Hyundai H350 (Ford Transit/Merc Sprinter Competitor)

laxmax613

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TTAC said:
The first is the Hyundai H350. For now a Euro-special only, this one is especially interesting to Brazilians as there are strong rumors it will soon be built here in our tropical country. It follows traditional European van design, while adding some Hyundai visual cues. Its interior is quite simple, offering up enough content to be a contender. It can be equipped with independent air conditioning, refrigerated glove box, rain, darkness and parking sensors, Android-based multimedia center, and cruise control. Hyundai highlights construction flexibility possibilities, coming in three body styles (Bus, Cargo and truck) and two lengths (5.5 and 6.2 m). The rear-drive van makes either 148 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque or 168 hp and 311 lb-ft from its 2.5L 4-cylinder diesel engine. The sole transmission option is a 6-speed manual.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/09/dispatches-brasil-hanover-vans/

I wonder if this will make it to us, and whether it'll be a real competitor. It looks kinda half-baked to me,and the front is very cheap looking, but I'll stay optimistic.
 
The Smaller Hyundai H1 is quite popular here.
 
The power outputs seem to be aimed straight at the sprinter. IIRC, the current options for Sprinter buyers are ~130hp and a ~150hp fours and an ~180hp V6. All diesels, of course. I'm not sure on the exact power outputs but they are badged 313, 315, 318 (or 515, 518 etc) where the first digit means payload in tons and the second two means power output divided by 10. All commercial vehicles MB makes are badged this way.

Anyway, the interior looks fairly straight forward and well laid out and the rest of the van uses the basic formula for pretty much everything. It's probably functional, and knowing Hyundai as of late it will be reliable too.

On the downside there's no FWD option (unlike the new Transit) and people that pay for their vehicles themselves will still want the Sprinter because it can be had with a proper torque converter automatic. If I was self-employed and shopping for a van I would tick a few optional extras to make life behind the wheel as pleasant as possible, including a third pedal delete. I can totally see fleets of these in base trim though.

Wonder why Toyota isn't doing anything in this market?
 
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Wonder why Toyota isn't doing anything in this market?

Replacing the Hiace with a rebadged turd from Sevel Nord was pretty much their unofficial announcement of giving up on the european van market.

The only bigger van that gets close is the Toyota Dyna/Hino Dutro that is sold only in Japan and Southeastern Asia.

800px-HINO_Dutro_Route-van_001.JPG
 
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Let's play guess the van! :D

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The complete lack of badging on the rear is interesting



So yeah it's a Sprinter copy (albeit likely more reliable and less prone to rust). Packaged with a nice maintenance package I think it can be success :thumbup:

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Neat integrated bumper footsteps to reach the windshield and rear engine bay.
 
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The only issue I see them having is Hyundai not having as extensive a dealer network as Merc or Ford, and the dealerships they have tend to be a lot smaller.
Companies want fast, easy, close by service from large service centers that can handle multiple vehicles at once for their fleet, not a 1h drive to a 1 ramp mecanics shop at the back of a 2 car showroom owned by someone inevitably called Bob.
 
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Replacing the Hiace with a rebadged turd from Sevel Nord was pretty much their unofficial announcement of giving up on the european van market.[/IMG]
It's not really a turd, it's not just a proper replacement. It's smaller and there's no 4WD version. But apparently it's reliable and also nice to drive, something you can't blame the Hiace for. And in some applications, FWD is a million eleventy times better than RWD. Ask anyone that has spent some time behind the wheel of a Hiace or 90's Transit in winter conditions with no weight in the back.

The only issue I see them having is Hyundai not having as extensive a dealer network as Merc or Ford, and the dealerships they have tend to be a lot smaller.
Companies want fast, easy, close by service from large service centers that can handle multiple vehicles at once for their fleet, not a 1h drive to a 1 ramp mecanics shop at the back of a 2 car showroom owned by someone inevitably called Bob.

1h drive, check. 1 ramp shop... wait, maybe two. And he's not called Bob, it's Arto. :lol:

Meanwhile, Mercedes and Ford has big dealerships with lots of mechanics and routines for customers that need their shit fixed NOW.
 
But ... but FWD suckx!!!11

Tell that to anyone that owns a RWD pickup or van that mostly is driven around empty. :lol:

Yes, I know your post wasn't serious.
 
Meanwhile, Mercedes and Ford has big dealerships with lots of mechanics and routines for customers that need their shit fixed NOW.

I took a peek at the map of all Mercedes service stations and all Hyundai service stations and it's fairly even in that respect, but keep in mind neither website allows filtering for stations for commercial vehicles only, of which Mercedes has a few (in major cities), Hyundai likely zero. Indeed Hyundai doesn't even have a commercial vehicles tab on their website, they bundle the H1 with the rest of the cars.

Commercial buyers want packages with financing, mobility guarantees and roadside assistance (that's more than towing your car to the service point) and none of that is in place yet for the Koreans. The H350 is the first dip of the toe in the water, if it's a success they do have rather neat things back home...

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Note the complete dissimilarity to any Volvo or Mercedes... :D
But yeah first they need to separate commercial buyers from private and company car buyers.
 
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I can't imagine any H1 owner needing any kind of special customer service. They just drop it off to be serviced like your average i40 owner and that's that. They're typically bought by plumbers and the like.
 
I thought this was a Sprinter rebadge at first. It will probably be fairly decent. It might be successful if they sell it here, the H1s (called the iLoad here) are very popular.

I think there's still a lot of fear about Euro badges on commercial vehicles for some reason that sees a lot of people buy Hiaces or the other Hyundai even though they're worse vehicles. The Europeans have had the big van market to themselves though, and the Sprinter pretty much owns it. This could prove very popular just because it isn't European.

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I thought this was a Sprinter rebadge at first. It will probably be fairly decent. It might be successful if they sell it here, the H1s (called the iLoad here) are very popular.

I think there's still a lot of fear about Euro badges on commercial vehicles for some reason that sees a lot of people buy Hiaces or the other Hyundai even though they're worse vehicles. The Europeans have had the big van market to themselves though, and the Sprinter pretty much owns it. This could prove very popular just because it isn't European.
 
I think there's still a lot of fear about Euro badges on commercial vehicles for some reason that sees a lot of people buy Hiaces or the other Hyundai even though they're worse vehicles. The Europeans have had the big van market to themselves though, and the Sprinter pretty much owns it. This could prove very popular just because it isn't European.

Huh, why do they fear european commercial vehicles?
 
Huh, why do they fear european commercial vehicles?
Because Australians have been conditioned to think that European vehicles are made of gold in ways only known about by a small select group of mechanical wizards. The groupthink of car buyers says that if it's not Asian, servicing will cost more than the car and spare parts require sacrifice of your first born.

Of course, fleet managers and such tend to actually know more about actual costs of ownership and thus company fleets of commercial vehicles are quite often European. But average blue collar Stevo the plumber will be called a poofter at the pub if he buys a Renault but not if he buys a Toyota.
 
But average blue collar Stevo the plumber will be called a poofter at the pub if he buys a Renault but not if he buys a Toyota.

So in other words, you have experience? :lol:
 
Ever wondered why I bought a Toyota? :lol:

Nah, I don't work in a blue collar job but knowing people in those kinds of job, yeah, they don't take kindly to people trying to do things differently. There's a reason the Hilux is still the best selling truck (and the Hiace the best selling van) and it's sure as hell not because they're the best ones you can buy.
 
Tell that to anyone that owns a RWD pickup or van that mostly is driven around empty. :lol:

Yes, I know your post wasn't serious.

or someone who had to load heavy things in the back.
a FWD will have a lower floor than a RWD...
 
But average blue collar Stevo the plumber will be called a poofter at the pub if he buys a Renault but not if he buys a Toyota.

Meh, hardly an Australia only thing, sounds just like my regular pub :p
 
I can't imagine any H1 owner needing any kind of special customer service. They just drop it off to be serviced like your average i40 owner and that's that. They're typically bought by plumbers and the like.
Yes the H1 owner doesn't, but he's Heikki the plumber, not Pentti the fleet manager.

I thought this was a Sprinter rebadge at first. It will probably be fairly decent. It might be successful if they sell it here, the H1s (called the iLoad here) are very popular.
It's reeeeeeally similar body. I mean just look at the lines around the door:

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I have also noted that the real world van does indeed say Hyundai H350 on the rear doors, unlike the shoops. I wonder how clever it was to put the aerial all the way up there on the roof...
 
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