Hyundai HG350 ready to take on Europe's Transits and Sprinters

Sun, 28 Sep 2014

Here in North America, Hyundai has been historically known as a purveyor of affordable, content-laden everyday cars and crossovers. More recently, it's also been pushing upmarket and attempting to gain respect for its sporting joneses. In other parts of the world, however, the Korean automaker is a major force in commercial vehicles, providing everything from chassis cabs and dump trucks to fullsize motor coaches. Now, it's looking to push further overseas, squarely into Europe's already mature van business with this new HG350, a new commercial vehicle that will form the basis for a cargo van, passenger transport and flatbed truck.

This three-pronged approach will see Hyundai fighting directly against the new Ford Transit, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, and models like the recently overhauled Fiat Ducato/Peugeot Boxer twins. The rear-drive, six-speed manual-equipped range is available in 3.5-ton cargo or flatbed spec, or in 4.0-ton guise with as many as 15 seats. The cargo version, incidentally, can hold up to 456 cubic feet of stuff. Regardless of configuration, power comes from a common-rail diesel displacing 2.5 liters with either 148 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque or 168 hp and 311 lb-ft.

With the American market finally embracing Euro-style cargo vans, does that mean that Hyundai might bring the HG350 here? Not likely. "While a heck of a vehicle, this isn't anything we are seriously considering right now for the US market," Jim Trainor, Hyundai Motor America's national manager of product public relations, tells Autoblog.

So, no HG350, but rumors persist that Hyundai is actively investigating the possibility of marketing a different sort of truck: a fullsize pickup. About this, Trainor is understandably cagey, but he did offer this tantalizingly open-ended response: "While our focus is on our lineup of cars and CUVs, we never say never to any segment."

Hyundai Motor stages world premiere of H350

Hyundai Motor unveils its first multi-purpose light commercial van for the European market
Flexible platform supports three body styles: cargo van, passenger bus and flatbed truck
New LCV boasts high load volume, ergonomic design and competitive running costs

September 24, 2014 – Hyundai Motor Company, South Korea's largest automaker, today revealed the H350 and H350 passenger bus, its first light commercial vehicle (LCV) designed specifically for the European market. An efficient, safe and stylish vehicle, the H350 provides a versatile, practical and convenient option for commercial vehicle users.

H350 is set on a flexible platform that can support three body styles, cargo van, passenger bus and flatbed truck - strengthening the company's European vehicle line-up, entering the light commercial vehicle segment and targeting new customers in Europe.

Hyundai's LCV engineers focused on six key areas during the development of H350; efficiency, value, loading capacity, safety, reliability and performance. H350 was benchmarked against its major rivals from the major premium European commercial vehicle manufacturers, ensuring the user experience compared favorably with vehicles in its sector.

H350 furthers the modern Hyundai family aesthetic demonstrated by its passenger cars, featuring distinctive and aerodynamic design. Responsive yet predictable handling combines with a comfortable and stable ride, offering drivers car-like characteristics and high levels of refinement.

Use of advanced high-strength steel and advanced chassis engineering has enabled Hyundai to ensure H350 benefits from a strong bodyshell, complementing the sophisticated safety features to provide class-leading crashworthiness. Hyundai demonstrates the democratization of technologies from its passenger cars to its commercial vehicles with H350, offering premium levels of comfort and conveniences.

The H350 has been designed as a rugged and reliable work tool, yet it is stylish and refined enough to operate as a comfortable mode of personal transport for friends and family too. This breadth of capabilities ensures H350 delivers a rewarding ownership experience, giving business and private users the flexibility they need to succeed.

Powerful and efficient turbo diesel engines, matched to a 6-speed manual transmission, provide plentiful torque to ensure H350 is capable of carrying heavy cargo (up to 1.4 tonnes) in its load bay (3780 x 1795 x 1955 mm) with ease, while also offering the capacity to transport an additional 2.5 tonnes load thanks to its towing capability.

By Chris Paukert