Hyundai H-100

Overview

The H-100 is Hyundai’s take on the evergreen commercial van segment – a category which is purely tilted towards function rather than form. This standard cab van with high deck body comes with one powertrain option, but in two variants – GL A/C and GL non-A/C. The H-100 comes with three seats at the front, while the boxy cabin behind can seat up to 12 passengers.

Interior & Features

On the inside too, things are quite as basic as that on the outside, with the H-100 lacking in many contemporary bits and features which are taken for granted in today’s hour.

The two spoke steering wheel, as well as the instrument console, looks very dated, thus making the overall driver cockpit look very uninspiring. Same goes for the centre console as well the vertical rectangular console gets silver finish around squared AC vents and a basic 1-DIN music system. The manual controls for AC are laid out in a very unconventional way, i.e., alongside the vents and music system in a vertical manner. Apart from the front power windows as well as the music system, the H-100 doesn’t come with any contemporary comfort and convenience feature which can make it stand out from the crowd.

Exterior

The H-100 is not a flamboyant vehicle, with a very laid back approach in the design aspect. The overall design stays very basic and purely focuses on practicality.

At the front, the Hyundai H-100 comes with trapezoidal headlights with rounded edges and lamps within them. There is no prominent grille, but a characteristic line between the headlamps and at the lower portion give some substance to the frontal look of the vehicle. There is another noteworthy character line above the headlamps. It gives the impression of dividing the front fascia into two partitions, which extends all the way to the sides till the side door handles.

The H-100 looks quite good till the B-pillar, post which the boxy cabin looks too out of place. This deck cabin comes with three large sliding windows to make sure it remains as airy as possible. Given its basic approach, the vertical door handles, front bumper, steel wheels, and side rear view mirrors are finished in black.

Mileage Running Cost

The Hyundai H-100 comes with double wishbone and torsion bar spring at the front and semi-elliptical laminated leaf spring at the rear. The hydraulic double acting telescopic forks on front & rear axle and torsion bar stabilizer on the front axle are set on a stiffer side to make the H-100 bear the load with suppleness. The ride quality is decent, however, given the boxy layout for the cabin, the H-100 suffers a bit of body roll which is a bit unnerving at high speed turning. The small 15-inch wheels do a decent job in making the H-100 an easy to steer the vehicle.

Engine & Fuel Consumption

Powering the Hyundai H-100 is an old school 2.6-litre naturally aspirated gasoline engine. Mated to a 5-speed manual transmission, this engine is capable of producing a maximum power output of 80 PS and a peak torque output of 167 Nm. Given the size of the engine as well as the overall weight of the vehicle, we would have liked the mill to be a bit more powerful. The engine feels quite sluggish in higher revs, but is refined and does the job decently.

Braking & Safety

Given its basic nature, it is pretty understandable that the Hyundai H-100 will not come with sophisticated safety aids. However, even the absence of basic essentials like airbags and ABS is a disappointing fact.

Verdict

The Hyundai H-100 is one good vehicle if you are primarily aiming to use it for commercial purpose. The overall design and performance might be unimpressive to say the least, however the rigidity of the chassis and decent ride quality make it a suitable drive for load carrying duties. We only wish that the cabin was a bit more special given its pricing, which pegs it above its rivals.