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Leyland Buffalo road test
Page 64
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the rigid Bison in that it exhibited a peculiar tramping motion at certain speeds. This was most noticeable at around 40mph and it made it hard to keep a constant part-throttle opening as my right foot was bounced on and off the pedal.
The steering in the straight ahead position was mediocre, being far too vague. On the twisty sections the steering was easy to handle and reasonably precise, but far too much correction was required when travelling in a straight line.
Although the Buffalo is fitted with a 'tilt cab the tilt is not in the same class as its competitors. The time taken to tilt the cab is prohibitive because of the need to unbolt and remove the driver's seat, and the inadequacy of the arrangement is highlighted when one considers that the maximum angle of tilt is only 30 degrees anyway. Access to the engine for oil level checking, for example, is provided by a hatch in the cab, but this is no substitute for a simple hinged panel in the front of the cab.
I think that many drivers would prefer a front access panel as it would eliminate the need for clearing the engine cowl of log books, papers, etc, every morning before an oil check.
Summary
The Buffalo is not a luxurious high powered truck — it makes no pretence to be so. In terms of value for money, however, it showed up extremely well on the CM test combining an excellent fuel consumptibn with a more-thanacceptable round-trip journey time. It is also one of the few 32-tonners with a list price of under £10,000. Braking and performance in general were competitive with the Buffalo's major rivals.
The bad points included the poor ride and general handling and some shortcomings in the cab.
Taking all these factors into consideration and comparing the vehicle with the other "lightweight" 32-tonners on the market, the Leyland Buffalo stands up very well indeed. The particular vehicle I tested cost £9,900 and was borrowed for the occasion from the works fleet of Leyland National.