Flagship Tractor Cab Test 2008: Introduction

After last year's fleet experience, the 2008 Commercial Motor pyjama party was held in the very best accomodation on the market.

With an early Easter and the CV Show looming large, we were a bit concerned that when we sent the call “Send us your flagships”, we would be met with a deafening silence.

But with a considerable amount of effort from a lot of people in four countries, we ended up with the unprecedented sight of some £750,000 of Europe’s top tractors lined up for probably the best Cab Test ever.

Two of the trucks, the MAN TGX XXL V8 and the latest Renault Magnum, were so new to the market that left-hand-drive examples were specially brought in for the test, while the only suitable DAF XF105 available was another left-hooker driven over by Dutch journalist Tim de Jong.

The rest were all UK-sourced, comprising the Iveco Stralis Super3 and Volvo’s F480 Anniversary special, and a couple more V8s, the Mercedes-Benz Actros MegaSpace 2560 and Scania’s R500 Griffin.

In deference to national demands, the local trucks were 6x2s, while the Continentals were running as 4x2s.

[First published in Commercial Motor, 17/04/08]

• Flagship Tractor Cab Test: Introduction
  • Flagship Tractor Cab Test 2008: DAF XF105.510 Super Space Cab 4x2
  • Flagship Tractor Cab Test 2008: Iveco Stralis 560 Super3 6x2
  • Flagship Tractor Cab Test 2008: MAN TGX V8 18.680 XXL 4x2
  • Flagship Tractor Cab Test 2008: Mercedes-Benz Actros 2560 MegaSpace Executive 6x2
  • Flagship Tractor Cab Test 2008: Renault Magnum 500Dxi 4x2
  • Flagship Tractor Cab Test 2008: Scania R500 V8 Griffin 6x2
  • Flagship Tractor Cab Test 2008: Volvo FH480 Globetrotter XL Anniversary 6x2
• Flagship Tractor Cab Test 2008: Conclusions