Russian-assembled Hyundai trucks: fifth grade test

Hyundai Trucks: HD35City, HD78, HD120

The new Euro 5 eco-class engines are equipped with an EGR exhaust gas recirculation system and a regenerable particulate filter - it does not need to be cleaned, which means machine downtime is reduced. If trucks with Euro-4 engines were equipped only with anti-lock and traction control systems, then all Euro-5s are already equipped as standard with a VDC stability control system with a rollover anti-rollover function.

Where these trucks are assembled, they changed the technology for painting the cabs. The thickness of the paint coating has been doubled (to 90–100 microns) - there should be fewer complaints from owners about the abundance of chips and “soft” paint.

Range

Of the three trucks, the newest is the small HD35City. It was brought to the market at the beginning of this year already with a Euro-5 engine. The “city dweller” differs from the well-known HD35 in its wheelbase shortened from 3.4 to 2.8 meters. On the rear axle, instead of 16‑inch wheels, there are 13‑inch wheels, thanks to which the loading height has been reduced to 800 mm. Unfortunately, different wheel diameters require you to carry two spare tires.

The total weight of the HD35City is 3500 kg: a category B license is suitable for driving. The load capacity of the chassis is about 1600 kg, and the van (pictured) takes 850 kg of cargo - you can drive into the center of Moscow or St. Petersburg.

The HD35City's wood-grain instrument panel looks like something from a bygone century. The steering wheel and gear knob are new - more comfortable than in the HD35.

The HD35City's wood-grain instrument panel looks like something from a bygone century. The steering wheel and gear knob are new - more comfortable than in the HD35.

Facing the city

Having begun our acquaintance with the HD 35City at the COMTRANS-2017 exhibition, we continued our communication at the official dealer PodolskKomTrans LLC site located near Moscow. Here we saw a truck with a body superstructure, an isothermal refrigerated van, made by the Nizhny Novgorod Automechanical Plant LLC. Externally, such a car seems to be a smaller copy of the Hyundai HD65 and looks charismatic in an oriental way.

I open the wide driver's door, stand on the comfortable step, grab the small handrail and get into the driver's seat. I note to myself that this operation is easier to perform than in the Porter with its cramped cabin and emphatically vertical landing. Despite the fact that the steering wheel is adjustable on a small shoulder, and the chair does not have a height adjustment, I sit comfortably. The laconic instrument panel contains the necessary minimum: speedometer, tachometer, fuel level and coolant temperature gauges.

The visibility is good both due to the large windshield and side windows, and thanks to the vertically oriented “burdocks” of the mirrors on widely spaced brackets. The single cab is tilting, which provides easy access to the engine and reduces maintenance time. In comparison with the Porter, noise and heat insulation has been significantly improved, which will definitely be appreciated by the driver and his two companions. The only thing we can complain about is the small number of compartments for “small things”. The main storage areas are the glove compartment and door pockets. There are also no shelves or hooks for outerwear. Tools can be kept behind and under the seats.

Old Guard

The Hyundai HD78 with a gross weight of 7.5 tons is the most popular among foreign-made trucks in Russia: more than 40 thousand of them travel around our country! In addition to cars with a long wheelbase (3775 mm), a version with a medium one (3415 mm), more maneuverable, is now available. This further expands the choice of superstructures (bunker carrier, tank, mobile workshop).

The four-liter diesel D4GA17 received a new turbocharger: the pressure in the fuel system increased from 1800 to 2000 bar, the maximum turbine speed increased from 160,000 to 183,000 rpm. We changed the engine control program, changed the gear ratios of the 5-speed gearbox.

The front suspension of the HD35City is dependent, with a powerful beam and anti-roll bar.

The front suspension of the HD35City is dependent, with a powerful beam and anti-roll bar.

City lorry Hyundai HD35 City

Instead of the best-selling Porter, the HD35 City semi-truck was offered to the market

Alexander Klimnov, photo by the author and L. Zolotova

Everyone remembers the TagAZ Porter lorry, which actually represented the first generation of the single-ton Hyundai Porter model, which was very well received on the Russian market - in fact, because of it, the onboard and van versions of the GAZ-2310 Sobol remained on the sidelines while the Korean lorry was being produced at the TagAZ plant. It was replaced by the second generation model Hyundai Porter II, which, however, was never officially certified by the Russian representative office of Hyundai Truck&Bus, which, however, did not particularly affect its popularity - gray dealers offered (even with an intra-dealer guarantee) a fairly reliable and durable LCV for market has been preserved. However, everything flows, everything changes - and Porter II is somewhat obsolete, and the price has increased significantly due to the fall in the ruble exchange rate, and restrictions on the purchase of imported foreign cars by state and municipal enterprises have also not increased demand.

Hyundai Truck&Bus responded with the 1.5-ton model HD35 (HD36 in Korea), launched on the Russian market in 2014. However, Russian specifics forced us to provide another version of the lorry, specifically designed for urban use. This model under the symbol HD35C (City) was presented at ComTrans 2017. Assembly of the semi-truck began in Kaliningrad in the spring of 2022. The truck can be driven with category B license.

The main difference between the new HD35 City model and the HD35 is the narrowed, but also three-seat cabin from the HD series with a reduced entry height (step height 0.52 m), the rear axle from the Porter model with low-profile tires of size 5.50R13 (front 205/65R16), which made it possible to reduce the frame height and loading height to 1080 mm, and, on the contrary, increase the useful volume of the body.

This variety of sizes is quite typical for the Asian design school - on other heavy four-axle vehicles there are up to three tire sizes. However, you also have to carry two spare parts. However, the curb weight of the HD35C was less than that of the HD35 - 1823 kg versus 1970 kg.

The wheels are mounted on five studs without footers, and the rear wheels are fastened with conical nuts, the optimality of which has already been confirmed by operation. By the way, the “spare spare” is lowered and lowered by a small pulley, driven by a compound lever from the tool kit.

Externally, the truck looks like a “smaller brother” of the popular medium-duty HD78 model - the same trapezoidal headlights, a solid metal bumper, angled lower edges of the door windows, rear view mirror brackets quite far apart to the sides (however, first I would like them to be even wider ).

Access to the cabin is facilitated by wide-open doors and handrails in the corners of the openings (I wish they were even more solid). In the interior, the designers provided “revitalization” in the form of a mahogany-like overlay on the instrument panel. The instrument cluster includes everything necessary - a speedometer, a tachometer with easy-to-read scales, fuel level indicators, and coolant temperature indicators.

Visibility is quite good.

The volume of the glove box is small, but A4 sheets fit freely when folded.

For small items there are two more niches on the panel, as well as a holder for a liter bottle on the console.

The manual gearbox lever includes a lacquered insert and is quite convenient. The ergonomics of the driver's seat have been solved quite interestingly - it itself is relatively limited in adjustability in only two positions, but the steering column is adjustable not only in height, but also in reach, which makes it easier for drivers of any size to choose a comfortable seat. The legs are not cramped, although the pedal assembly is made very tightly. But the placement of the jack seemed insufficiently thought out - under the passenger seat, and without reliable fastening.

When driving, I liked the clarity of the gear shift of the new 6-speed M6AR1 gearbox with two upper overdrive gears and the comfortable force on the clutch pedal. Under the cabin of the HD35C there is now a 4-cylinder 2.5-liter D4CB turbodiesel with Common Rail and EGR with an intercooler and a regenerated particulate filter, developing 130 hp. and 255 N•m at 2000 min–1. By the way, the HD35 model has a more powerful engine – 136 hp. The fuel consumption of the HD35C is comparable to the domestic GAZelle with a diesel engine.

The HD35C differs from the HD35 Long and Porter in its geometric parameters: the base is 40 mm shorter than that of a semi-truck, but the rear overhang is 9% longer than that of a semi-truck, and the load capacity has increased by two hundredweight. The frame is equipped with side members with a thicker profile. A more powerful anti-roll bar and shock absorber are installed at the front. The brakes are dual-circuit hydraulic with a vacuum booster. Interestingly, unlike the HD35, the rear brakes are not disc, but drum, which is more suitable for 13-inch wheels. The hand brake, like on any passenger car, is cable-operated on both rear wheels, which is preferable to the traditional transmission parking brake for Hyundai trucks.

The choice of bodies for the HD35C is quite wide: in addition to flatbed and tilt platforms, there is a wide selection of van boxes, both manufactured goods (volume 11.37 m3) for four Euro pallets, and isothermal and refrigerated types. In addition, a CMU and a tow truck are offered.

Prices for HD35 City start from ₽2 million 095 thousand for an onboard modification with a steel platform, with an aluminum platform - from ₽2 million 105 thousand; for an isothermal van “medium isothermal” with a sandwich panel thickness of 50 mm – from ₽2 million 130 thousand and “high isothermal” with 80 mm panels – from ₽2 million 150 thousand. The warranty on HD35 City is 3 years or 60 000 km.

By the way, the refrigerated body with an internal volume of 11.37 m3 is designed for 4 Euro pallets and is equipped with a refrigeration unit for transporting goods with special temperature conditions. The isothermal body of the van is made of 50 mm sandwich panels with an internal lining of 1.5 mm reinforced plastic. The external cladding was also made using a similar technology. The body lighting is organized in a modern way, minimizing the impact on the temperature regime, for which the LED strip on the ceiling is laid along the entire length of the van in aluminum boxes. The body trim and rear door frame are made of galvanized metal. The platform below is protected by plastic from the aggressive influence of the road. Body heat transfer coefficient (Ki = 0.7 W/m2K), which meets all requirements for certification of isothermal vehicles used for transporting perishable goods and allows the carrier to freely obtain an ATP certificate without any problems.

PS

At the end of 6 months of 2022, sales of Hyundai brand trucks were 34% higher than last year (data on registrations with the traffic police). At the same time, the Russian market for trucks with a gross weight of over 3.5 tons over the same period grew by 21% compared to the first half of 2017. Managing Director of Hyundai Truck and Bus Rus Alexey Khramtsovsky Fr.

In addition to the new HD35 City semi-truck, which at the beginning of 2022 replaced the predecessor Hyundai Porter, which was very popular in the Russian market, in the Hyundai Truck and Bus Rus line at the beginning of 2022, sales of the HD120 medium-duty truck with a gross weight of 12 tons have resumed. The vehicle is distinguished by the longest wheelbase in its class, equal to 5695 mm, thanks to which it is suitable for transporting large-sized cargo. Nikolay Teleshev, head of the Hyundai Truck and Bus Rus dealer network development department, said: “The company is actively expanding the dealer network of Hyundai commercial vehicles in Russia. From January to July 2022, it grew from 39 to 50 centers. All of them meet the new quality standards of Hyundai Truck and Bus Rus. Thanks to a set of measures to improve the work of dealership centers, the process of purchasing a truck and its further maintenance have become more convenient and understandable for the client. There are plans to open five more dealership centers this year.” The increase in sales of Hyundai trucks in the last 6 months was also facilitated by special offers from the manufacturer, including a credit program, purchasing vehicles on lease with the possibility of receiving a direct subsidy and trade-in. The company also provides a three-year or 300,000 km warranty on all new commercial vehicles from the brand.

Exterior and interior design

Externally, the HD 35 resembles the reduced-size HD65/HD78 model. Its design is simple, decorative elements are kept to a minimum. The truck's cab is low to the ground, has a conveniently located step and wide-opening doors. These three factors ensure easy entry into the cabin. The increased glass area provides good visibility in urban environments. The headlights are two-tiered, slanted, side lights are mounted on the roof, the bumper is rounded, turning into a running board.

The cabin has three seats. Its interior is simple, done in gray tones, but high-quality materials are used in the decoration. The upholstery is made of artificial leather. Only the rear metal wall of the cabin remains unsheathed. Compared to other models, the HD 35's cabin is narrower and slightly shorter, which is why tall people may initially experience discomfort in the driver's seat.

In November 2022, another model in this range, Hyundai HD35 City, was launched. This car has a more remarkable design compared to its predecessor. Changes include a mahogany-colored trim on the front of the instrument panel, a lacquered gear lever knob and soft-touch seat upholstery with a modern look. This harmonious interior is contrasted by the screw caps on the dashboard, which are not decorated with plugs.