An insider's guide to DAF, by owners of the quirky Dutch cars

Telegraph

a day ago

While DAF Trucks have been a market leader for decades, the Dutch company's venture into the car industry was disappointingly brief – only 15 years, to be exact.
During that time, about 750,000 cars rolled off the production line in Eindhoven, beginning with the DAF 600 that made its debut at the 1958 Amsterdam motor show. Several incarnations followed, including the most popular 33, 55 and 66 models.
Some critics joked that DAFs were driven mainly by elderly ladies and were inconsequential, however such blinkered views failed to acknowledge that, in some respects, the cars were ahead of their time, most notably in their automatic transmission.
The company's founders, the Van Doorne Brothers, strived to produce a car accessible to all but with some luxuries associated with more expensive vehicles, such as a self-shifting gearbox.
Unheard of in small cars, DAF broke new ground by creating the Variomatic transmission – inspired by a belt-driven lathe in the factory – utilising a pulley/belt system to achieve a stepless, automatic gearchange and deliver optimal engine speed for any driving situation.
Ironically, the system's popularity increased after DAF stopped producing cars when Ford and Fiat, among others, fitted a continuously variable transmission (CVT) to their smaller models.
DAF's short flirtation with the car industry ended in 1973 when Volvo bought the brand. Several factors contributed to the company quitting the car market, including failure to expand sufficiently to compete with rivals and the founders' conservatism restricting the cars' performance potential.
This side of the North Sea, DAF only started making headway in the small vehicle market during its final years; before then, import tariffs had been prohibitive until they were lifted when the UK joined the Common Market in 1973.
Today, it's estimated that only about 120 DAFs remain on UK roads. We caught up with three devoted owners to understand the enduring appeal of the quirky Dutch cars.
I have a long affinity with DAFs because not only did my mother drive one, but I grew up just down the road from the factory in the Netherlands. Often, I'd cycle to school past the plant and see the works rally cars leave for a competition – they drove them to events back then.
I bought my 55 in 1997 for £800 after having my eye on it for ages. When it won our concours, I asked the owner for first refusal if he sold it. Luckily, he did.
DAFs rarely come up for sale in the UK, but typically I'd expect a 55 Coupé to sell for around £3,500 to £5,500. However, mine is modified and rally-prepared. Similar modified cars have been offered in Holland for about €20,000 (£17,320).
For years they were regarded as 'uncool', yet in recent times people have started to seek them out, precisely for that reason.
I increased the power of my 55 by, among other things, upgrading the engine to a 1,397cc Renault engine from a Volvo 340. Power has increased from about 50bhp to an estimated 85bhp, although it's getting tired now.
I have completed track days, hillclimbs and taken part in classic tours but nothing competitive these days. Now, I just take it out every fortnight – it's certainly a fun car to drive.
While the Variomatic transmission makes them unusual to drive, they have a decent chassis, are cheap to run and enjoy fine handling and precise steering. They allow fast progress, particularly in hilly terrain with lots of curves, and always seem to be in the right gear, allowing me to keep up with more powerful cars.
Although lightweight, DAFs are strong where it matters, as in the admittedly rather quirky belt-drive CVT transmission; you can tell it was designed by a truck manufacturer. Earlier variants don't have a differential, the difference in rear-wheel speed around bends being taken up by belt slip. That also gives the effect of a limited-slip differential, making them useful rally cars.
The only disadvantages with DAFs are that they rust and parts usually have to be sought in the Netherlands, where the Dutch owners' club has several warehouses full of old stock and newly made parts.
I paid £2,500 for my DAF in 2016. When I collected it from Yorkshire, the guy asked where my trailer was, explaining that the car hadn't done more than about 25 miles per year so assumed I would trailer it back to Hertfordshire.
So, with no AA membership or radio in the car and only a mobile phone for company, I headed off. The DAF performed perfectly, returning 40-plus mpg on the run home – it never missed a beat.
I rebuilt the engine recently and now drive the car almost daily. While we also have a Subaru, which is superbly comfortable and quick, its economy around town is frighteningly low, whereas the DAF returns up to 47mpg. In addition, it's exempt from Ulez (ultra-low emission zone) charges in the capital and, being so small, can squeeze into parking bays that would defeat the Subaru. It has a huge boot, too, so a supermarket trip is no problem either. But wherever we go, we frequently receive hoots from the drivers of DAF trucks.
They are the easiest car in the world to drive. You start it in gear, which sounds odd but you get used to it, put your foot down and off you go! One pedal to go, one to stop. The engine revs bear no resemblance to the car's speed and the sensation of the car going progressively quicker, but the engine revs remaining constant, takes some getting used to.
Unlike 'normal' [torque converter] automatics, DAFs don't creep forwards on tickover, so you simply bring it to a stop using the footbrake. Although it only has a 750cc engine, the way the transmission works means the car is always in the right gear.
Being air-cooled, the engine is a little noisy when driven hard, although on reaching a cruising speed the transmission adjusts and the engine becomes quieter. Drum brakes, meanwhile, are fitted all round on the 33 and need a good shove to make an emergency stop; you have to read the road more than in a modern car.
People ask why I drive a DAF and it's quite simple: I came from a DAF family. My late father had a penchant for unusual vehicles and, in the late 1960s, bought a 33 van for his electrical business. So impressed was he with the van that he bought a DAF 66 as our family car, while my grandfather opted for a 55.
When I passed my driving test, I asked a dealer to look out for a second-hand 33, which he did, so I drove that for several years, before moving to 'sensible' cars. Fast forward to 2016 and partial retirement from work. Wanting something to tinker with, I found this DAF 33 and the circle is complete.
I paid £400 for my 1,108cc aubergine-coloured 66 in 2000. It has 18,000 miles on the clock and, to be honest, I don't drive it enough, although it has made two trips to Holland for major DAF events and been back to its birthplace in Eindhoven.
DAFs have good road manners plus excellent suspension similar to the Morris Minor: torsion bars in the front, elliptical leaf springs at the rear.
When I bought the car, the Variomatic transmission needed work so I demounted it to replace the vacuum diaphragms, which was a heavy but fairly easy job. Also, I replaced parts of the braking system and gained an MOT less than 24 hours before heading to catch the ferry for a week in Holland.
In the days when I taxed the car at the Post Office, I was often asked where I stored my truck; few people recall that DAF also made cars.
But I love cars which are a technical tour de force and dared to be different, such as the Citroën DS, NSU Ro80, Tatra 613 and the DAF Variomatic. The DAF was the only one I could afford.
The interior of my 66 is unmistakably Giovanni Michelotti [among the 20th century's most inventive sports car designers ], like the BMW 1600 and Triumph Dolomite, where form and function conspire to give simple style and an excellent airy cabin with superb visibility.
DAFs are well made and apart from the transmission are fairly mainstream. The Renault 1,108cc engine in the 66 is reliable and easy to maintain, while DAF's home-grown 746cc two-cylinder engine – the only car engine ever made by DAF – in the Daffodil, 32 and 33 required no development over its lifetime and is capable of starship mileages.'