Owner Driver – August 2019

ownerdriver.com.au AUGUST 2019 93

Above: Skid row: Vehicle Stability

Control workout

Right: All the info at your

fingertips with Hino’s Multimedia

System (lef t)

Below right: The four-cylinder A05

engine packs a punch

Bottom: Plenty of twists and turns

in the hills south of Canberra

Opposite bottom: Thrill ride:

The Autonomous Emergency

Braking exercise

between “switch on, switch off”. With truck rollovers seemingly
becoming a common occurrence, this is an important feature
of the new Hino.
Other safety items include Pedestrian Detection (PD) and
Lane Departure Warning (LDWS).
Interestingly, of the nine trucks on offer, only one had a
manual transmission. This reflects the ratio of customer
demand for the Allison auto in Hino’s medium duty line-up
and the way of the future for savvy fleet buyers.

Multimedia system
It was time to head for the hills. All trucks were loaded up to
around 75 per cent of capacity, so traversing the hilly terrain
south of Canberra gave the four-cylinder A05 engine plenty of
opportunity to show its credentials. The engine proved to be no
slouch, even though much of the route was quite undulating
and steep, and will not disappoint prospective buyers.
A perfect opportunity to test the LDWS occurred during the
drive when we came upon a couple of lycra-clad cyclists riding
two abreast. These two had no intention of moving into single
file so, rather than spend time following at their leisurely
pace, we were forced to overtake on the narrow, winding road.
Restraint came into play when it was decided against opting
for the horn. Of course LDWS is cancelled out once you put the
indicators on, but we did give it a go.
One additional item that should be mentioned however, is
the addition of the new, smart multimedia system, with Hino
Traq telematics.
According to Daniel Petrovski, Hino Australia’s manager
product strategy, the multimedia system provides “real-
time tracking and vehicle operational information such
as operating time, fuel usage, driver safety and whole-of-
fleet monitoring, which is accessible through the Hino Traq
on-line portal”.
“It’s the gateway to the connected world that I’ve certainly
been dreaming about asking these guys for over 10 years,”
Petrovski says.
The multimedia’s GPS system came in handy during the
drive, as did the reversing camera at the end of the day. A
microphone situated at the back of the truck was heard loud
and clear when instructions came from the back during the
tight reversing process. If that’s not enough, the multimedia
system can also operate a drone direct from the screen. But
that may take a little patience.
There’s no doubting the quality of these new Hino 500 Series
Standard Cab trucks, but whether old-school drivers will
embrace the new technology, notably the safety package
(which is standard across all vehicles) remains to be seen.

“It’s the gateway to the connected

world that I’ve certainly been

dreaming about.”