used here saying; ‘if you buy a cheap thing, you buy it twice’ meaning that the premium XF105 should provide years of steady service and still offer high resale values when you’re ready to buy another one after five, seven or how many years you wish to run it.