Copyright © 2001 FleetWatch magazine and FleetWatch On-Line.

No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior written permission from the publishers. Views published are not necessarily those of the publishers.

Truck of the Year

DAF XF 105

And here it is (top) - the DAF XF 105. The company's marketing people wasted no time in boasting of its achievement by setting up this display overnight for all visitors to see the "winner"

One of the traditional highlights of the IAA Hannover show is the announcement of the truck, bus and van of the year at what is known as the 'Evening of the Commercial Vehicle Press'. This is held on the evening of the first day of the show where all journalists from around the world, along with industry leaders, gather for a celebratory dinner.

Although we won't be seeing the winner in South Africa for a few years yet, the much acclaimed title of 'International Truck of the Year 2007' went to the DAF XF 105 which went into production last January. The award was accepted by DAF Truck President, Aad Goudriaan.

The XF 105 features a restyled exterior, an entirely new interior design, a new chassis lay-out and the new 12,9 liter Paccar MX engine available in both Euro 4 and Euro 5 specifications.

In his summation, chairman of the 19 strong Jury Andy Salter said: "This category of the market continues to represent one of Europe's biggest and most important truck sectors and for a truck to be successful in this arena it has to meet the challenging demands of both the driver and the operator. In the XF 105, DAF has addressed these two customer groups in impressive fashion.
 

An extremely chuffed DAF Truck President Aad Goudriaan accepts the trophy on behalf of his team. I showed this pic to the girls in the office and they reckon they'd rather have him tha a DAF truck. Yes - well!

The new 12,9 liter Paccar MX engine powering the XF 105 is available in both Euro 4 and Euro 5 specifications. Euro 5 badging was prominent on many trucks on show proudly displaying the fact that using SCR technology, Europe is three years ahead of its time on vehicle emissions.

The International truck of the Year is awarded each year to the truck - launched in the previous 12 months - which is deemed to have made the greatest contribution to the efficient carriage of goods by road. The award for 'Bus of the Year 2007' went to the Mercedes-Benz Citaro LE Ü Low Entry rural-service bus while the 'Van of the Year 2007' was won by the new Ford Transit.