Award winning DAF XD put through its paces

DAF’s new XD range, the 2023 International Truck of the Year, has been with us for over a year already, so we felt it was time to broaden our experience of the newcomer on UK roads. Much of the press testing of the XD has been focused on the tractors in the range, so what better way than to try a rather less glamourous variant, one aimed at a sector in which DAF Trucks traditionally did well with the outgoing CF, builders’ merchant crane lorries?

It isn’t possible to identify how great a penetration of that sector DAF has, but we can say that in 2022, it had a 41% share of 3-axle dropsides, and 26% of 3-axle flatbeds. The numbers behind these shares total 354 units, a figure that exceeds both Swedish brands combined.

The truck we are driving here is an XD 410 with day cab, equipped with a 6,800mm dropside body and a rear-mounted Hiab X-1158B-2 HiDuo loading crane with a Kinshofer rotating brick grab.

Given that drivers of this type of truck are likely to be climbing in and out of the cab frequently on their multidrop rounds, it’s good to know that access is easy thanks to a wide-opening door, well-placed steps and a steering column that tilts well out of the way. In this sector, where urban operations are most likely to be encountered, visibility has now become a crucial element. The XD’s seating position is helpfully low from an access perspective, with the cushion just above the engine hump level, but once aboard, all-round visibility isn’t at all compromised. Quite the opposite, as the XD benefits from the same improved view through the windscreen as the larger XF and XG models. The mirrors are a hybrid arrangement, comprising traditional glass on the sides and a camera covering the front view, displaying on a good-sized screen at the top of the nearside A-pillar.

Visibility is enhanced by the glazed panel on the rear wall, with a glass roof hatch letting even more daylight in. Then there’s the glazed panel on the lower passenger door, with its use encouraged by the lift-up passenger seat cushion, which is fully trimmed even on the normally unseen lower side. The downside is a fixed upper passenger door window. The ease of lifting the passenger seat is taken advantage of by the space below being utilised to store the crane’s remote control, helping to keep the cab tidy.

Also helping in that regard is the generous complement of storage spaces, giving even this day cab version a Tardis-like quality. From the driving seat, beneath the central dash is a large wrap-around multi-compartment tray, with a couple of reachable bottle- or cup-holders. At the top of the dash, there’s a useful flat patch, but if that’s not enough, just below it is a pull-out table more than large enough for the day’s selection from Greggs. The space behind the seats, surprisingly capacious for a standard non-extended day cab, features a large flat-lipped tray in the middle, flanked by useful lift-out bins at each end, and coat hooks at roof level.

Primary driver information is provided via the instrument panel, which looks like analogue dials in the default display, but actually provides access to a huge range of data, while the centre of the dash is dominated by the infotainment screen. As well as the usual displays of audio and navigation functions, it also has a button to provide instant access to the fully searchable driver’s handbook. It also includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, although it’s a bit surprising that this requires a cable connection, despite the provision of a wireless charging pad for your smartphone.

If that’s not enough digital info for you, this example features another adjacent display for the Brigade camera system. And did we mention the handheld tablet? Deliberately located in a just-out-of-reach position above the windscreen, to discourage its use on the move, there’s a removable medium-sized tablet, currently limited to enhanced sat-nav functions, but with more operational applications due to be added in the near future.

So with the driver’s environment fully absorbed, it’s time to move off on a trip that will include a variety of situations, including A and B roads, motorways and town centres. Select the appropriate direction of travel by twisting a stalk on the right of the steering column, which is refreshingly not obscured by the steering wheel, release the traditional park brake lever, and you’re away, the ZF TraXon providing fine control in tight spaces. Out on the road, the unladen XD performs as briskly as you’d hope from just over 400hp and 2,000Nm, which rises to 2,150Nm in top gear in this direct-drive version, and on the top two ratios with overdrive ’boxes. The ZF performs flawlessly throughout the drive, changing smoothly and invariably perfect timing. There’s little reason for manual changes on the road, but the ability could be useful on-site. As part of the General Safety Regulation requirements, Lane Keep Assist cannot be disabled at speeds above 40kph, distracting on narrower roads, where staying continuously to the left of the centre line can seriously affect the health of your mirrors.

Handling on the twisty roads was exemplary, although we did notice that, unladen, the steering felt a bit over-assisted when negotiating greasy roundabouts at slightly higher speeds. At motorway speeds, it all felt perfectly stable.

Given the well-proven mechanicals, there should be no question-mark over the XD’s productivity credentials, especially with the aerodynamic improvements featuring on all the latest DAF models. The big surprise, though, was just how civilised the XD is in comparison with the CF. Whereas the old workhorse felt like just that, a functional but no-frills piece of vocational equipment, the XD raises its game by a good few levels. Everything from the look and feel of the interior to the equipment level and the massive increase in refinement creates a machine that the fussiest of drivers would be happy to get their hands on. And in these days of driver retention issues, that’s a big bonus.