Hino 700 Series SS 2848: Review

Few Hino 700 owner/drivers spend time and money on glam – there’s little point. 

And that’s the reason I pointed out to Hino’s people that it appeared little had changed in several years or so, even though its main competitors had moved a generation ahead in styling, ergonomics and powertrain. The answer was simple: "But it does the job." 

That’s why I got a big surprise when Hino’s outstanding auxiliary brake package took an unannounced holiday two-thirds of the way through my road test.

I shifted to manual, then back to auto, clicked it into neutral, revved the engine, cycled the service brakes – nothing I did could bring them back to life. So I then had to drive a little further ahead of myself, getting ready to back off sooner and using the manual function on the ZF transmission to exploit as much engine braking as possible. It underlined to me how important auxiliary brakes are.

The silver lining in this episode was highlighting the effectiveness of the Hino’s auxiliary brake system. You really do miss something good when it ain’t there anymore. When it was engaged I never used the service brakes, except for coming to a complete stop in heavy traffic.
 

Admittedly we weren’t at full GCM. The single trailer was a skel with Hino’s latest marketing exercise – a 40-foot container-sized V8 Supercar expandable marketing trailer. The whole rig only weighed around 21-tonne, but it was a vivid contrast to the engine/exhaust brakes on most Japanese trucks, which are generally a waste of space even in cab/chassis form. The Hino was a refreshing change.

I would actually tick the option sheet for the ZF AMT instead of the Eaton 18-speed manual just for the retarder.

Mine site support work is also a popular task, especially in WA and Queensland. Service modules and water tanks bolt on easily and the uptime record in critical conditions of abnormal heat and dust is something certain other brands envy. The only unhappy people seem to be the Hino service technicians – they rarely see them.

Hino’s E13C six-cylinder diesel peaks at 1100rpm, then falls away to 1900Nm at 1800rpm where it drops off a cliff. From around 1500rpm this is an engine that needs the driver to exploit power rather than torque. 

Our route included a lot of hills and I used manual mode extensively to keep momentum up. There was no point in letting the engine lug down to 1000rpm though. For that reason alone the 700 clearly does its best work in suburban or larger metropolitan areas.

The cab is also a generation or so behind the pace. 

The sleeper ‘area’ is really just storage place. It’s so narrow most drivers will need Jenny Craig’s help before trying it on, and you’ll need to crawl across the centre console, scattering all your bits and pieces with your mud-covered safety boots. Basically it’s a day cab. 

The steering featured regular clunks from underneath on broken surfaces and wheeling up the 180-degree switchbacks through Macquarie Pass on the Illawarra Highway needed a steady hand to compensate for a general vagueness.