Full vehicle Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing provides a virtual platform on which to accurately assess the performance of the powertrain, before the vehicle is built. Furthermore, it allows for seamless integration of components in a modeling and simulation environment with actual hardware to analyze hardware component performance. This paper presents the challenges of creating a rapidly deployable HIL test facility and compares and contrasts the test results of a conventional and parallel powertrain to modeling and simulation.