1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156 
New Oaf comes with 'Extra Forte
Page 14
Page 15
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Daf has never hurried to embrace new technology. But after missing the first generation of electronic discs and auto gearboxes, its latest face-lifted XF95 is back, having joined the two-pedal club along the way. Drivers and gaffers should benefit from its evolutionary approach... and other manufacturers should beware. Brian Weatheriey reports.
• Four months ago Daf "launched" its new XF95 flagship tractor in an uncharacteristically muted fashion via a modest press release—and not much else (CM 13-19 June). We even haci to ask for extra pictures. Yet it deserved plenty of attention, as it brings the popular 95 Series bang up to date with a face-lifted front and Daf "family" interior and new chassis featuring, for the first time, EBS-controlled discs all-round.
More significantly, the latest XF95 (the XF stands for Extra Forte) also now comes with the option of ZF's AS-Tronic two-pedal auto. But it's not all for drivers. For the man signing the cheques, De's Euro-3 12.6-litre engine has been tweaked to deliver slightly lower fuel consumption, while a 200kg saving in the XF's kerbweight promises higher payloads.
Oaf's director of product and marketing planning, Hans Steals, freely admits: "We're not the company to be first with everything—we skipped a generation of disc brakes and skipped AS-Ironic Mk 1." Yet Daf's reticence to embrace the latest technology has not hurt the previous 95XF, which has proved a serious challenger to Volvo and Scania's dominance of the UK premium tractor market.
CM recently drove the latest XF95 around Daf's traditional 'launch route' in the Belgian Ardennes, complete with brake-toastint. descents and speed-sap ping climbs. All the test trucks were 4x2 tractors pulling a variety of trailers but grossed to 40 tonnes.
First we tried a top-of-the-range 95.530 with the 12-speed AS-Ironic. To pull away from rest you dial in "D" on the rotary switch, feed in the revs until you feel the clutch bite (there's no clutch pedal), release the handbrake and apply more power through the throttle. Despite being on a gravelled slope, the clutch 'leer was good, allowing us to pull away effortlessly.
Your chosen gear, and whether you are in auto or manual mode, is indicated in a dash display Whether changing upon down, AS-Ironic is astonishingly smooth, shifting up at about 1,600-1,700rpm on the flat, holding to 2,000rpm or more on hills. Keeping your foot down on throttle ensures you get maxim power before changing up. If you ease on flat terrain you can still prompt an shift as AS-Ironic recognises yoi. going for a less hurried, and mi economical approach.
When descending a hill or approa ing a junction, touching the exha brake prompts it to automatic; change down one or two cogs, ensur maximum back-pressure on the exha brake—but without over-revving I engine. Should your speed build beyond the blue band on the r counter, a short dab on the serv brakes brings things in-line.
However, with the optional Intarder fitted you hardly need to use 1 service brakes. On long descents. sirh push in the collar on the right-hand stel ing column stalk at the required spe and it becomes a superb downhill spe control, dialling in the retardation to hi you back to your preferred velocity.
With 530hp and 2,350Nm on tap I didn't bother to intervene beyond testi the AS-Tronic's throttle pedal kick-dov which is so smooth that the only n indication that you've actually chang down is the needle on the rev count moving up. There's no jerk, no fuss a very little noise.
Next we tried an XF95.480, again w S-Ironic, but this time making more lifts ourselves in manual. To change up ou simply push the stubby gear selector iver forward, pulling it backwards to hift down. The lever has a very positive :el and, when you've made a change, S-Tronic stays in manual mode until you ush the lever sideways to resume full uto. Approaching the top of a hill with bout 2,000rpm it was obvious that our 80 would happily go up another gear, rhich we dul \, selected in manual, letting it lug down to maximum torque at about 1,300-1,400rpm, in the middle of the green band. Had we left it in auto it would have held maximum revs until it got to the very top. Equally, if having changed up manually we then immediately reselected auto, AS-Tronic would probably have gone back down one, being unable to "see" the top of the hill.
Oaf's "positive" command set-up on AS-Ironic works well. The moral is that the driver can intervene for good—
rather than simply fiddle—and we endorse Oaf's view that: "If a driver takes a conscious decision to intervene then he won't do it for just one shift."
Finally, we tried the least powerful XF95.430, doing even more of the changes ourselves—but more out of a habit of driving strictly in the green, rather than through any fault of ASIronic. However, with a 12-speed rather than 16-speed box, the 12.6-litre engine is going to rev a bit higher on changes anyway, especially as the power drops. Hill climbing, the 430 was between a gear and 4-5rnph down on its more powerful siblings, but still well on top of the job at 40 tonnes.
Whether at 430 or 530hp, the 12.6litre/AS-Tronic combination is superbly matched and commendably unfussy. While the driver retains complete control through being able to do things manually (when selecting the "tortoise" reversing mode which feeds in the clutch more slowly) such is the sensitivity of the ZF auto-box (and the speed with which it 'talks' to the Oaf engine and adapts to different conditions) it is hard to see why you would want to intervene in any but the most extenuating circumstances— or if trying to set a fuel economy record. On the latter you might be able to beat AS-Ironic for the first hour but after that brain-fade would be bound to set in...
Oaf's chassis engineers also deserve praise for the work they have done on the ride and handling of the latest XF. Over poor Belgian roads the steering was outstanding, while the changes to its suspension ensure you stay insulated from the worst of the road surface without becoming isolated. The latest EBS discs also provide sure-footed stopping.
According to Oaf, "there was room to go one step further" with the XF. We reckon they've gone three—Volvo and Scania, watch out.