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Crowd pleaser
Page 76
Page 77
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You'll do well to find a product as universally successful as Daf's CF tractor. From owner driver to mass market it offers enough to please all of the people all of the time.
The CF range is the feather in Dais cap. Normally, it's the flagship that carries the baton, but with the Paccar-owned group its the bread and butter mass market product that stands out.
Why? Well, Daf was able to design a truck with versatility. From basic spec to its own Space Cab top end product, since its launch in 2000 the CF85 has offered strong drivelines, functional and comfortable cabs, and a strong visual presence.
It could cater for trunking, car transporters, waste management and logging, meet fleet requirements without sacrificing comfort, or be specced for the tramping owner-driver.
CF tractors come as either the 9.2-litre CF75 or 12.6-litre CF85 versions,with six power levels spanning nominal ratings from 250430hp. CM has tested the second-rated CF85 380, which produces 375hp and 1,750Nm from its cylinders. The CF85 has ZF's proven direct-top 16-speeder, in this case fitted with the Servoshift assisted-change device.
Three wheelbase and three cab options are available on the 4x2 CF tractor. The basic day cab now has a useful 140mm of extra space behind the seats and shares the same interior height as the sleeper cab.
However, we tested the top-of-the-range Space Cab, which has an extra 630mm of interior height and around 900 litres of storage space.
An overall figure of 8.0mpg was a fair target for a Euro-2 engine at 40 tonnes. The Daf failed to meet this target, but by just seven hundredths of a mile per gallon, or in fuel terms, four litres after 733 miles. Not bad by any measure.
Although Dais recommended driving style and the relatively high torque peak saw a bit more gearshift action than we might have expected, there was no ill-effect on average journey times, or our set of timed hill climbs.
Disregarding the optional large fuel tank and alloy wheels of the test truck, the basic 6,510kg kerbweight of the longest 4x2 tractor will make it a highly attractive proposition to those for whom payload is king.
The lowdown No doubt there are bean-counting transport fleet bosses who feel that giving their drivers a working environment comparable to their own company cars is absolutely out of the question. Fortunately for their drivers, the economic argument for the Daf is a strong one.
Fuel economy, performance and payload are all good, as is its future as a money-earning fleet tractor, but it doesn't end there.
Although not the obvious first choice for the self-indulgent owner-driver, in some respects the Space Cab has more room than the XF Super Space Cab, and in a considerably more compact package.There's no real reason why the CF85 shouldn't be as suitable for longdistance work as for hauling breakfast cereals around the M25. It really does seem to offer something for everyone. •