Japan’s finest trucks to take centre stage at CV Show 2012
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Hino’s new 7.5-tonner will be unveiled at the CV Show next week. CM had a sneak peek and a drive too
Words: Andy Salter
WHILE THE 7.5-tonner has lost some of its popularity in the UK truck market (only 5,000 of them were registered in 2011), it has proved a fruitful hunting ground for Japanese firms with roughly a third of all 7.5-tonners sold bearing an Isuzu, Fuso or Hino badge last year. The former two have always been dominant players but, with the launch of the 300 Series at the CV show next week, Hino is planning to get in on the action.
The show unveiling is the first phase of the product launch, with full production volumes expected to hit these shores from the final quarter of 2012. Pricing isn’t yet confirmed, but we don’t expect any surprises – indeed it would be suicide if this vehicle were not “priced to sell” , such is the competitive nature of the sector – and on paper the 300 Series would appear to have all the necessary attributes to command its own slice of the action.
From the outside, the styling changes are minor and restricted to a new grille and a bit of tinkering with the plastic moulding around the headlights, but look a bit harder and you’ll find more: the A-pillars are slimmer and internal cab space has been improved. In and under the cab there’s plenty to note. For starters, there’s now a choice of day or crew cab version of the product, the former benefiting from a tilt cab, while the latter has an inspec tion hatch for engine access. The Hino N04C motor is employed in Euro-5 compliant guise (Euro-6 will come in 2014), which uses EGR and a DPF to keep the emissions within the mandatory limits. There’s 162hp (121kW) on offer from the four-cylinder engine, with a maximum torque output of 464Nm at 1,400rpm. A choice of six-speed manual or fully auto gearbox sits behind the engine, although the auto box uses a slightly lower-rated 150hp version of the engine.
In-cab there’s now a suspended driver’s seat as standard, a height and rake adjustment on the steering wheel, as well as the obligatory redesign of the instrument panel and a new radio.
The changes have meant the 300 Series has put on a few pounds, meaning the product has lost its best-in-class status. The single cab version, with six-speed manual, tips the scales at 2,738kg (the crew cab weighs 2,908kg) indicating you should be able to get 3,500kg of payload with a typical boxbodied vehicle Final verdict on the merits, or otherwise, of the Hino 300 Series will have to wait until we get our hands on a bodied, laden vehicle in the summer, but on this evidence Hino now has a product capable of challenging for a decent chunk of the 7.5-tonne market in the years ahead.