CROWD PLEASER
Most seven-seaters can’t accommodate adults in the third row but Hyundai’s new people-mover does it with ease
The main problem with seven-seater SUVS is that they’re not really sevenseaters at all. If we’re talking about accommodating average-sized adults, they’re actually six seaters. Two people travel in the front seats and three in the middle row. All good so far. But the back stalls? They’re each only capable of taking half an adult. The top half.
If you want seven or eight seats with room for seven or eight pairs of legs, you need a people-mover.
Hyundai’s new eight-seater Staria replaces the imax. It shares structural underpinnings with the Santa Fe SUV.
However its big box body is nearly 600mm longer, 283mm taller and 260mm wider than the Santa Fe’s, so the Staria will easily accommodate seven or eight adults — legs and all — plus their gear.
Prices start at $48,500 plus on road costs for the base Staria, with a 3.5-litre petrol V6 and front-wheel drive. With Hyundai’s refined 2.2litre four-cylinder turbodiesel under the bonnet and all-wheel drive the Staria is $51,500.
An eight-speed automatic is standard, along with analog instruments, eight-inch touchscreen infotainment, wireless Apple Carplay/android Auto, wireless phone charging, automatic LED headlights, hinged side windows and 18-inch alloys, including the spare. Manual aircon has separate controls in row two and roof vents for rows two and three.
Staria Elite, priced at $56,600 to $59,600, adds power sliding side doors and tailgate (which can be programmed to automatically open as you approach), leather-faced seats, sliding side windows in row two, side window blinds, surround cameras, automatic aircon and 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment.
Highlander, at $63,500-$66,500, gets dual sunroofs, heated/cooled front seats, digital instruments, a camera that shows you what mayhem the kids are up to in the back seats and two extra dash-top storage boxes.
Standard safety includes seven airbags (covering all three rows) plus a full complement of driver assist technology. Safe exit assist, which can prevent a side door being opened if a vehicle is approaching from behind in an adjacent lane, is added to Elite and Highlander; the latter also displays a live image on the digital instrument panel of what’s happening behind when you indicate to change lanes.
Staria’s 2-3-3 layout features sliding bench seats for rows two and three, and both can be adjusted so all occupants enjoy generous legroom. Row two, split 60-40 with the larger section on the kerbside, folds and slides forward with little effort for clear access to row three, aided by a low floor.
The back seat, a slightly narrower single bench, is a tad squeezy for three big blokes, but OK for most. Rows two and three each have two USB charging ports and storage includes lots of open bins, bottle/cupholders and a huge box between the front seats.
The low floor also makes loading the huge cargo bay an effortless affair, and if you need more space, row three can be folded and pushed forward. No SUV has anything like as much acreage behind the back seats as the Staria.
We drove the 2.2-litre turbodiesel Highlander. In a two-tonne wagon designed to carry eight, the diesel’s performance and fuel efficiency advantages, plus the added grip of allwheel drive, make its $3000 price premium over the 3.5-litre petrol V6 a no-brainer.
It does the job smoothly, quietly and frugally. The eight-speed auto (with push-button selection on the dash) is always in the highest gear possible for any given situation and the engine can tick along barely above idle.
At highway speeds, there’s noticeable wind noise, plus, on coarse bitumen, mildly intrusive tyre resonance within the cabin.
Hyundai claims a maximum towing weight of 2500kg, but with a maximum towball download of just 100kg, that’s problematic.
Staria is built for comfort, not speed. It goes around corners without falling over, steers accurately enough and roadholding on poor surfaces is fine. It could use a little more braking power, though.
Ride comfort is excellent, as you would expect from a people-mover. Low window sills and large expanses of glass also let in lots of light, making a drive in the Staria a relaxing, enjoyable experience – for everybody.