The Starex Pro - 14 Seater Van

[monmendoza]

2 monthS ago, I bought a starex jumbo. I was satisfied with its overall performance that I convinced the office to buy as starex pro as an alternative to our mitsubishi L300 FB vans. We took delivery of the our first starex pro tonight. Basically the Starex Pro with shuttle van conversion is a good alternative even compared to the more expensive Nissan Urvan Estate and The Toyota Hi-lux commuter. Tomorrow I will post pictures of the Starex pro. Some salient points

1. 2.6L regular diesel engine (non turbo, non crdi)
2. 79HP 5HP higher than the L300 (i think) almost the same with the Urvan and lower HP (102) compared to the Hiace commuter.
3. 880K including comprehensive insurance, dual aircon, shuttle van conversion. Much cheaper than the estate and the hiace commuter
4. twin rear swing gate doors
5. power windows
6. power door locks.
7. sliding windows
8. With Am/FM cassette
9. 3, 3, 4(fold and tumble) , 4(side facing folding seats x 2) seating configuration total of 14 passengers.
10. comes only in white color
11. Front disc brakes, rear drum brakes
12. Steel wheels with full wheel cap cover
13. 170 nm torque
14. Same dimensions as starex jumbo ( making it 1 of the largest vans)
15. Full carpet for roof and sidings. No lawanit.
16. Choice of carpet or rubberize metallize plastic for the flooring
(we choosed the metallize plastic )
18. Much bigger cargo space than a Revo or an adventure.

I will post my first impressions tomorrow and of course the pictures.

[niky]

How's the leg room? The seating configuration is intriguing, as it seems to give more knee room than the cramped hiace commuter (wonderful engine on that one, though)... but I can't help but feel the 2+2 side facing fourth row might be a bit tight.

Pics!

[monmendoza]

How's the leg room? The seating configuration is intriguing, as it seems to give more knee room than the cramped hiace commuter (wonderful engine on that one, though)... but I can't help but feel the 2+2 side facing fourth row might be a bit tight.

Pics!

Hello niky, The 2+2 side facing fourth row is slightly shorter than the revo almost the same as the adventure but legroom is much wider because of the width of the jumbo pro. The legroom of the other seats is more than acceptable. You can also place cargo under the seats if used as a commuter. I am posting pictures below.

[monmendoza]

In general, build quality of the conversion compared to the build quality of the GRX Jumbo is not up to par. Iba pa rin talaga ang gawang Factory. But compared to the FB, mas maganda naman ito. As Promised ito na ang mga pictures.
Picture 1 with all seats down.
Picture 2 with 2 side facing seats up and 3rd row up for maximum cargo space
picture 3 rear view with the two side doors. step ladder was extra option at 6.5k
picture 4 side view with 3rd row seat folded.

[impulzz]

wow nice van! malakas din ba aircon?

[monmendoza]

The second set of pictures:
picture 5 - side view with 3rd row seat in upright position
picture 6. rear aircon. Malamig naman
picture 7. View from the front passenger side
picture 8 - Dashboard view. Meron pa rin siyang tachometer.

I forgot to mention that the windows in the middle are sliding type and we ask not them not to remove the iron grill protection. Iyong mga L300 kac sa office, ilang beses na nana nakawan by destroying the side locks.

[BlueBimmer]

wow 880k bargain na yan!

[zero]

thanks mon for sharing this.
my sister is still scouting for a van kasi to replace her 18 yr. old L300,
baka magustuhan niya ito?

[niky]

RE: not as refined as GRX: Commercial van naman kasi, di passenger van... pero expected.

Ansarap gawin mega-taxi o FX ata yun... sulit ka sa space!

So far as I see, the one advantage the Commuter has is that great engine... but seating and access are greatly affected by the ultra-tall seating position and short body (which gives little knee room).

[IMm29]

We have a major Starex convert and loyalist in monmendoza ;) Hehehe!

I'll add a +1 to what niky said. The PRO, despite being converted to seat passengers, won't feel as plush as the GRX. But by the pics, it doesn't look all that bare. I'm not sure if it's going to be as relatively comfy as the straightforward, front-facing commuters for shuttle service tho, but it is quite versatile.