Straight outta Benoni - Hyundai SA’s commercial vehicle range has a new flagship, in the shape of the Mighty EX8 (we didn’t call it that, it’s the model’s official name!) which replaces the previous HD 7.5 ton truck.
The EX8’s cab is taller (now almost 1.5 metres) and more spacious; visibility has been improved by making the windshield 20mm taller and 70mm wider, and by making the dashboard 80mm lower.
Seat travel fore and aft has been increased by 55mm and the steering column can now be adjusted 60mm fore and aft as well as 76mm up and down. The main rear-view mirror is 10mm taller and there’s a new, convex sub-mirror below it to eliminate the blind spot alongside the truck.
The doors open wider and there’s a bigger side step for better footing on entry and exit, which is covered by the lower end of the door when it’s closed - which means nobody can clamber up to the side windows while the doors are closed.
Hyundai says the Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) of the new EX8 is 7800kg versus 7500kg of Hyundai’s main competitors. This gives it the ability to carry a payload of up to 4.1 tons in dropside configuration.
The truck's 3907cc D4DD common-rail turbodiesel four is rated for 103kW at 2800 revs and 373Nm at just 1600rpm, driving the rear wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox. It’s Euro 3 compliant, which makes it possible to extend service intervals from 10 000km to 20 000km.
The EX8 is assembled at the Hyundai plant at Apex in Benoni, alongside the company’s H100 forward-cab one-tonner “bakkie” and the H1 van. Hyundai also has its own truck body builder on site that produces several standard and customised options, including van bodies, dropsides, tippers, trailers and even H100 tipper conversions.
PRICES (Excluding VAT):
EX8 Long Wheelbase Chassis CabR379 500EX8 Long Wheelbase Chassis Cab (with aircon)R394 500
EX8 DropsideR413 100
EX8 Dropside (with aircon)R428 100
EX8 TipperR451 500
These include a four-year, unlimited distance warranty and a three-year or 200 000km roadside assistance plan.