And as mentioned, the fuel efficient, cheap and potent Trucks (especially Russian 6x6 and 8x8) will rule that mode. I would be bored to death always having the same truck for any task.... If you could calculate a "Performance Index" for any truck and give the "driver" more XP if he uses a less potent truck...

I do not think, that the game mechanics really support "hard mode". As there is too much nonsense in the matrix of "truck pricing versus performance versus capabilities". See the M916 or Derry 45 - horribly expensive and nearly no addon options with a heavy fuel consumption and comparably low traction and/or power2weight. Same to the BOAR. Compare to the AZOV 64 or Voron D / Tayga for example. Many trucks to not have a reason why someone would use them as soon as he has to pay for it.

@JTT

your complaints with “potent” truck are being too repetitive and bored everyone

normal hardcore fan will always chose less “potent” vehicle, like Zil Bolt 4x2, as we did in mudrunner with zil 130.
or will chose the vehicle by heart, like i do with zikz in taymyr or old oshktosh in alaska, even when its second axle was always damn down.
We take its disadvantages like bounce or weak engines as an another hardcore feature, and play HARDCORE!

Its a Hardcore to play Jagged Alliance2 with the weakest merks, its a hardcore to not using a winch at all on a vehicles never had any irl, etc.
Its not a harcore to choose best mercs, or using spiderwinch.

And choosing most “potent” vehicle IS NOT A HARCORE, so we understand your frustrations with not enough perfect, realistic or comparable vehicles, but please keep it separate from our long awaited HM.

Well, a game has typically the option that you trade a strength and accept a weakness and make it work. Take any game. Even chess. This hardcore mode - there is no trade.

Thats simply a bad game design. Its applied masochism. Integrated as cheap as possible.

I think you both have reasonable points.
At the end of the day, the truck selection is pretty arbitrary in terms of balance. Some of us were of course setting ourselves our own challenges playing in standard mode before this, but Hard Mode should ideally be a challenge that applies restrictions such that you have to exploit every tool available to best effect to get through it. Clearly with the current truck selection, that's going to mean either gravitating towards a select few trucks, or carring on as before, and arbitrarily introducing our own personal-honour-system to the mix to keep things diverse - so we're back to square one, not fighting tooth-and-nail to beat a tough challenge, but intentionally holding back to make things interesting. Hard Mode should be the solution to that, not a continuation of it.

I don't think basing XP on the relative balance-of-power of each truck would work as a system - XP is a limiting factor early on, but soon enough you hit Level 30 and unlock absolutely everything anyway... then it would be meaningless.

I can't really think of any solution that would work besides doing a bit of truck rebalancing. The biggest anomaly seems to be the Azov 64131, which just has a preposterous list of positives, and negatives that total "turning circle a bit poor".
As Hard Mode is very much focused around fuel consumption, I think the overall fuel consumption delta between trucks could stand to be stretched out and rebalanced. The "always on" trucks (mostly the Russian ones) with the "special"-type gearboxes just don't fit the scale currently, as those special gearboxes are specifically set up to not add extra fuel consumption for having AWD turned on. That really could do with being addressed. In Hard Mode, having the benefit of "always on" AWD should really be compensated with worse fuel economy, not better.

Good idea for the hard mode fuel tank, but maybe add the option to buy fuel in the garage? (ALL garage of those size in the world have gas supply...)

@Hiervolant
If they were to do that, I'd suggest adding a standard refuel-spot in the grounds of the garage, but have the price be at the upper-end of the range, so you've got the option to splash-and-dash if you're stuck for fuel, but it's still more economical to source your fuel somewhere cheap using a trailer.

I just want to pass on my opinion, I think I should leave the hard core mode as well because I love total difficulty, it is the already dis hard core mode and not easy, but if it happens to not compensate the $ the developers correct it ..