As part of the ongoing drip, drip, drip campaign being put out by Hino Trucks, we now get a glance inside the next generation heavy duty Hino prime mover. The new Hino 700 Series trucks are due to finally see the light of day in early June, or so PowerTorque has heard.
The new truck was originally slated to be unveiled at the Brisbane Truck Show last week, but the decision from Hino not to make an appearance at the show has meant other plans have had to be made.
So, what do we know about the new Hino 700 trucks so far? The first teaser released simply gave us a close up of the grille and very little substance.
The second snippet is one which was easily guessed, the 700 will include the full safety suite from Hino. This is the last section of the range to join the safety systems’ club, after its introduction in the Hino 500 and 300 in recent years. The truck will include Pre-Collision System with Autonomous Emergency Braking, Vehicle Stability Control, LED Headlamps and Daytime Running Lamps, the shopping list looks similar to those now included in European prime movers, Fuso and UD Trucks, plus a few more brands.
The second easy guess unveiled was the confirmation of an all Euro6 driveline. It looks like every new truck on the market will be Euro6 before the federal government gets around to tabling the legislation to enforce it, at this rate.
The transmission will be a two-pedal one, another no-brainer. There is no confirmation of which brand will be fitted in the new 700, but ZF TraXon, would be a pretty safe bet, at this stage. PowerTorque likes the look of the new transmission controller, dial right to drive, right again for slow manoeuvring, then go left for reverse and left again to get a slow reverse.
Now we get a sneak preview of the interior of the new model. Is there going to any story left to tell, when we get to see the finished article in early June?
