CarBrandLogos archive · Hino · 1969

HinoRanger

Sixty years of Japanese medium-duty truck, with a Dakar record on the side.

Photo: Celica21gtfour · CC BY-SA 3.0

The story

A defining chapter in Hino history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Hino Ranger, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Medium-duty trucks are rarely written about, which is a poor reflection of how much work they do. The Ranger has been Hino's answer in that class since 1964, sold in standard and crew cab forms across a range of weights that reaches into heavy-duty territory, with a long list of inline four and six diesels from the four-litre W04D upwards, and manual, automated and automatic gearboxes.

Hino Day Cab Ranger 001 · Tennen-Gas · CC BY-SA 3.0

Design and engineering

Its reach is wider than the Japanese market suggests. Production and assembly run through Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Colombia and elsewhere, and Kia built the truck under licence in South Korea, making the Ranger one of the more widely manufactured commercial vehicles in Asia.

2003 Hino FA1517, front right · Mr.choppers · CC BY-SA 3.0

In production

The unlikely part is its competition record. Hino has campaigned Ranger-based trucks at the Dakar Rally for decades with the Sugawara family driving, taking a long run of class wins in the under-ten-litre category, which is an unusual amount of glamour for a delivery truck. It remains in production.

1975 Hino KL · NZ Car Freak · CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

1964–present

Engine

Diesel:

Body

2-door standard cab

Technical specification

The Ranger, in detail.

Production: 1964–present
Class: Truck#Types by size; Medium-duty truck ; Truck#Types by size; Heavy-duty truck
Body style: 2-door standard cab ; 4-door crew cab
Engine: Diesel:; 4009 cc W04D Straight-four engine; I4 ; 4313 cc DM100 I4 ; 4507 cc DQ100 I4 ; 5000 cc EC100 I4 ; 5213 cc J05E I4 ; 5213 cc A05C I4 ; 5759 cc W06D Straight-six engine; I6 ; 6014 cc W06E I6 ; 6728 cc H07C I6 ; 741
Transmission: 5-speed manual transmission; manual ; 6-speed manual ; 4-speed automatic transmission; automatic ; 6-speed automatic ; 9-speed synchromesh manual ; 9-speed Road Ranger non-synchronous manual
Assembly: Japan: Toyota City (Honsha plant) ; Indonesia: Purwakarta Regency; Purwakarta ; Malaysia: Seremban ; Philippines: Calamba, Laguna; Calamba ; Colombia: Cundinamarca Department; Cota (Cundinamarca) (:es:PRACO Didacol S.A.;
Manufacturer: Hino Motors ; Kia ; Kuozui Motors