Hyundai H350

The Hyundai H350 might be a boring and too conventional to look at from the outside, however, Hyundai scores full marks for making the interior cabin much more premium and practical place to be in.

The dashboard might lack the flair of a modern car or an SUV, but nevertheless, for a van, it looks sufficiently premium. The V-themed steering wheel with silver garnish and steering mounted audio and Bluetooth controls feel nice to hold and look at, and the same goes for the simply styled instrument console as well.

The center console of the H350’s cabin looks blocky and comes integrated with a large touchscreen infotainment screen with a cluster of buttons for audio and climate control below it and vertical AC vents beside it. The H350’s cabin comes with a lot of small storage spaces and cubbyholes, which enhances its practicality even more.

Being a 14-seater vehicle, space for all passengers in the H350 is more than adequate, while the roof mounted AC vents prove very functional in summer conditions.

Many people don’t expect much from a passenger van when it comes to visual appeal, and so, the Hyundai H350 too isn’t a ground-breaking vehicle in that very aspect.

The frontal fascia of the Hyundai H350 is the most striking and modern area to look at, as the H350 comes with a large hexagonal grille, thus fitting in the familiarity of another premium Hyundais. The headlamp cluster too comprises of projector headlights along with daytime running LEDs, which again is a premium feature for a passenger van of this class.

The Hyundai H350 looks tad too boxy when viewed from the sides. The sliding doors do make the H350 practical when parked in tight spaces. The H350 does come with 16-inch wheels with pain looking alloys, which don’t do much too raise the aesthetic appeal of the vehicle.

At the rear too, nothing is much there to write about the visual appeal of the Hyundai H350, as it comes with a wing-like opening pattern for the rear doors. The vertical tail lamps look functional and give the rear door a clutter-free look.

The Hyundai H350 is armed with a suspensions setup of McPherson Strut type Independent Suspension with a transverse leaf at the front and Rigid-type parabolic leaf spring at the rear.

While the suspension feels compliant and composed over broken sections with ease, the soft setup of both the suspension as well as steering along with small 16-inch wheels as well as the boxy profile of the H350 makes the overall handling a bit nervous.

Under the hood of the Hyundai H350 is a 2.5-litre four-cylinder, diesel engine. Coupled to a 6-speed manual gearbox and has the capacity of producing a maximum power output of 170 PS and a peak torque output of 422 Nm of peak torque output. The engine feels very refined for an oil burner, with the top speed of the vehicle rated at a suitable 156 kmph.

Being a utilitarian vehicle, the Hyundai H350 misses out on many sophisticated safety features. However, it covers up the basic grounds by being equipped with dual airbags at the front, ABS, reverse parking sensors, keyless entry with alarm and vehicle dynamic control.

The Hyundai H350 manages to perform its task of being a comfortable vehicle to ferry 14 people with ease and composure pretty effectively. The H350 might be a bland vehicle to look at from the outside, however, its core strength lies in its inside cabin. The overall quality, number of features and overall space on the inside feels plush and premium. At the same time, while the overall handling of this boxy vehicle might be questionable, the plush setup of suspension ensures that it is a calm and composed place on wheels when driven slow.