South Korean car manufacturer, Hyundai, has been on a roll and taking significant market share away from the competition over the last decade or so. And the company now has its sights set on the commercial van industry over in Europe. The Hyundai H350 van made its debut at the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in Hannover, Germany. This H350 is the Hyundai’s first multipurpose light commercial van for the European market. I normally wouldn’t care for a cargo van but I used to drive the Ford E-Series and seeing the South Koreans joining this segment is interesting.
The Hyundai H350 is built on a flexible platform which would allow it to support three different body styles such as the cargo van, a flatbed truck, and a passenger bus with up to 15 seats. Hyundai says the H350 van will offer competitive running costs, capable of high load volume, and offers an ergonomic design.
When the development of the Hyundai H350 started, their engineers focused on six different key areas which include value, efficiency, reliability, load capacity, safety, and performance. The H350 van was bench-marked against major rivals from a number of premium European commercial vehicle manufacturers to ensure it would stand against the competition.
The Hyundai H350 is capable of carrying up to 3,086 lbs of cargo in its load bay, while also able to tow trailers up to 5,511 lbs. The H350 will feature design elements from other Hyundai passenger vehicles as well as car-like characteristics and high levels of refinement. The cargo van’s loading space is 79.97-inches high, 70.67-inches wide, and 148.82-inches long. The cargo area can accommodate up to five standardized European pallets which measure in at (47.24” x 31.49” x 35.43”). The distance between each wheel arch is 54.33-inches and will not compromise the usability of this space.
The base Hyundai H350 is rear-wheel drive and available in a 2.5-liter four-cylinder turbo diesel CRDI which develops 148hp and 275 lb-ft of torque. The more powerful variant uses the same engine but is tuned to develop a little more power at 168hp and 311 lb-ft of torque. Both models use a six-speed manual gearbox. The Hyundai H350 will be available for viewing at the Paris Auto Show as well. No word yet on pricing but it will probably fall just under the competition’s price point.
Hyundai H350 Gallery
