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It's hard to find fault with this 7.5-tonner

13th January 2005
Page 72
Page 72, 13th January 2005 — It's hard to find fault with this 7.5-tonner
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Commercial Motor tests more vehicles than any other magazine so here's your a chance to get the lowdown on some of the contenders in the used market. This time round we turn to the Daf LF45.150.

Daf launched the LF range at the Brussels Show back in 2001. It needed a new model that wasn't radical enough to put off established high-volume fleet buyers and that's what it got — the LF is now one of the most popular 7.5-tonners on the used market. Vehicle: Oaf FA LF45.150 day-cab rigid Tested: 28 November 2002 Specifications Engine: Paccar BE110C Euro-3, 16-valve, charge-cooled turbodiesel with common-rail fuel injection Maximum power: 150hp (112kW) at 2,500rpm Maximum torque: 550Nm (406Ibft) at 1,200-1,600rpm Transmission: Rear wheel drive with ZF S6-850 sixspeed all-synchromesh, overdrive-top manual gearbox and Oaf SR5.12 single-reduction drive axle Operational trial results Average speed: 69.9km/h (43,4mph) Average fuel consumption: 19.5mpg (14.511t/100km) The lowdown Only a fool or a horse would fail to take a long, hard look at Dafs LF 45.150.

It combines outstanding economy with a competitive payload and the kind of driveability that's as close to 'car-like' as hardly matters.The world has certainly moved on when it comes to 7.5tonners; where six-pots once ruled the roost, fourpots have now proved they are more than capable of doing the business.

Any operator with lingering doubts can certainly take comfort from the latest products coming out of the European Engine Alliance. It's getting harder and harder to find a bad truck, which is why our previous criticisms of the LF may seem somewhat picky. However, that's not to say Daf should ignore them, particularly our comments about the need to give its disc brakes rather more feel.

But as that's the worst we can say about the LF we're firs to agree that there's really not much wrong with it. Perhaps the best way for operators to test the LF is to hire one forth day. If your driver doesn't want to keep it at the end of his shift, he's probably a plonker. •

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Organisations: European Engine Alliance

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