It was interesting to climb up into the cabin of the DAF XG+ and experience just what this melding of philosophies can bring to a truck.
Can the two world views actually exist side-by-side? Can DAF replicate the kind of fully-integrated system normal in the European truck, while introducing an engine from a different continent’s trucking philosophy? The essential answer to this question is, of course, yes.
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The DAF engineering teams based both in Bayswater and at DAF HQ in Eindhoven in the Netherlands have managed to come up with a solution which is both practical and effective.
The big question for me when driving the truck out on the road was probably something along the lines of, ‘is it a real Cummins?”. The familiar rapid torque rise in the Cummins range is the element which creates the excitement drivers feel when driving a Cummins powered truck.
In European engined trucks the torque is not quite so rapid and acceleration is extremely smooth and unfussy. What would this engine feel like?
The answer is somewhere in between. Pushing down on the accelerator does stir it into action immediately. The engine note rises in the cabin and the truck picks up speed, in a controlled manner.
This is not like some European set-ups where the driveline can feel a bit doughy, after driving something with an X15 under the bonnet. The ZF transmission can clearly handle the torque coming through and has been tuned to give the driver that ‘just right’ feeling, halfway between a sluggish and a racing truck.
This engine does pass that test. It does sound American enough and the acceleration is also American enough, but comfortably mixed in with a state-of-the-art European-style feel and response.
North American engines pick up torque quickly and make more noise when compared to a European engine, but the ZF AMT has been designed to suit all those European engines. Has this engine been designed with a bit of a smoother torque rise?
“DAF have noted what you’re asking about and have been challenged by it, but not in a serious way,” explains Ross Cureton, Paccar Australia Director of Product Planning. “It’s just different and because you’re in complete control of the engine, you can modulate that to suit.
The impression when climbing up into the cabin of the XG+ is deceiving. It actually looks like quite a big cab but in reality there are only three steps up to the driver’s seat, where most large European prime movers have four.
After settling into the driver’s seat, the next impression is how good the visibility around the truck is from this position. The cab is relatively high, but the windscreen does sit very low and has been designed this way to maximise the amount the driver can see in the immediate vicinity of the truck.
This impression is further enhanced by the side view system, which is on a display high up on the passenger side A-pillar. This shows an image from around the front of the truck, but also down the side by the passenger door.
It can be a little confusing at first, but once the driver sits and watches a pedestrian walking around the truck or sees people standing on a pavement near the truck it becomes apparent this single screen gives the driver a clear idea of everything which is going on, in that blindspot on the passenger side.
The instrument panel is at once both familiar and also brand-new. The layout is one which would be familiar to anyone who has driven any DAF or any other European truck. The dashboard display directly in front of the driver is the same basic design as in the Kenworth K220.
First impressions are important when jumping into something completely new like this XG+. It is surprising how a few extra centimetres of width, height and depth can achieve such a strong sense of space. This feels like a roomy cabin and it’s very easy to move about inside.
The steering wheel folds up and next to the windscreen, making ingress and egress simple on both sides of the cabin. This is not a flat floor, but for all intents and purposes it is.
After firing up the engine it is possible to hear that distinctive Cummins engine note, something which will be comforting to the North American engine fans, who may be a little suspicious of this European import.
Releasing the electronic park brake and setting off sees the ZF Traxon transmission running as smoothly as one would expect. The changes are effortless and quick with that familiar engine note rising and falling to make the driver feel a little more comfortable.
The truck has a number of nice little touches, like a switch which can be flicked to turn off the reversing buzzer and replace it with flashing hazard lights, useful in a situation when unloading late at night in a populated area.
The electronic park brake will release after the driver selects drive and presses the accelerator. When the vehicle is stopped, the parking brake will automatically activate if the driver opens the door. There is also a tug test button to test the trailer brakes or straighten up a combination, when required.
When a driver activates ‘urge to move’ on the righthand stalk, the clutch and brake control is changed, so that when the driver takes their foot off the brake, the truck will move forward up to four km/h.
There are more little elements to the design for the driver to discover and utilise, too many to get familiar with on a two-day test run.
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