Hyundai Staria gives Caravelle and V-Class food for thought

“Can it fly?” was the first thing my seven-year-old daughter asked me after laying eyes on the Hyundai Staria for the first time.

Truth be told, air travel is probably the only thing this space-age van can’t do. Well, not yet anyway.

The Korean carmaker rolled out the Staria late last year as the H-1’s replacement. The new van is not only offered as a no-nonsense people mover like its predecessor, but is also as a prime option, ready to upset the applecart at the premium end of the market.

Its futuristic looks, instantly recognisable by the “RoboCop” LED strip headlight spanning the width of the front end, sets the Staria apart from anything else you’ll find on our roads.

Hyundai Staria in their eyes

Judging by the attention we drew recently in the Hyundai Staria in flagship 2.2D Luxury nine-seater guise clad in Moonlight Blue Pearl, we are convinced the Korean carmaker got the looks right.

Apart from admirers walking over every time we parked, it even got the authorities in a tizz at a police road block. We were ordered to pull off the road purely so the officers could examine the interior!

A few admirers even asked if it was electrically powered, taking into consideration its futuristic looks. They were almost in disbelief to learn that this vessel relies on old school diesel power.

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Its 2.2-litre turbodiesel engine is a tried and trusted mill in the Hyundai stable which also serves in the Santa Fe and Palisade SUVs, albeit in different states of tune.

In the van, it produces 130 kW of power and 430 Nm of torque. Different from the H-1, which was rear-wheel-driven, the Staria’s power is sent to the front wheels via eight-speed automatic transmission.

The van’s power delivery is super smooth and the gearbox as slick and unobtrusive as you can wish for.

Even though the Hyundai Staria, at 2 285 kg, might be over 300 kg heavier than the Palisade and over 400 kg heavier than the Santa Fe, there is plenty of urge. In fact, floor the accelerator off the line and there is a healthy degree of wheel spin which is quite out of character for such a classy ride.

Three Drive Modes are available in Eco, Normal, and Sport. We kept it in Normal most of the time, while using Sport in short bursts for that extra bit of urge when overtaking on the freeway. These were executed with without any backchat from the powerplant.

Good fuel economy

While making no attempt to save fuel, we managed to return a fuel consumption of 11L/100 km over a distance of 611 km, of which most was in city traffic.

This number is very acceptable taking into account the size and weight and the passenger and load-lugging capacity of the Hyundai Staria. It also means that the van can get close to 700 km on its 75-litre tank in daily city life.

When I do set foot on a space ship during my lifetime, I will not be disappointed if its interior matches that of the Staria. Our test unit was clad in grey Nappa leather, which worked really well with all the selectable ambient light colours.

Unlike conventional instrument clusters at which you look at through the steering wheel, the Staria follows the concept of the Peugeot i-Cockpit.

The two-dial cluster is located higher and deeper in the dash in order for the driver to look at it over the steering wheel with the line of sight being closer to the road. This also eliminates the need for Heads-Up display projected on the windscreen.

Like the Palisade, the Hyundai Staria also doesn’t feature a gear lever selector with the transmission operated by four push buttons. Much to the amusement of the prancing cops.

Being the flagship model, the Luxury has no shortage of creature comforts. Standard are infotainment system with Bose sound system, surround view monitor, dual sunroof, adaptive cruise control, power sliding side doors, electric tailgate.

The front row benefits from electric heated and ventilated seats, wireless charging, and large loadbox in the centre console.

Luxury lounge

The second and third row feature two captain’s chairs of which the second row are heated and ventilated and can swivel 180 degrees to face the third row. Ventilation, USB ports and drinks holders are also aplenty in the second- third and fourth row, which consist of a three-seater bench seat.

All three rows in the rear can slide and fold to allow a magnitude of configuration to suit the passenger or luggage requirements.

A myriad of safety specifications includes driver, passenger, side and curtain airbags, blind spot collision avoidance assist, lane departure warning assist and rear cross traffic collision avoidance assist.

While conventional wisdom might challenge the mere thought of a Hyundai costing as much as R1 099 900, the Hyundai Staria Luxury is in actual fact great value for money.

Apart from looking the part, this van offers all-round comfort and great versatile space accentuated by the dual sunroofs and large windows.

Taking the game to V-Class and Caravelle

If buyers can look past their brand snobbery, they will also be amazed by the amount the standard specification on offer has over much pricier rivals in the VW Caravelle and Mercedes-Benz V-Class.

Even though it can’t fly, the Hyundai Staria is sure set for lift-off.

For more information on the Hyundai Staria, click here.