The Dutch manufacturer has refined its medium-weight workhorse for Euro 6, and we put the latest iteration to the test
By Steev Hayes
Photography Steev Hayes
DAF continued to expand its Euro 6 chassis line-up throughout 2013, with its light-end LF and mid-weight CF both revealed for the first time at the Commercial Vehicle Show at the NEC, Birmingham.
The largest investment and development programme in DAF’s 86-year history, Euro 6 technology took the truck manufacturer’s products to a new level. Featuring new chassis, new drivelines and new interior and exterior layouts and design, the new look CF nevertheless shows a distinct resemblance to the bigger XF and smaller LF range, keeping the ‘family’ look while retaining its heritage. The CF range is now over 20 years old and has been subject to numerous facelifts along the way. Originally designated the 75- and 85-series, the truck replaced the long-serving distribution model DAFs – among them, the 2300 with its square, angular cab, large steering wheel and spongy brakes and gearshift.
The latest DAF XFs, CFs and LFs feature bigger grilles to allow maximum cooling for the new Euro 6 motors, while the DAF logo is now mounted on a chrome panel. This in turn allows operators to signwrite their trucks, mounting their company name in the panel above the grille at the front.
Like other manufacturers, DAF has had to be clever with its design to allow decent sized fuel tanks and other ancillary equipment to be mounted on the chassis. This, despite extra paraphernalia required for the Euro 6 technology, which uses both selective catalytic reduction (SCR) – necessitating an extra tank on the chassis for the AdBlue additive – and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). So, the batteries are mounted in a box in the rear overhang of the chassis; the exhaust discharge, diesel particulate filter (DPF) and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) gear is stowed neatly on the forward right-hand, or offside of the chassis, with the fuel and AdBlue tanks mounted on the nearside.
Read the rest of this feature in the July 2014 issue of Trucking. Buy the magazine here
