This Chinese-market Hyundai minivan makes its debut in the Philippines after its ASEAN debut in Vietnam.
Hyundai has recently made some big waves over in the Philippines with the launch of not one but two new MPVs over there. The first of which is an Xpander-esque minivan-crossover-type-thing dubbed the Stargazer X, while the other (which is the main subject of this article here) is a stylish Kia Carnival-sized people mover called the Custin.
A minivan that was originally developed for the Chinese market, the Custin is intended to slot in between the Stargazer and the 9-seater Staria in Hyundai’s Filipino lineup. Though that is perhaps all the slotting it would do, as despite being the middle-sized MPV in the South Korean automaker’s model range over there, this particular people mover still comes in at a rather large 4,950 mm long, 1,850mm wide, and 1,710mm tall with a 3,055mm wheelbase.
Its large size does however pay dividend within, with this South Korean MPV having more than enough room for 7 people, with seating for two up front, two in the middle (in the reclining captain’s chairs) and three in the third row.
And while on the topic of size, the Custin has a similarly large standard equipment list too. In terms of interior kit for instance, this MPV nets a 4.2-inch TFT LCD instrument cluster, a 10.4-inch central infotainment touchscreen with Android auto and wireless Apple CarPlay compatibility, a panoramic sunroof, a wireless charging pad, automatic climate control, in addition to one-touch power controls on both the sliding doors and tailgate.
As for safety tech meanwhile, up to six airbags, a tire pressure monitoring system, an electronic parking brake with auto brake hold, and ABS/ESC are among its list of equipment included in this minivan. Hyundai’s SmartSense active driver assist suite further gives the Custin features like cruise control, lane keep assist, forward collision warning, autonomous emergency braking, blind spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert.
Moving back outside on the other hand, large also with the Custin is its Tuscon-esque parametric diamond grille up front and (somewhat Skoda-looking) full-width light bar round its rump. Though credit must nevertheless be given to Hyundai for successfully applying a more rounded silhouette to visually shrink the overall exterior size of this minivan, in addition it a somewhat more sporty aesthetic relative to the usual boxes on wheels too.
Sporty-looking however is likely as far as sporty goes with the Custin, as this large minivan lands in the Philippines with a decidedly small 1.5-litre T-GDI turbocharged petrol engine. Outputting 170 PS and 253 Nm of torque, this modest mill drive the 18-inch front wheels through a shift-by-wire eight-speed automatic transmission.
The Hyundai Custin is currently available in the Philippines with a choice of two variants, with prices for this MPV ranging from between PHP 1.770 million (RM 148,000) for the GLS trim to PHP 2.080 million (RM 174,000) for the top-of-the-line Premium spec. This being a predominantly Chinese-market minivan however, its current left-hand-drive-only specification means that the chances of it making it over here to Malaysia are slim to none right now at least.
