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The AMT has three modes, eco, standard and power. When the truck was under load in power mode, the Traxon would not make an up-change until hitting over 1800rpm and rarely let the revs drop into the green band.

The competition between all of the major transmission designers has been hot and the resulting product has been forged by the need for each iteration of each box to get one small step ahead of the competition. The result is a choice of highly sophisticated AMTs from just about every truck brand.

For retardation the stalk on the steering column has four stages, with the engine brake increasing in two steps and then the Intarder adding a further two steps of really effective retardation. The combination of the Intarder and the Traxon AMT means it is possible to wash off all of the speed going into an intersection or a parking bay by simply pulling on full retardation and allowing the combination of the two to bring the speed back to a point were a small application of the service brakes is all that is needed to bring the combination to a halt.

A ZF Intarder on the 13-litre engine at relatively high masses has proved to be very effective part of the driveline and will considerably improve brake life.

On the larger SS prime mover with the ZF box, Hino have finally got the message and moved the transmission controllers to the dashboard, leaving enough space for the driver to be able to comfortably climb into the middle of the cabin.

THE ALL-NEW 700 SERIES, BUILT FOR THE FUTURE.

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At 480hp this engine has enough to handle single trailer work and runs at 1500rpm at 100km/h easily, holding on well out in undulating countryside. Surprisingly, the green band on the tachometer is marked from 800 to 1400rpm, suggesting running at highway speed is just outside of its most economical zone. A taller diff would get the revs down into the green band at 100km/h, but may compromise performance elsewhere, where it is needed.

Power was the right mode setting as the semi approached the foot of the Cunninghams Gap grade. Once the truck got into the climb, the Traxon worked to make sure the engine was close to 1400rpm, clearly the home of the best torque from this engine. is something about the quality of the torque an engine produces and Japanese engines rarely really impress, but it does do a commendable job, it seems to be well within its comfort zone all of the way up the Gap.

When into the meat of the grade the truck was comfortable at 35km/h in 11th gear at 1400rpm and it could grind the climb out, despite the changes in grade. At other times, it will allow the revs to drop well below 1300 and then take a single gear to get back to 1500rpm as it grinds up the grade.

The smartness of the AMT becomes clear when the transmission makes surprising choices which turn out to be the right ones. Sometimes it will hold a gear until the revs get over 2000, and then at other times it will grab two gears and drop it down below 1450 rpm while climbing hard. All of these moves proved to be correct, the power and torque available were more than capable of handling the task set by the transmission.

The return descent of the Gap saw the new Intarder now fitted on the Hino 700 prime movers come into its own. Dropping the AMT into manual, selecting 12th gear and pulling the lever to full retardation gives the driver a smooth descent with

THE ALL-NEW 700 SERIES, BUILT FOR THE FUTURE.

This is a Hino 13-litre engine rated at 480hp and we can’t expect it to fly up this ascent pulling a fully loaded semi. There

6 POWERTORQUE January/February 2022 interior looks and feels comfortable and sufficiently modern. Sophisticated no, effective yes.

The nine-litre engine is an innovation, and a good one for Hino. It provides them with a model which fits into many operator preferences around the lighter end of the truck market over 16 tonnes GVM. This does not have the feel of a truck design shoe-horned into an application, it performs like a truck designed specifically for these kinds of vocational tasks.

THAT’S ANOTHER HINO

no need to apply the brakes and no worries about over speeding. Speed can be simply controlled by changing up and down manually.

Moving up into 13th and 14th gear the Intarder continued to hold the truck back easily. This is a top highway prime mover level of retardation, available on a Japanese prime mover, a surprise.

THE CONCLUSION

Like everything Hino come up with in terms of design this is a functional truck, but, despite that functionality, the

When it comes to the prime movers, the 700 has come a long way from the first models brought into Australia nearly twenty years ago. This has the look and feel of a sophisticated prime mover and all of the systems available as standard on the truck stand as testament to the radical development path Hino have been on.

Limitations like a small choice of wheelbases may well be a disadvantage, but if that is its only drawback, other factors may well get the new 700 over line in many cases.

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