REVIEW
Above: Significant power and torque increases deliver impressive performance both on and off-road. An extremely versatile and capable unit
Outputs of Hino’s long-serving J08 six cylinder engine have been significantly boosted.
skinned shins or twisted a foot sliding off such rims with muddy, slippery boots will attest, it’s far from ideal. Still, it wouldn’t be hard to fix. A swinging step below the cab step and a lower grab handle would go a long way to overcoming the issue while still retaining the Hino’s ground clearance. As capable as the GT 1528 was off-road, however, the greatest surprise was its on-road performance. With the thought that fire trucks can be called in emergencies to districts far beyond their home turf, it was decided to take the Hino on an extended road run. First through the NSW Hunter Valley before a hard and tortuous haul via Bylong Valley to Bathurst in the central-west, south to Canowindra to fortuitously add 30 bales of hay to the load, then home through Bathurst and Lithgow, up Scenic Hill and across the brutal Bell’s Line of Road on a fearfully wet and windy night where the blokes at the Bell weighbridge were either bored or anxiously hopeful that anyone trying to slip across the mountains in such a truck on such a night must be up to no good. Seriously, chaps! In a nutshell, the truck handled the entire task exceptionally well. Pulling power and tenacity
were never in question, steering and road handling were surprisingly good for a truck with a necessarily high centre-of-gravity and, again, ride quality on sealed roads that ranged from downright dreadful to slick highways was easily acceptable. The only questionable aspect was the apparent programming of the transmission to kick down a gear whenever the exhaust brake was engaged. In some instances, of course, it was beneficial, but more often than not, a case of overkill when all that was needed was mild retardation for a mild descent. Meantime, on such diverse and often demanding road conditions, cruise control was rarely engaged. Equally, there were generally few opportunities to run at 100km/h where the rev counter ticks over at a twitch under 2,100 rpm. Yet, despite the significant demands of the day, fuel consumption over the first 500km of the road run was gobsmackingly good at 3.6km/litre, or 10.3 mpg. Without question, the expectation was for a figure far less frugal given the severity of the run. All up, the only conclusion is that Hino’s GT 1528 4x4 is a totally surprising and surprisingly capable truck whether hauling through the bush or barrelling along the bitumen.
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EMM2013_379 editorial CF.indd 42
26/11/2020 12:49:07 PM
