DAF is hoping to broaden the appeal of its truck range in Australia following the launch of its New Generation range, which the company claims represents the most significant transformation of the brand’s product line in more than 30 years.
Truck and Bus News had a brief chance to test that claim out last week when we were invited along with the rest of the Australian truck media to a drive day at the Mt Cotton driver education centre near Brisbane.
DAF tells us that this is far more than a styling update, and reckons that it has been designed from the ground up with new cab architecture, more advanced safety technology, as well as improved aerodynamics and greater driver comfort.
The company’s claim is that the updated range delivers a new level of transport efficiency.
In what was a short but informative day at Mt Cotton we had the chance to drive all of the updated range from the medium duty XB up through the larger XD to the XF and flagship XG prime movers.
Ross Cureton, Paccar’s product planning guru took us through the processes of developing the updated range which he explained was a journey that began back in 2024 with the introduction of the flagship DAF XG.
This was the first of the New Generation DAF models, and it of course is built here in Australia at Paccar’s Australian manufacturing facility at Bayswater in Melbourne.
Since hitting our roads the XG with its Cummins developed and built 15 litre power plant has received strong positive feedback from customers and drivers, with operators reporting great fuel efficiency, excellent driver satisfaction and productivity, thanks partly to the extensive local validation that the new truck was subjected to.
As Ross Cureton explained the XF cab design and its advanced aerodynamics deliver real-world transport efficiency benefits.
The new range builds on the success of the XG, with the company now introducing the XB, XD and XF to complete the new line-up.
The compact XB is powered by a 7-litre engine which is also a co-developed engine with Cummins, a long time Paccar supplier, and is mated to the ZF Powerline 8-
speed AMT, which Cureton points out is ideal for urban environments and city distribution work.
Our brief drive included a couple of quick laps of Mount Cotton and while it was nowhere near being an exhaustive test, it showed DAF’s ‘tiddler’ to be quiet, very comfortable and extremely tractable, although the truck we drive was bob tail and unladen, so we can’t be totally definitive. However we reckon even with a load the XB would be a great little truck ideally suited to city and intra urban delivery work with a hugely better level of refinement and creature comforts than the Japanese trucks it will be mostly selling against in the medium duty market.
The 7-litre engine delivers 290hp and 1,090Nm of torque, and the XB delivers really good manoeuvrability, and driver visibility. It is going to be available in day cab and sleeper sab configurations and in 4×2 rigid configuration. Paccar says the XB is well suited to distribution, local government, construction, refuse and specialised vocational applications where agility and productivity are critical
The range then steps up to the XD, which is also bolted together at Bayswater and is powered by Paccar’s own DAF developed and engineered MX 11-litre engine. It is a strong package and will appeal to the ‘supermarket and logistics’ operators that are so in demand from operators around the country. A day at the wheel of an XD hauling a single trailer and 20 to 30 tonne GVM would be easy and comfortable truck to live with.
Paccar says that the XD is purpose-built for distribution and vocational transport, across metro and regional operations, with the MX-11 engine delivering 450hp and 2,500Nm of torque.
It also has features direct vision and really good driver comfort and is being offered in 6×2, 6×4 and 8×4 rigid and 6×4 prime mover variants. Paccar says the XD is aimed at construction, tanker, tipper and intrastate applications where performance, safety and flexibility are required.
The next rung on the DAF ladder is met by the bigger XF with its Paccar MX 13-litre powerplant mated to the ZF Traxon16-speed AMT, making it an ideal candidate for interstate freight and long-distance productivity. Again the Dutch engineered and built DAFs reward drivers with a terrific work environment that would be extremely easy to live with day in day out.
The MX13 pumps out up to 530hp and 2,700Nm of torque, offering strong fuel economy, lgood ong-haul comfort and a reputation for reliability. The XF is available in day cab, sleeper cab and sleeper high cabs, with a choice of 6×2, 6×4 and 8×4 rigid and 6×4 prime mover options for strong productivity across long-distance transport operations.
Of course leading the range is the Australian-built XG, with its15-litre engine and is also mated to the superb ZF developed Traxon 16-speed AMT transmission.
The so-called Paccar PX-15 engine, is actually a Cummins engineered and built powerplant which delivers 660hp along with 3,200Nm of torque. This is a very capable powertrain that allows the truck to grunt out of corners and uphills with enough power to handle to load without being stressed and without using to much ‘go-juice.
The XG is really aimed at high-productivity linehaul applications and its spacious and neatly designed cab providing a comfortable workspace for 
drivers, while its advanced aerodynamics gives a quiet and fuel efficient ride.
Paccar has also greatly improved visibility thanks to larger front screen that has a much lower aperture at the bottom of the cab allowing greater forward vision for drivers behind the wheel. along with that there is also a comprehensive safety package all combining to make it a true home away from home for drivers while delivering the sort of productivity and efficiency demanded by transport businesses in these challenging times.
Our experience is that the XG delivers really good performance offering high-productivity for linehaul applications, with its spacious cab, excellent comfort, advanced aerodynamics, terrific visibility and a comprehensive safety package make it a true home away from home for drivers while delivering the productivity and efficiency demanded by today’s transport businesses.
Paccar also says the XG has been designed to deliver the ultimate combination of long-haul efficiency, comfort and performance and adds that at the heart of the launch is DAF’s global New Generation theme, which is “Powering your Success.”.
The company says it reflects its belief that great trucks should do more than transport freight and should help improve customers’ profitability through maximised uptime, reduced operating costs and the ability to attract and retain skilled drivers.
Andrew Molnar, Paccar Australia’s director of sales and marketing, said the New Generation range enables the company to provide customers with a transport solution for almost every application, from urban distribution through to interstate linehaul.
“The result is that customers can choose the right DAF vehicle, support package and transport solution to power their business success,” said Molnar.
“The New Generation DAF cab proven in the XG is now shared across the XD and XF, so the same driver comfort, visibility and fuel efficiency we’ve heard from XG operators now extends across the range. That’s a significant advantage for Australian fleets.”
Our drive experience with the new DAFs at Mount Cotton was a part of Paccar’s New Generation DAF Roadshow, which kicked off in September and will run through to December travelling to dealerships across the country to give customers the chance to experience the entire range first hand.
We hope to bring you some more detailed road tests and drive impressions of the new DAF line up over the next few months.
