With the arrival of its new 500 Series medium duty range looming on the horizon Hino is continuing to emphasise the versatility and workability of its 700 Series heavy range revealing this week that one of Australia’s largest infrastructure services providers, the Downer Group has added another 700 Series to its fleet recently.
Hino revealed that Downer has taken delivery of an FY 3248 8×4 Bergkamp feeder unit, which is being used for the intriguing labelled ‘road preservation and micro surfacing’.
Downer operates a fleet working across many critical sectors including transport, utilities and facilities and said that in selecting the Hino 700 Series, it undertook an extensive evaluation of different original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to identify a suitable chassis for its Bergkamp units.
The fleet category manager in Australia for on road heavy duty at Downer , Jake Sauer, cited driver comfort, low tare weight, high horsepower and advanced safety features as key reasons for choosing the 700 Series.
“The primary driver for selecting the Hino 700 Series was driver comfort, and these vehicles operate in a stop-start environment, with operators frequently entering and exiting the cab, so a lower cab entry point was a key requirement,” said Sauer.
“Hino’s technology and standard inclusions are comparable to similar European models, while offering strong horsepower at a more competitive price point,” he continued.
The Hino 700 Series FY 3248 which Downer has added to its fleet is equipped with a Hino E13C engine producing peak horsepower of 480hp (353kW) and 2157Nm
of torque, which is coupled with the ZF TraXon 16-speed automated manual transmission.
“The standard safety features of the 700 Series were also particularly important, specifically Lane Departure Warning System, Driver Monitor and Autonomous Emergency Braking,” said Sauer.
Hino emphasised that the truck’s other standard safety features in the Hino SmartSafe package include a Pre-Collision System (PCS) with Pedestrian Detection, Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) and a Reverse Camera.
“A non-negotiable requirement was an air-suspended cab , because these units travel extensively across Australia, and drivers spend long periods behind the wheel, making comfort a critical factor,” Sauer said.
Hino tells us that Downer’s 700 Series FY 3248 prioritises driver comfort with taper leaf spring front suspension, taper leaf springs in the rear and an ISRI 6860 NTS2 driver’s seat.
“The trucks we build at Downer are often highly specialised vehicles,” Sauer explained.
“As a result, we require a strong dealer network and excellent customer service to support us from initial concept and build through to ongoing aftersales support, ensuring these vehicles remain operational every day, and Hino is able to provide exactly that,” he concluded.
The Hino remained us that its 700 Series offers an expanded range of driveline and axle configuration options that allow customers to choose a truck that it emphasised suits their operational requirements.
The company also pointed out that like all its trucks, the 700 Series is supported by its Hino Advantage suite of business solutions, that it says are designed to reduce costs over the life of the vehicle including a five year or 600,000 kilometre standard warranty, whichever comes first, and five year roadside assist.
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