New Hyundai full size cargo van

[avanti]

Just to be clear: I am not at all a fan of Hyundai. I doubt that I will ever own one of their products. But, there is always a market for the cheapest-yet-acceptable product, and they have proven themselves to be very skilled at filling that niche. I am guessing that their van WILL be "REALLY CHEAP compared to Promaster or Transit", at least at first. All I am saying is that writing them off at this stage of the game would be premature in my judgement.

 

[SiennaGuy]

I wish Isuzu would make a commercial van of this size class--they make some really good trucks sold elsewhere and the bigger ones here.

I've seen a FedEx Isuzu van around my neighborhood. Out of curiosity, I looked it up. They call their's "Reach." It might work as a Class B but it looks pretty primitive.
http://www.isuzucv.com/reach_van/index

 

[obgraham]

Hyundai has sold vans, minibuses, and light trucks in other countries for years. They seem perfectly capable of competing there, and I see no reason why they should not in North America. Just like in cars, it may take them a few years of failed models to get it right, but still...

Also, the competition will push our sometimes lethargic domestic manufacturers to get off their collective rears and produce something innovative. Is there a recent American-designed van around? Can't think of one.

 

[cargovanconversion]

For competitive reasons, Hyundai has a great incentive to get into the Commercial Van segment and they will enter the American market. However, that will likely take another few years.

 

[bobojay]

I wish Isuzu would make a commercial van of this size class--they make some really good trucks sold elsewhere and the bigger ones here.

I've seen a FedEx Isuzu van around my neighborhood. Out of curiosity, I looked it up. They call their's "Reach." It might work as a Class B but it looks pretty primitive.
http://www.isuzucv.com/reach_van/index

FedEx has went heavy into these around my area. Seeing them everyday. Isuzu makes great diesel engines but can't say about their latest vehicles. We had a 2001 Isuzu Rodeo 4x4 SUV. Good basic vehicle, but the engineering on it was behind the times for sure.

 

[fastpaddler1]

Actually, I don't think any of the new vans, with the possible exception of the Transit, are planning on going head to head with the Sprinter. It could easily turn out similarly to what it has been with the Ford and Chevy vans in the past, with relatively different markets for them and Sprinters. I think the Sprinters may be getting too amenity and feature loaded for a lot of the commercial market. We will see.

I don't think any of them will produce anything which will compete directly either, but that's what I meant. However, if they build something that looks like a Sprinter, no matter what their intent might be, it will be judged against the Sprinter by the commercial cargo van consumer on face value. Call it human nature, but I'm pretty sure that if you get it mostly right for a lot less money, no one will care whether it's as good as a Sprinter. Any shortcomings will be forgiven based on the lower price. At least that's the way I see it.

Me too. I lived in Japan for 8 years and their engineers are very innovative. I wouldn't be surprised to see one of those Sprinter-like Hyundais outfitted as an RV(prototype). But it might be quite quirky given some of the stuff you see called RVs in Japan!!