It's spring and the Oafs are oui
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by Robin Meczes It's obviously going to be a busy year for Daf in the UK with two new model ranges and a new managing director to cope with. Time will tell which one proves to have the most impact but last week in Theme the new baby of the product range was in the spotlight as CM got its first chance to drive the new LF45.
Our route of just under 50 miles on a mix of motorway and A-roads showed the [F's 167hp, four-cylinder, 3.9-litre Paccarbranded Cummins-built engine to be more than capable on average British roads.
While some of this was undoubtedly down to being only partially loaded (we guesstimated a GVW of 6.0-6.5 tonnes), we still felt overall performance was good and more in keeping with a 3.5-tonne van than a light truck.
Daf is expecting the 150hp engine to be its biggest seller and judging from the more powerful engine we tried, which never seemed to have anything less than plenty in reserve, we'd say they're probably right.
Smooth moves
Despite a bit of a clunk moving from second to third, the fivespeed ZF gearbox (the only major component to remain unchanged from the older models) was generally smooth and felt well matched to the rest of the driveline.
Acceleration was quick throughout the gears—so quick in lower gears that we had difficulty more than once staying remotely in touch with the top end of the green band's 1:1001,90Orpm range. Once we acclimatised we found we could settle comfortably into top at around 30mph and by and large just leave it there, still finding adequate pull as low as 1,100rpm in normal conditions.
Steering felt light but precise and our 19m wheelbase meant the truck was easy to manoeuvre through town and village. Motorway performance was good too, the LF feeling stable and capable of much more than a constant 70mph.
All-round disc brakes felt effective though we didn't put them under any particular strain, and the exhaust brake, fitted as standard, scrubs off a decent amount of speed even before you get to warm up the service brakes.
Suspension (single leaf parabolic springs front and rear) was fine though there was perhaps slightly more cab roll on our test unit than some will be used to.
The standard day cab was generally comfortable and bright, not least due to the standard rear window. Noise levels were more than acceptable, even at motorway speed, and will be slightly reduced if you opt to do without that rear window.
Nice design
Cab access was easy, forward visibility was excellent and the electrically adjustable rearview mirrors were well up to the job of keeping us in touch with the world behind.
Instruments and controls all seemed logically laid out and easy to use—apart from a couple of times when we tried indicating with the steering-wheelmounted exhaust brake lever.
Clutch pedal action is much heavier than on the old 45 Series—a deliberate attempt to discourage riding the clutch—but not heavy enough to irritate, even in stop-start environments.
Drivers will certainly appreciate standard features like the dash-mounted radio, cruise control, electric windows, comfortable seat and many storage options (including lockable centre cabinet next to the driver thanks to the move to a single passenger seat). We're not sure about the rather tinny electronic drumbeat when the indicators are on, however.
Those of a cost-conscious nature will doubtless warm to the central LCD information display, one of the biggest changes from the old 45 Series, despite its location in the centre of the instrument panel which forces rev and speed counters to be slightly offset. It earns its keep in this prolific position by providing trip and fuel usage analysis as well as incorporating an alar clock and various vehicle dia nostic data—even servii prompts.
Sadly, our unit was bt 'before the software was fi ished and so hadn't been pr grammed to tell us anythii about our fuel consumptic (normal reports include cu rent, trip and lifetime averai consumption figures). 0th' functions looked to be world' fine. Control is via a single mut functional control to the left the dash.
Nigh quality
Overall, we were impressed the LF. A key feature of vehich up to 7.5 tonnes is that thi must be readily usable by a drivers and, in this respect, ti LF certainly fits the bill with easy acceleration, nimble hen ling, car-like transmission at enough electronic gadgetry make even Monde° Man prou
Car drivers to one sid though, the LF looks and fee like a high quality, well-judge package that is sure to appei• We look forward to a full-blcm roadtest in due course—ni least of all to test Daf's dairy that fuel consumption will be t. to 5% better than its old model Watch this space...