Road Tests: DAF CF85.430

Richard Davis drives a MAN 26.414 out of Newport for Gro Continental. “This is a tall cab but it has a lower entry than mine,” he noted as he climbed in. “The seat controls are almost identical – this feels more comfortable.” From second he went straight to fourth. “It’s a hellish smooth change. You don’t have to work the engine hard. It’s got the grunt down low,” he said as he dropped to 600rpm on a roundabout and the 85 pulled away without complaint. “It certainly copes with the weight. The brakes pull back well but there is hardly any need for them with the Intarder. It’s got lots of storage. I’ll be sorry to back to a smaller cab!” Kevin Adams for Mineral Crushing, driving a Renault Magnum 440 out of Stafford. “It is quite a nice cab inside but I feel a bit enclosed with this engine hump in the middle,” he says. The bunks are a good size and the top one has a proper mattress. The roof height gives space to stand. It’s a very quiet truck even with the roof hatch open. The engine pulls every bit as well as my Mack and on a flat road I only needed to use the splitter in top gear. The Intarder is very good; it has a lot more bite than the Mack engine’s Jake brake.” Graham Burgess drives an ERF E12.375 for the PVC group out of Derbyshire. “The ride is much more comfortable than in the earlier 85 Series and it’s a lot quieter,” he told us. “There are no serious blind spots. I like the gear change. It’s nice and light and the gate is well defined for a positive gear selection. The 85’s steering is as light and quite positive. The engine pulls really well at 44 tonnes – I think that this truck could take another 3-4 tonnes and still be easy to drive.”