1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152 
T D he Daf 85CF tractor has carved
Page 26
Page 27
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
out more of a chasm than a niche for itself as the definitive fleet artic—it's standard issue for a great many medium to large fleet operators and is taken as the benchmark by which the rest of the fleet market is judged. Daf must have been pleasantly surprised by the number bought by owner-drivers too; particularly those who value functionality over image. No wonder residuals are good.
Product lowdown
The 85CF was launched in May r993, replacing the Daf 2800/3300 Series. Its launch engine was the r.6-litre Leyland Daf WS. Series which was shared by the FT80 and FT85. But in March 1998 Daf upgraded to the 24-valve, 12.6-litre lump from the 95XF, offering operators the power of its bigger sibling without the bulk.
In the 85 the Dar XF, Euro-2 charge-cooled diesel is rated at 34ohp, 381hp, and 428hp. Apart from a little redesigning to incorporate the cooling system and ancillary equipment, big brother's lump fitted like a glove.
CM s used test vehicle, S82 MEF, is fitted with the 381hp option producing 1,750Nm of torque at 1.500rpm. Transmission is the fourover-four ZF 16-speed Ecosplit synchromesh range-change and splitter box with a 3.31:1 final-drive ratio.
A minor addition to S82 M EF is a Goo-litre diesel tank in place of the standard 390-litre item; it takes the kerbweight from 6.89 tonnes to 7.06 tonnes when fully fuelled.
This 85 was supplied from new on a full repair and maintenance contract, so any repairs were carried out at no extra cost to the operator. A new tachograph was fitted at 177,000km; an injector pipe was replaced at i88,000km and the rear axle was treated to fresh brake linings at 470,000km—nothing out of the ordinary there. Since it returned home to find a new owner Daf has replaced the clutch. It also sports an adjustable air management kit, which is a
welcome addition to any low-roof wagon.
S82 MEF was bought new by Granby RI Services of County Durham and registe on i October 1998. It was used primarily overnight trunking and local dayti deliveries before moving on to gem haulage duties.
According to CAP's Red Book, L Commercial Values (February 2002). S82 is worth £21,050 (ex-VAT).
Bottom line
The weather around our Welsh test route exactly what we would have liked to avoid. 1 one was spent driving into a strong sou westerly which delivered prolonged rain surface water. The main saving factor was t only a small part of the A-road sect involved travelling at national speed lin where the fuel consumption would have 5 fered even more.
It is encouraging to report that, despite harsh conditions, S82 M EF turned in impressive 7.75mpg over our infamous road section at an average speed of 53.6kn (33.3mph). On the motorway section head back to Hinckley with a tailwind we clod up 9.49mpg at an average speed of 79.3krr (49.3mph) to give an overall average fuel c sumption of 8.26mpg at a shade on 62.9km/h (39.1mph).
The test was run at 40 tonnes; the sev tonne box-body triaxle trailer and 7,06c tractive unit gave a 25,940kg payload.
On the road
Our Daf 85CF has the highest mileage of truck we have put through a used truck tes date, but you would not know it from the way it romped around our test route.
The first hill climb on the A-road section is Dolfor Hill, leading out of Newtown towards Crossgates. This is a long sweeping hill climb with tight corners but, despite being forced to a standstill by oncoming traffic halfway up, the 85CF still recorded a respectable time, indicating that 5o0,000km has not hurt its pulling power.
Dinmore Hill is a more traditional climb, where we dropped down through the box to match peak torque with the gradient. In this case that equated to 61-I and 1,300rpm with CM's test driver resisting the temptation to hit the gas and change to 7L.
Instead of taking halves we dropped two full gears a little early to gain maximum torque at about 1,500rpm.
Despite the strong headwind on the A-road S82 MEF did not budge from the beaten track nor did we did get the feeling that it was blowing a gale. It held the roundabouts well in a mixture of 6L and 6H with plenty of grunt to get out of potential danger (such as the non-indicating car driver who decided to make a victory lap of a roundabout).
Over the motorway section it was easily able to keep up with younger rivals, and it was no slouch on the M42 hillclimb from the M5. The engine brake was put to the test running down to the new services at Junction z—after dropping a full gear we needed only a couple of dabs on the foot brake to keep in check just below the Go mph mark.
The i6-speed range-change ZE Ecosplit gearbox has aged gracefully. in February 19 99 our road test concluded that the 85CF would benefit from getting the ZF Servoshift device; since then it has become an optional extra on the new CF85 range. It is relatively cheap and does not add to the GVNV.