Hyundai's Compact Loader Lineup, Sized: HS120V, HT100V, HT30, and HT38 Compared

Three years after re-entering the skid steer and compact track loader category, Hyundai now has a genuinely full lineup to choose from — and enough size range that "which Hyundai compact loader do I buy" isn't a one-answer question anymore. Between the HS120V and HT100V that opened the comeback, the newly launched HT38 flagship, and the teased HT30, there's a real spread of size, capability, and intended use across the range. Here's how to think about which one actually fits your work.

The Full Lineup at a Glance

• HS120V (skid steer): 70 hp Tier 4 Final, 3,847 kg (8,483 lb) operating weight, 1,220 kg (2,690 lb) rated capacity, 0.44 m³ (0.58 yd³) bucket.

• HT100V (compact track loader): 70 hp Tier 4 Final, roughly 9,550-9,750 lb operating weight, roughly 2,690 lb rated capacity, 0.44 m³ (0.58 yd³) bucket.

• HT30 (compact track loader, teased for late 2026): 72 hp, 11,141 lb operating weight, 3,072 lb rated capacity, 10'8" max lift pin height, suspended undercarriage and tool-carrier-oriented hydraulics.

• HT38 (compact track loader, current flagship): 115 hp Tier 4 Final, 12,785 lb operating weight, 3,806 lb rated capacity, 22.7 gpm standard / 40 gpm high-flow hydraulics.

If You Need a Wheeled Machine: the HS120V

The HS120V is Hyundai's only current wheeled skid steer, and wheels versus tracks is usually the first fork in the road before size even enters the conversation. A wheeled skid steer is faster on hard, finished surfaces, cheaper to maintain over its life since there's no undercarriage or track wear to budget for, and generally the better choice for concrete, asphalt, warehouse, and other hard-surface work where a track's ground-protection advantage doesn't matter. At 70 horsepower and a 2,690-pound rated capacity, it's sized for general contractor and material-handling work rather than heavy production. For a full breakdown of the HS120V alongside its track-loader sibling, see our original comeback-lineup spotlight.

If You Need a Generalist Track Loader: the HT100V

The HT100V matches the HS120V's engine and capacity numbers but trades wheels for tracks — better flotation on soft, wet, or uneven ground, better traction on slopes, and less ground disturbance on finished or landscaped sites. It's the machine we've specifically highlighted as well suited to disaster-recovery and debris-cleanup work, where job sites are often unimproved, unpredictable, and hard on equipment. If your work regularly takes you off hard surfaces — storm cleanup, general site work on ungraded lots, landscaping on soft turf — the HT100V is the more versatile all-around choice between the two entry machines, at the cost of a slightly higher purchase price and track maintenance to budget for over the machine's life.

If You Need a Dedicated Attachment Carrier: the HT30 (Coming Late 2026)

The HT30 isn't available yet, but it's worth planning around if your business runs frequent attachment changes on residential or landscape-construction sites rather than sustained heavy production work. At 72 horsepower and 11,141 pounds, it sits between the HT100V and HT38 on paper, but its real differentiator is a suspended undercarriage with speed-sensitive ride control and continuous-flow hydraulics tuned for hydro-mechanical tools — a feature set built around comfort and attachment versatility on tight, finished sites rather than raw lift capacity. If your typical day involves swapping between an auger, a trencher, a broom, and a bucket on a residential lot, this is the one to watch for rather than defaulting to the HT100V or jumping straight to the HT38.

If You Need Maximum Capacity: the HT38

The HT38 is the clear choice once your work outgrows what a 70-horsepower machine can handle — 115 horsepower, nearly 12,800 pounds of operating weight, and a 40 gpm high-flow hydraulic option that actually runs mulching heads, cold planers, and heavy-duty augers at the rate they're designed for. It's the right call for land-clearing crews, forestry mulching operations, and heavy site-prep contractors who've been renting a bigger machine every time a job called for real hydraulic flow or real lift capacity. We put it head-to-head against Bobcat's T770 and CAT's 259D3 in a dedicated large-frame CTL comparison if you're cross-shopping outside the Hyundai lineup too.

A Real Decision Framework, Not Just a Spec Table

Start with surface and ground conditions: hard, finished surfaces point toward the wheeled HS120V; soft, uneven, or unimproved ground points toward any of the three track loaders. From there, size to the heaviest realistic job you run regularly, not your average day — a machine that's slightly oversized for your typical work is a minor inefficiency, while one that's undersized for your biggest job means renting a bigger machine anyway and losing the ownership economics that justified buying in the first place. Finally, weigh attachment frequency and type: if you're rotating through light-to-medium tools on tight sites all day, the ride-quality and continuous-flow focus of the upcoming HT30 may serve you better than the HT38's raw output; if you're running one or two heavy, high-flow attachments for extended stretches, the HT38's hydraulic ceiling is worth paying for.

It's also worth thinking about this as a fleet decision rather than a single-machine one. A landscaping or general contracting business scaling up doesn't have to pick just one Hyundai compact loader — a common pattern is an HS120V or HT100V for daily general-purpose work paired with an HT38 reserved for the jobs that actually need its capacity, rather than buying one oversized machine and using it below its capability most of the time. Multiple smaller financed machines can pencil out better than a single large one if your work genuinely varies that much week to week.

Don't overlook attachment cost in the total sizing calculation either. A high-flow attachment purchased for the HT38 generally won't perform to spec on the HS120V or HT100V's standard hydraulic circuits, so if you're planning to run the same attachment roster across multiple machines in your fleet, standardizing on one hydraulic flow rate across your purchases can save real money versus buying flow-mismatched attachments for each size class. Talk to your dealer about which attachments are rated for which flow rate before you commit to a mixed fleet.

One Telematics Platform Across the Entire Lineup

Whichever size you land on, Hi-Mate remote fleet management is part of Hyundai's current equipment generation across the board, included free for a set period with new equipment. That consistency matters more once you own more than one machine from the lineup: a single dashboard covering an HS120V running daily general work and an HT38 reserved for bigger jobs means one login, one fleet view, and one set of geofencing and usage reports instead of juggling different telematics systems for different-sized machines. It's a small detail on a single-machine purchase and a genuinely useful one the moment your fleet grows past one unit.

Growing Into the Lineup Over Time

Not every business needs to buy its ceiling machine on day one. A common, financially sound path is starting with an HS120V or HT100V to cover general work, then adding an HT38 once a specific contract or client relationship justifies the extra capacity — rather than either overbuying up front or getting stuck renting a bigger machine every time a job outgrows an entry-level unit. Because all four machines share Hyundai's dealer network, parts ecosystem, and Hi-Mate platform, trading up or adding a second machine later doesn't mean starting your equipment relationship over from scratch — your dealer, your service history, and your financing relationship all carry forward.

Weighing Purchase Price Against Capability You'll Actually Use

It's tempting to buy toward the top of the lineup on the theory that more capability is always better, but that instinct works against you financially if the extra capacity sits unused most of the year. An HT38 running high-flow attachments for eight months of land-clearing work is earning its keep; an HT38 bought for occasional general contracting work that could have been handled by an HT100V is capital tied up in capability you're paying to finance but rarely using. Be honest about your actual job mix before sizing up — the goal is the machine that matches your real, recurring work, not the one with the biggest numbers on the spec sheet.

The Financing Picture Is the Same Across the Whole Lineup

Whichever size fits your work, the ownership math doesn't change: renting any of these machines for recurring or long-duration work bleeds margin that never comes back, while financing builds equity in a machine you keep running on the next job. We covered the financing specifics for the original comeback lineup in our HS120V and HT100V financing breakdown, and the same logic scales up directly to the HT38 today and the HT30 once it ships.

Ready to Finance the Right Size for Your Business?

BFC finances Hyundai's full compact loader lineup, from the HS120V up through the HT38 — and we'll help you size the right machine to your actual work, not just the biggest one on the lot. Learn more on our home page, apply directly through our equipment financing application, browse current listings on our equipment for sale and financing marketplace, or subscribe to the BFC blog for more sizing guides and equipment spotlights like this one.