You can't get the UAZ stuck if you drive it in 1st at 1/3 gear stick. Hardcore?
Diff lock damage on muddy sandy roads (like Crossing, out of the garage, then turn right onto the muddy track with a C-255, you either get diff lock damage or wheel slip or you go painfully slow) is like a quick-time-event (unpredictable): hardcore?
The loader is very easy to use, loading the B-130 was harder in the old game as the logs tended to be barely balanced and tilt out the back of the blue truck. With MudRunner, spawn 4 logs, pick them up with the loader (the grip does not collide with the holder), dump them on the Zil, done. Hardcore?
The new winch points at the sides of the trucks make it much easier to pull them back upright when they tipped over. Hardcore?
I like the new water. I like how the truck dies as it reaches the "bad fuel" dregs of the tank. But I do not believe this game has become more difficult.