THE DARK SIDE
Styled to look like a car Darth Vader might drive on the school run, this van is a force to be reckoned with
Hyundai has replaced its ageing imax people-mover with the futuristically styled, better equipped and pricier Staria. The family gets spoiled in the range-topping, eight-seat Highlander diesel.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
JULES: Is it from the future? It looks like a spaceship.
IAIN: Isn’t it magnificent? Robocop has been reincarnated as an eight-seater and it’s getting more attention than an orange Lamborghini. JULES: Is it electric?
IAIN: Petrol or diesel only for now, but Hyundai’s confirmed a hydrogen version for some markets in 2023.
JULES: It’s a giant slab of a van, but the LED light strip across its nose and giant vertical LED rear lights are wonderful. Cool wheels too. IAIN: Those rear lights are like an 80s disco floor. It’s a polarising design and ours has a sinister look about it. You expect a bunch of heavies or a SWAT team to jump out.
JULES: I’m getting hearse and airport shuttle vibes. What rivals it?
IAIN: The Toyota Granvia, Volkswagen Multivan, Honda Odyssey and the peoplemover king, the Kia Carnival.
JULES: I love that Carnival. Is the Staria cheaper?
IAIN: Our range-topping diesel Highlander and Kia Carnival Platinum are both about $72,000 on the road. Entry prices are $52,990 for the Staria and $51,690 for the Carnival.
THE LIVING SPACE
JULES: No wonder the kids call this the Party Bus.
IAIN: People-movers may have a dull reputation, but any family that lives with one soon comes around. Incredible room for people and cargo.
JULES: It’s the light fantastic. Beige leather ($295 extra), giant windows and two sunroofs banish claustrophobia.
IAIN: It’s a flashy cockpit. There are two 10.25inch screens – one for infotainment and the other above the steering wheel for speed, revs, driver info and blind-spot cameras when indicating.
JULES: A large flat panel for climate control and heat seating and cooling looks neat, but I’d love buttons and knobs bs instead. IAIN: Agreed. Prodding a panel nel is more time consuming and distracting istracting when you want instant cold air.
JULES: I like the grippy wireless less charging pad for my phone, the he giant centre bin and the thousand bottle holders. IAIN: The dash and doortops are too hard scratchy plastic for a $70,000 car, but otherwise it’s classily finished.
THE COMMUTE
JULES: It looks and sounds like a van, but drives much like a large SUV.
IAIN: Unlike the old imax, the Staria’s built on the Hyundai Santa Fe SUV’S platform. It rides surprisingly well for such a big thing, but isn’t as car-like as the Kia Carnival.
JULES: It sounds a bit “diesel van” when you floor it and there’s not much shove.
IAIN: What do you expect? It’s a big lumbering bus. You can get a $3000 cheaper V6 petrol version which I’d prefer, but it’s only frontwheel-drive and will be thirsty.
JULES: It’s loaded with driver aids. The smart cruise control and lane-follow assist are brilliant for highways and traffic. But the lanekeep assist is very fussy.
IAIN: It beeps if you near white lines, which is inevitable in such a big car. At least you can quickly disable it with a steering wheel button.
THE SHOPPING
JULES: Don’t choose tight parking spaces. IAIN: At least there’s a clever 360-degree birdseye camera to help. And it has a great turning circle for such a whopper.
JULES: The auto tailgate needs plenty of space to open. A split tailgate would be less troublesome. troub
IAIN: IAIN At least with it open you can literally litera walk right into the back row of sea seats.
JULES: JULE The boot floor has no lip so shopping shop rolls around. I found it easier easi to put shopping in the footwells fo through the side doors.
SUNDAY RUN
IAIN: I love the versatility. We used it to take two families out at once, then as a camping car.
Having all-wheel-drive was reassuring on semiflooded gravel roads.
JULES: Wet camping: not my favourite. Also, we were all really disappointed you couldn’t make a proper flat space inside for us to sleep in.
IAIN: I’m surprised the seats aren’t more versatile; the Staria trails the Carnival here. With rows two and three folded our air mattress was hanging off the end, and the kids’ faces were almost on the ceiling.
JULES: I did warn you: it’s an airport shuttle rather than a holiday van. At least there’s proper space for three adults in the rearmost row. IAIN: Fair call. But I reckon Hyundai’s missed a trick not offering captain’s chairs.
THE FAMILY
JULES: The kids loved the electric sliding doors and huge space. Third-row access is really easy with just the pull of a handle.
IAIN: With the middle row folded the kids could sit in the back and have their feet up business-class style.
JULES: Sadly, no Isofix or top tether points for the third-row seats. That’s two fewer Isofix points than the Kia Carnival.
IAIN: There’s a camera in the ceiling to keep an eye on passengers, with a live view through the dash screen. Handy for parents.
JULES: Ceiling air vents and USB points everywhere is superb too.
IAIN: All seats slide on runners, while middle chairs recline. There’s massive, tall boot space no matter how you configure it.
JULES: With five-star safety, brilliant anticrash tech and an airbag between the front seats it feels incredibly safe.
IAIN: Service bills are a reasonable $1800 for five years, while we returned a quite thirsty 9.5L/100km.