HYUNDAI EX6 Mighty

Hyundai is the most recent manufacturer to field a truck in the New Zealand market.

The Mighty EX6 – and longer wheelbase EX9 – entered a sector dominated by Japanese brands and paved the way for larger trucks to come in from Korea – including the mid-sized Pavise and the alternately-fuelled Xscient heavy commercial, both of which arrived this year.

The EX6 and EX9 are Hyundai’s ‘bread and butter trucks’, designed specifically to be driven by Class 1 licence holders.

As such, the cabs are extremely familiar in terms of their instrumentation, layout and specification, with only hints of being ‘ truckish’ – the suspended driver’s seat being an excellent example.

Standard specification includes cruise control, dual airbags, heated mirrors, an electronic stability program, ABS brakes, air conditioning and very fast Bluetooth connectivity.

The Mighty EX6 ‘s 125kw and 608Nm of torque come about through a Hyundai-built 3.9-litre, four- cylinder turbodiesel which meets Euro 5 emission compliance and delivers the goods over a broad rev range, making for a very relaxing drive.

This is aided by a very car- conventional six-speed automatic transmission from Allison – a significant point of difference given most automatics in light trucks tend to favour automated manual transmissions which can take some adjusting to.

As mentioned, Hyundai has tried to keep its workhorses as familiar as possible, making them easy to integrate into a multiuser fleet.

Hyundai has adopted a build-straightfrom-the-factory approach to the light truck sector. As such, the factory is geared up to produce ready-to-work trucks which are ready to land in New Zealand and go straight to work, eliminating the requirement for customised configurations.

The factory fit body solution includes refrigerated and regular box bodies, drop side trays, tipper units, tail lifters and the like; customers need only specify their requirements and Hyundai delivers.