But there’s a new Starex in town — a back-to-basics, beast-of-burden-type model that shares much of the now-familiar styling but with an industrial twist.
It’s got toughened-up underpinnings and, with the cargo can variant, no side windows aft of the doors. There’s a rugged yet pliant torsion-bar double-wishbone front suspension and the rear suspension’s progressive leaf springs have been modified to provide an increased payload capacity. The Starex PRO-Series rides on 205/70R-15 tires on steel wheels with plastic full wheel covers.
It’s also been upsized. The Starex PRO-Series is the largest among its competitors, offering greater length, width, height and wheelbase, with a maximum seating capacity of 18 people. All this adds up to a cavernous cargo-carrying capacity, making it a more stable and refined cruiser to transport goods with greater security and confidence, and as a bonus, giving it a more comfortable ride for its passengers.
Without the seats, the rear cargo hold is spacious enough to load up just about anything that your business requires: loads and loads of balikbayan boxes; large items like a shipping pallet; expensive household fixtures, furniture and appliances; or fresh, high-value produce and foodstuff. It can even serve as a carrier/shuttle service for utility companies, an airport shuttle service, an ambulance, a deluxe tourist coach, or even as a school bus. And thanks to the easy-to-use twin side-opening rear swing tailgate which allows for a wider opening, getting people and cargo in and out easily is never a problem.
But belying its utilitarian mission, the Starex PRO-Series has upmarket features like power rack-and-pinion steering, windows and door locks; a fully adjustable driver’s seat, a height-adjustable steering wheel, full instrumentation including a tachometer, color-keyed front and rear bumpers, a chrome-trimmed grille, multi-reflector clear-lens headlamps, airconditioning, and a cassette player with AM/FM radio. (A CD player would be an add-on option.)
"With the new Starex PRO, we pay tribute to individuals who have been doing their part to help improve the quality of life of people. We pay tribute to the entrepreneurs who strive to uplift the lives of their families, and ultimately, the life of the community," said Fe Agudo, Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. Executive Vice-President and COO, in a speech.
With a 5-speed floor-mounted manual gear shift, the Starex PRO-Series makes great use of its modest yet adequate 79ps and more importantly 170Nm of torque (at a low 2200 rpm) — the gearing well-matched to the easy-to-maintain 2.6-liter 8-valve non-CRDi diesel engine, giving ample acceleration and good cruising ability on the highway.
The Hyundai Starex PRO-Series retails for P805,000 without the cargo van’s panel partition and P808,000 with the panel partition. (Window vans have a steel grille protector behind the driver.) It’s currently available at all Hyundai showrooms nationwide.