Van on the moon
It looks like a Hot Wheels toy, or something from a sci-fi series. Hyundai shows it’s not afraid to be original with this van, says Cyril Klopper.
Minibuses are not as popular as hatchbacks, bakkies, and SUVs, but that’s all changing. Sales figures of minibuses have increased by 55% from 2020 to 2021, and experts reckon their popularity will continue to grow.
Hyundai’s timing, therefore, couldn’t be better. The Hyundai H1 van has become a bit long in the tooth, and consumers are ready for something new.
But are they ready for the Staria?
What do we have here?
The Hyundai Staria is available in three versions: the Executive, Elite, and Luxury – plus, a panel van and a five-seater multicab will be released later.
The first three mentioned, the passenger versions, have 2 to 11 seats, although the nine-seater layout is likely to be the most popular for practical
reasons. The Executive and Elite focus on businesspeople, and that’s why we discuss the Luxury model, as that’s the model aimed at families.
The seats in the Staria’s second row can turn around and face rearward, like those of the Volkswagen Caravelle and MercedesBenz V-Class. The rear windows have curtains, in case Grandpa wants a nap.
The tailgate lifts with the push of a button, as do the sliding doors, but naughty children can’t open them while the vehicle is on the move.
Extra safety equipment include six airbags, sensors that monitor oncoming and passing traffic, blind-spot monitoring, and tyre-pressure sensors. There’s even an alarm that goes off if you want to lock the Staria but forgot about Kevin in the back.
The Stario Luxury has two sunroofs – one for the front occupants and another for the rear passengers. The air conditioning’s outlets are in the ceiling, and the rear passengers can control the airflow themselves. All passengers get USB sockets to charge their electronic devices, and the driver has access to an induction panel to wirelessly recharge a cellphone. The colours of the mood lighting can change – there are 10 shades – and a Bose sound system with 12 speakers encourages everyone to sing along to road trip tunes.
Cameras right around the bodywork show you what’s going on outside and help you manoeuvre the van in busy parking garages. The side mirrors fold flat so that careless people don’t bump into them.
All versions of the Hyundai Staria are powered by the same 2,2 ℓ turbodiesel engine that delivers an impressive 430 Nm of torque at a low 1 500 rpm. The van is pulled along by the front wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission, and fuel consumption is apparently around 8,7 ℓ/100 km.
Prices range from R789 900 for the Staria R2,2 Executive to over a million bucks for the Luxury model shown here.
Sales figures of minibuses have increased by 55% from 2020 to 2021, and experts reckon their popularity will continue to grow