Rod Chapman•27 Apr 2017

REVIEW

Hino FM 2635: Review

Name: Hino FM 2635: Review
Brand: Hino

The biggest truck in Hino's new 500 Series Wide Cab range is also remarkably easy to drive

Hino's new 500 Series Wide Cab range made a glowing first impression at the line-up's national press launch in February where we drove from Sydney to the Hunter Valley. In the pipeline since 2009, at the launch it was clear the myriad improvements will stand the brand in good stead.

However, trucksales was eager to sample the newcomers over a longer period, and we recently got our chance with an FM 2635.

The new 500 Series Wide Cab range extends from the FG 1628 (as in, 16t GVM and 280hp) to the FM 2635 (26t GVM and 350hp), and so we were beginning our investigation of the new breed at the top end of town.

Loaded to around 80 per cent of its GVM, our test truck was collected from Melbourne's Prestige Hino in Dandenong South and came to us as an Alltruck Bodies tautliner with rather 'distinctive' curtains. Hino's marketing machine is in full swing…

Powering the FM is Hino's A09C-UR engine, a heavily reworked straight-six turbo-diesel that now meets ADR 80/03 and Euro 5 emissions compliance. The emissions are handled an SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) system, with the FM fitted with a 59-litre AdBlue tank.

Hino says the engine is good for 257kW (350hp) at 1800rpm and 1422Nm from 1100rpm to 1600rpm and in this, the most powerful of the FMs, the unit has been mated with Hino's nine-speed synchromesh gearbox – it has an 'H over H' pattern with a high/low range switch. Our test truck's sibling, the FM 2632, blends a slightly lower engine output with an Allison 3200 six-speed automatic.

The FM 2635 is only available in a 6x4 format, and differential cross locks are a standard feature.

The FM rolls on a new chassis with a grid-hole design and a smooth top flange, making life easier for body builders and the addition of accessories. Up front it's a taper leaf spring arrangement with shocks and stabilisers, while at the rear the FM rides on tandem axles with Hendrickson HAS 400 airbags, the latter with remote height control.

New, lightweight Alcoa wheels now feature across the 500 Series Wide Cab range, adding some bling while minimising weight.

Refined cab

It's a long way up to get into the cab – the FM's cab height is on a par with most prime movers – but ingress and egress is made that little bit easier thanks to new cascading steps. Each one protrudes out a little further from top to bottom, making it easier to find your way as you descend, and the grab rails are new too.

In the cab, drivers get an ISRI 6860/870 driver's air suspension seat to get to grips with. It features an integrated seat belt and a stack of adjustment, including lumbar support, although it doesn't have armrests. Together with a steering wheel that is adjustable for both tilt and reach, it's easy to achieve a comfy position.

The outboard passenger also scores a suspension seat, albeit more basic than the driver's ISRI, while the centre passenger makes do with a simple perch with lap belt – its seat back also folds forward to provide a tray and a concealed area that could potentially fit a small laptop or tablet.

The cab itself is spacious and vision is excellent, only the skinny A-pillars and the sizeable side mirrors intruding on the driver's outlook. The mirrors have independent adjustment and electric heating. There's a kerb observation mirror too, to aid parking.

Storage is generally good, thanks to the massive rest area across the back of the cab and the twin overhead shelves, but the truck could do with a few more cubby holes and areas to store smaller items. The door side pockets are only wide enough to accept a clipboard or papers, and there are no bottle holders – although a central slide-out cup holder will accept two cups.

The space behind the seating is described by Hino as a 'rest area', and that seems pretty well right. It's certainly not comfy enough to be termed a sleeper even though there's provision for a privacy curtain, and while it's long it won't be wide enough to accommodate bigger drivers. Basically it's fine for a short nap, but otherwise it's a large storage area.

Our FM's cab was fitted with a long list of niceties to smooth a driver's way through the working week. Hino's multimedia system offers digital radio plus regular AM/FM and a CD/DVD player, along with USB and SD inputs. It has a bright 6.1-inch touchscreen and it's now fitted with larger, easier-to-use dials.

It also offers Bluetooth telephony, but sadly there's no integrated steering wheel controls, as found in many Euro prime movers. It's all extra expense, of course, but it does enhance safety.

One very welcome inclusion on the FM – and the wider 500 Series Wide Cab range – is that of a standard reversing camera. On our 11.3m-long test truck, it removed the risk from tight parking situations. A further two cameras can be added, too.

On the road

Trucksales spent a week piloting the FM in and around Melbourne – a good workout that put its new engine, nine-speed manual and many new features to the test. Running at around 20 tonnes, the nine-litre engine made easy and relaxed progress; it was evident it was hauling some weight, yet doing it without complaint and completely happy to skip-shift through the gears too.

I did my best to keep the mill spinning in the green zone marked on the truck's tacho (1000rpm to 1500rpm). This was easy to do, and only on some steeper grades did I drop a cog and give it some juice, pushing the needle in the direction of the 2200rpm indicated redline.

Maximum torque is laid down in a fat 500rpm band, and either side of this there's still plenty of useable grunt to keep motoring.

Our test truck's gearing seemed to be on the shorter side, and even in eighth gear at 100km/h it was carrying 1750rpm, just outside of its peak torque and the green 'Eco zone' marked on the tacho. Still, it never felt like it was straining, even with the load and on some inclines.

With a GVM of 26,000kg and a GCM of 45,000kg, the FM 2635 can handle an impressive payload and a wide range of roles, from metro distribution to tipper work, and a lot more besides.

This manual model comes with Hino's Easy Start system as standard, otherwise known as hill start assist. It's a handy thing for starting on a steep incline and you can adjust the time it takes before it deactivates.

Our model also came with Hino's factory (but optional) sat-nav. It's a truck-specific system and it's easy to use, although it's bit slow to boot up and update compared with many other systems these days.

The instrumentation has been updated and its easy to read; an analogue speedo and tacho sandwich a more modern digital info display, with a secondary upper digital screen displaying a clock or a range of trip computer info.

There are icons to signify which gear range the truck is in – a turtle or a hare – and audible alerts to indicate range changes.

The nine-speed manual is an impressive transmission. Our test vehicle's 'box needed quite a bit of pressure to select reverse or the crawler gear – perhaps a product of the paltry 3000 kilometres on the odometer – but it sliced through the other gears with precision.

The shifter's handle is ergonomically shaped too, a thoughtful touch that – like the new pendulum-style pedals and footrest – make a big difference over long days behind the wheel.

We have no complaints about the FM's steering either; the truck felt secure on the road at any speed and the turning circle was impressive for this wheelbase – another aspect Hino worked on through the model's rebirth. This was particularly pronounced around town, the big FM really requiring only a light touch at the wheel and surprisingly little clearance to make tighter turns and, say, thread its way through small roundabouts.

The Hendrickson HAS 400 airbags, meanwhile, make for a comfortable ride and one that takes the harshness out of typical Australian roads. In general the driver remains well isolated from the bumps and dips that might otherwise rack up the dental bills.

It's quiet too – remarkably so. While it might not quite match some of the Euro prime movers for noise suppression, on a steady throttle at 100km/h the FM was almost totally devoid of wind noise, with only a little engine rumble and the whistle of the turbo to intrude on the serenity. Of course, under power at lower speeds the diesel roars as you'd expect to, but it's nothing any truckie would question.

The various controls are generally easy to get to, although you do have to reach around the steering wheel to find the cruise control switch, which is partially hidden. The centrally located air-con dials are easy to get to and the venting works well. On a warm day the cooling was entirely sufficient while a cold morning start saw the fogged-up windscreen rapidly clear.

As for economy, we spent the week in a mix of standard and power modes both in the city and on the highway. At the end of our week, and after several hundred largely city kilometres, the trip computer was reading 3.0km/lt, which isn't bad given the load and the conditions. An idle-stop system can play its part to further improve economy.

Safety first

Hino says it's gone to great lengths to enhance driver and passenger safety, and it's difficult to argue with that sentiment when you consider the 500 Series Wide Cab range is the first medium-duty range to feature stability control as standard.

Hino first introduced stability control to its 300 Series range in 2014, so it's a natural progression to extend its benefits into the 500 Series line-up. The system calibrates itself for a given load and vehicle format and then, through a series of sensors, detects any impending loss of control. The system then cuts engine output and brakes wheels independently to restore control, heading off an accident before it happens.

It's a first line of defence on the road, and far preferable to relying on secondary systems that seek to minimise injury once the worst has come to pass. Still, that being said, the FM is fitted with a driver's airbag and a cab that's been crash-tested to the ECE R29 standard for strength, while the air brakes are backed up by ABS.

The braking system is powerful yet it offers quite a high degree of feel at the pedal, which makes the truck that much easier to guide around town. There's also a Jake brake which, although not overpoweringly strong – does its bit to take the strain off the service brakes when possible.

Summing up

After living with the FM 2635 for a week, it was clear the biggest of Hino's new 500 Series Wide Cab range has the clout to back up Hino's claims. Whether or not it truly is a 'game changer' remains to be seen, but I suspect Hino's onto a real winner with this model.

Comfortable, quiet and capable, the FM 2635 brings with it a level of refinement, safety and technology not previously associated with this class of truck, and the chasing of that bar that will ultimately benefit the broader truck industry.

2017 Hino FM 2635 specifications:

Engine: 8.9-litre in-line six-cylinder turbo-diesel

Power: 257kW (350hp) at 1800rpm

Torque: 1422Nm at 1100rpm to 1600rpm

Emissions: Euro5 via Selective Catalytic Reduction

Transmission: Hino MO09D OD nine-speed synchromesh with H-over-H pattern and high/low ranges

Configuration: 6x4

Front suspension: Taper leaf springs with shocks and stabilisers

Rear suspension: Hendrickson HAS 400 airbags

GVM: 26,000kg

GCM: 45,000kg

Fuel capacity: 390lt