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Model: FT1 05XF
Page 49
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Vat made a welcome debut in the 1000 Point Test. Various domestic marketing issues had prevented the brand's appearance in previous years, but the test's growing status as the most significant European group test finally convinced the Dutch giant to participate.
Much has been written about whether the XF105 visually differs enough from the XF95 to qualify as a new model, but Daf's evolutionary process seems to be satisfying the market more than headline hungry journos. In any case, once inside the Oaf's cab there's no disputing its position at the top of the driver-appeal league. Of the three contenders here, it certainly goes the furthest towards helping the driver forget he's in a truck, despite the relatively restrained trim (in which the lack of wood panelling stands out to British eyes).
Points for position
The driving position and storage capacity helped the Daf on its way to the top score in the cab section, The driving controls are well thought out, especially the logical and easy-to-use steering-wheel and columnstalk controls. The master gear position dial backed up by fingertip controls of the optional functions serves as proof that there's no need to clutter the centre of the cab with gearchanging paraphernalia. In fact the only significant criticism of the cab was an uncharacteristic level of wind noise, which served to highlight how quiet everything else was. Good equipment levels included the first sampling of lane control on a Daf.
Dynamically, the Daf didn't set any standards although the engine's flexibility was praised. In pretty well all the objective testing, the XF sat firmly on the middle ground. It's a sign of the times that compared with the in-house 'vertically integrated' automated manuals of its rivals, it was the Daf's bought-in ZF AS-Tronic that earned the highest score, by a small margin. Economy was on a par with the high standard of the competition, although its AdBlue consumption was around 20% higher than the other two.