Buying Advice

The FM tractor was introduced in July 1998 as a successor to FL and a smaller brother to the FH. Sharing its chassis and 12.1-litre powertrain with the FH, the FM’s cab was more spacious than the cramped FL but less so than the FH, intended to strike a reasonable compromise for distribution tractors.

The Premium Long Distance tractor unit is easily the most important model in the Renault Truck range, accounting for around 70% of the marque’s UK truck sales. In recent years, it has held around 10% of the UK tractor unit market. Although that might not sound a great deal, closer analysis reveals that the Premium is a star among what can loosely be described as fleet tractors.

Unveiled as the successor to the XF95 at the Amsterdam show in October 2005, production of the Daf XF105 started in January 2006. Whereas the XF95 had a Euro-3 XE 12.3-litre engine, the XF105 sported the new 12.9-litre MX, claimed to be up to 4% more economical. Early XF105 units were Euro-4, but Euro-5 versions were also available from the outset.

Daf launched the CF85, or the ‘compact forte’ , in late 1992, offering a smaller cab than the XF’s ‘extra forte’ . The 85 part of the designation was a logical follow-on from the short-lived Leyland Daf 80-series, which was essentially a hybrid that married a Leyland Roadtrain with Daf’s 11.6-litre WS engine.

Daf’s LF45 7.5-tonner boasts astounding longevity and success. Its origins can be traced back 30 years to the Leyland Roadrunner of 1984, and it has been the UK’s top-selling 7.5-tonner since 2005.

The introduction of the R-series in spring 2004 marked a change in Scania’s model designation system. Out went chronological (1-,2-, 3- and 4-series) numbering, replaced by a prefix indicating cab-mounting height, followed by the engine power rating in hp. R-series, the highest cab mounting, was joined later in 2004 by P-series, the lowest. 

The TGX was introduced in late 2007, a mid-life facelift for the TGA that was seven years old.

The launch of the new Euro-6 Mercedes-Benz Atego range at next week’s CV Show is the latest chapter in a story that started 15 years ago with the introduction of the first Atego in 1998, replacing Mercedes’ LK range. And Atego has changed remarkably little in those 15 years.

Volvo’s FH remains one of the industry’s flagship vehicles. We take a look at why it can make a sensible used purchase. Volvo’s FH tractor caused quite a stir when it was introduced in 1993.

  7.5-tonne GVW trucks accounted for 28% of all new trucks over 3.5 tonnes GVW registered in the UK in 2000.