COMPANY CAR – HYUNDAI STARIA

Company Car

But the world has changed and thank heavens it has. A lot of that change has been precipitated by mandated safety and crash governments that recognised that just because you’re a delivery driver, tradie, or a mini-bus pilot, your life and safety is not worth less than that of people in passenger cars and SUVs.

So that leads us to the latest offering from Hyundai, in the form of its futuristically styled Staria people mover/ mini bus, a vehicle that is actually based on the Korean maker’s excellent Sante Fe SUV model and which delivers great handling, safety and creature comforts.

The Staria has since been joined by its commercial van sibling the Staria Load (which we will test and appraise at a later date), with the two new models replacing the popular, accomplished and successful iLoad and iMax.

The iMax and iLoad are very different to the new Staria family, even though they were very good and capable vans that did the job very well. The dynamics of the Staria are a whole lot better thanks to the SUV based platform as well as benefitting from the ability to offer a choice of either 2WD or all wheel drive spec.

We cannot tell you how many times during our week with the Staria that random people would come up to us and ask ‘what is this? Wow it looks like a space ship!’.

It was a very interesting insight into how people react to new and fresh design. It has sloping, wedge shaped front, with smooth faired in lines, LED light strip running around the front of the grille and a sharply raked screen. The frontal design then meets the low window line of the side windows, which quite literally deliver panoramic views for the occupants. Then at the rear there are long LED light strips running vertically down each corner adding to that futuristic image. It is certainly different, and in a good way in our view.

Hyundai has also clearly put a lot of effort into the engineering of the Staria and not just plopped a futuristic looking body on a van platform.

Not only does the engineering of the Staria offer a variety of drive options on

THERE WAS A TIME, NOT THAT LONG AGO, WHEN COMMERCIAL VANS AND THE PEOPLE MOVER/ MINI-BUS VARIANTS BASED ON THEM, WERE UTILITARIAN, NOISY, ILL HANDLING, WORKHORSES WITH BARELY ANY CREATURE COMFORTS OR CONCESSIONS TO THE CONVENIENCES WE HAVE COME TO EXPECT IN CARS AND EVEN TRUCKS. WE TAKE A LOOK AT HYUNDAI’S LATEST PEOPLE MOVER OFFERING THE STARIA, WHICH REVERSES ALL OF THOSE OLD VAN VICES.

the Santa Fe platform, but it also means it delivers a lot of safety and handling benefits, as well as more low and zero emission driveline in the future.

While we have other models in the Staria range lined up to test drive in the future, our first test and the subject of this story was the top spec Highlander model Staria, which is priced from $66,500 plus on-road costs for the all-wheel drive 2.2 litre turbo diesel.

Staria can also be specced with the 3.5 litre V6 petrol engine and the base model comes as a front drive, as opposed to the rear drive layout of its iMax predecessor.

The top-spec Staria Highlander is very well equipped featuring nicely designed 18-inch alloy wheels, auto LED headlights, LED daytime running lights, automatic wipers, proximity key entry, keyless start and a power tailgate.

Inside the cabin there are heated and cooled seats for the first row, a heated steering wheel, seating capacity for eight passengers, dual 10.25-inch displays, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (wired), power sliding doors, electric seat adjustment and six-speaker stereo.

The Staria hasn’t yet been tested by ANCAP or Euro NCAP, but as far as we can tell the Santa Fe it is based on has a five-star rating, so the Staria should meet those ratings, it is unlikely Hyundai would let the new model fall short. However it is our view that there is an over dependence on ANCAP and NCAP ratings in a system that gives a lot of weighting to warning bells and alerts for a range of minor functions, and not enough attention to dynamics.

Dynamics aren’t an issue with the Staria, which for a vehicle of this size and application performs superbly in terms of handling, performance and comfort.

What it does boast in the safety department is a full compliment of the latest and greatest safety tech and equipment, including seven airbags with front, front-side, front-centre and curtain bags on both the A and B pillars. Along with that, they also boast tech features including AEB with pedestrian/cyclist detection and junction assist, Blind-spot assist, Lane-keep assist, Lane Following

Assist, Multi-collision brake, Driver attention monitoring, Safe exit warning, Rear cross-traffic assist and Surroundview monitor. Phew, was almost out of breath with all of that equipment is in the base model. The Elite also gets Safe exit assist and a 3D view surround-view camera, while the Highlander also receives a Blind Spot View Monitor, delivering a camera feed of what’s in your blind spot to the instrument cluster.

In terms of shifting people around and the potential as a luxury mini-bus the Staria offers a pretty compelling case for operators looking to make a splash and be noticed, because the Staria has a presence that others will struggle to match in this class.

Inside it has space for eight people (two in the front and three in each of the next two rows) along with room for plenty of luggage. The Staria brings a van practicality to the situation that is easy to like, with the rear cargo area boasting a wide and flat design for plenty of luggage or cargo.

Big sliding doors on both sides of the cabin make it easy to get in and out of, while the middle row seat backs can be tilted out of the way to allow access to the rear seat row.

In terms of equipment the base model doesn’t miss out on too much and are extremely well specced, with 18-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights and taillights, keyless entry, multi-angle parking cameras, manual air-conditioning (for all three rows), a 4.2-inch digital instrument panel, a leather-clad steering wheel, cloth THE PRESENCE OF AWD GIVES THE STARIA A SURE FOOTEDNESS AND AGILITY IN SLIPPERY AND MARGINAL CONDITIONS, THAT 2WD VANS COULD NOT HOPE TO EMULATE.

seat trim, a six-speaker stereo and an 8.0-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and a wireless smartphone charging pad all as standard. Not to shabby for $48,500 plus on roads

On top of that the Elite gets keyless entry and push-button start, powersliding doors and a power tailgate, as well as leather upholstery, a poweradjustable driver’s seat, DAB digital radio, a surround view camera system with 3D view, tri-zone climate control and a 10.2inch touchscreen with in-built navigation but wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, while the Highlander is even more impressive with a 10.2-inch digital instrument panel, dual power sunroof, heated and ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel, rear passenger view

monitor and cloth headlining.

The Highlander starts at $63,500 for the petrol 2WD and ramps up to $66,500 for the diesel AWD.

Above all Hyundai has done a great job on the interior design with some really nice touches throughout, including air conditioning vents for both rear rows, lots of usable storage and 10 cup holders with USB charging ports in all three rows.

In particular the massive huge centre console box between the front seats can take heaps of ‘stuff’ as well as a couple of drink holders for front seat occupants and a two pop-out cup holders and a storage draw for the middle row as well.

For the front seat occupants there is also a wireless charging pad along with a pair of USB charging ports, more cup holders built into the top of the dash and a couple of flat storage spaces atop the dash for small nick knacks and other items.

In terms of performance the 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel is a terrific powerplant delivering maximum power of 130kW at 3800rpm and 430Nm of torque between 1500 and 2500rpm, mated to an eight-speed auto.

The presence of AWD gives the Staria a sure footedness and agility in slippery and marginal conditions, that 2WD vans could not hope to emulate.

The Staria also boasts a very strong towing capability with a 750 kg unbraked capacity and 2.5 tonne for a braked trailer. That would be attractive for luxury mini bus operators who can use it to offload luggage into a trailer if necessary.

Fuel consumption for a large van was equally impressive with the diesel engine returning 10.3 litre/100km during our time with the vehicle, which is slightly better than the 10.4L/100km promised by the average figures for the Staria.

The Staria’s long wheelbase delivers a well mannered and very responsive on road performance with a ride that is a step ahead of the vehicle it replaces, with direct, sharp and responsive steering that delivers excellent feel, not just for a people mover but for any vehicle.

Has Hyundai done a good job with the Staria? You bet! This is a really good vehicle no matter which way you cut it and it is going to win plenty of friends in the small bus and luxury transfer market for all manner of reasons.