2022 Hyundai Staria review: Australian first drive

The Hyundai iMax had a showroom lifespan as wide as the film screens with which it shares its name – 14 years of longevity that may have reflected the Korean brand’s interest level in the people-mover segment.

Yet its belated replacement, the 2022 Hyundai Staria, has arrived as a futuristically styled 3D van experience that jettisons any notion of apathy into space.

With its dramatic, singular-curve silhouette, deep panoramic windows, horizontal LED front lighting strip and vertical, grid-style LED tail-lights, Hyundai’s human transporter is guaranteed to stand out.

Hyundai’s sales projections aren’t quite as bold. The company is simply aiming to slot in behind the segment-dominant Kia Carnival with which it now shares its platform, though this would still involve overtaking the likes of the Volkswagen Multivan, LDV G10 and Honda Odyssey. (Lucky Hyundai, the Odyssey will be retired in 2022.)

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A simple range comprises three trim grades – Staria, Elite and Highlander – which are expected to share the sales spoils. Each is available as a front-drive V6 petrol or, for a $3000 premium, an all-wheel-drive four-cylinder turbo diesel.

Starting from $48,500, prices are slightly higher than the iMax, though a significantly higher level of standard equipment, including far superior safety features, is a generous offset.

The Staria also expands in all measurements. It gains more than 10cm in length (making it almost as long as the 5.3-metre long-wheelbase Multivan), nearly 8cm in width, and adds 6.5cm in height to stand almost two metres tall.

An extra 73mm for the wheelbase promises some extra space for a cabin that retains its three-row, eight-seat layout.

In Elite and Highlander models, electric sliding doors provide access to the rear cabin. All models feature tilt/slide second-row seats that create comfortably wide access to the third row.

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The Staria is amply equipped for big trips – whether it’s shuttling people and large suitcases to the airport or ferrying the family around on a week’s holiday.

It’s here where the Staria provides one of its biggest advantages over the Carnival, offering much more headroom plus some extra legroom for rearmost passengers.

Three adults can also sit across with less of a squeeze, while curtain airbags, which didn’t even feature on the iMax, fully extend into the third row.

Smaller kids will love being able to stand up inside the Staria, but they’ll also be left disappointed – as will parents – that they can’t sit in the third row. The Staria lacks both ISOFIX and top-tether points in the back row, as found in the Carnival and Multivan.

Storage, USB ports and (ceiling) vents aren’t neglected, and Elite and Highlander variants add blinds for the passenger rows and a flush sliding window for the second row (it’s a pop-latch set-up for the base model).

Our test car benefited from the extra light introduced by the Highlander grade’s standard sunroofs – fixed glass with blind for the rear cabin, electric tilt/slide up front.

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The 60/40-split second row offers plenty of travel to tailor the balance of legroom between middle and rear cabin areas.

ISOFIX points are integrated into the outboard seats, with top-tethers across all middle seats. Use ISOFIX child seats and it’s still possible to slide the second-row seats forward for access to the rear.

There’s dedicated climate control via a roof panel in all but the base Staria, and there’s abundant storage options.

The front cabin is also a repository paradise – especially in Highlander spec with its extra dash ‘multiboxes’.

All models provide a centre storage box with a sliding lid and generous interior volume as well as two (removable) cupholders.

The doors are particularly ingenious, with four levels of varying storage capability – ranging from a small, shallow tray on the top of the doorcard to a super-wide lower compartment for placing larger items such as tablets, umbrellas or drinks bottles.

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The Staria is amply equipped for big trips – whether it’s shuttling people and large suitcases to the airport or ferrying the family around on a week’s holiday.

With its low bumper and high roofline, Hyundai’s people-mover provides a huge, flat boot with a quoted volume of 803 litres that thrashes multi-seater SUVs and even trumps the Carnival.

There are a couple of options for expanding cargo space. Both the middle and third-row seatbacks can be folded flat onto the cushions. Or pull a lever to tip up the third-row bench, then grab a handle to push the seatbacks forward and up against the second-row seatbacks.

Unlike the Multivan, however, the rear seats can’t be removed to create a part-time van for those trips to Bunnings or Ikea.

The Hyundai’s upright driving position has much more in common with the VW and other van-style peers than the SUV-like Carnival.

This is exacerbated by front seats that are too flat and offer limited side support. The cushioning is also on the firm side and there are no fold-down seat armrests as in the likes of the Multivan, or even the old iMax.

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Most cabin plastics are of the hard and durable, too, though the Staria’s dash looks more sophisticated than your average commercial vehicle with its square-slabbed infotainment and climate control panel and, in our Highlander model, a fully digital driver display.

Forgoing a conventional instrument binnacle, the display allows a completely unhindered view through the Staria’s vast windscreen. The remarkably deep front side windows, large side mirrors, decently sized rear window, and the penthouse seating position ensure all-round vision is mostly good.

The B-pillar obscures some vision over the driver’s right shoulder, though blind spot monitoring is standard while the Highlander adds a clever video feed in the driver display when the indicators are used.

While the steering is slow at 3.4 turns lock to lock, requiring some extra arm work at times, its lightness otherwise makes the Staria easy to manoeuvre despite the vehicle’s size.

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Highlander adds a form of extra comfort with heated/ventilated front seats and a heated steering wheel, though surprisingly misses out on a branded audio system.

Also exclusive to the flagship is a passenger view monitor, which, when selected via the touchscreen, uses a ceiling camera that allows front occupants to keep a check on the kids in the back rows.

The Staria’s suspension can struggle on the bumpiest suburban roads, though improves with some passengers on board and the supple ride is generally agreeable.

Hyundai’s familiar 2.2-litre turbo diesel offers extra torque over the standard 3.5-litre V6 petrol, and the 430Nm delivered between 1500 and 2500rpm serves up more effortless in-gear acceleration that will be only more beneficial the more passengers are on board.

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The engine can be a touch laggy at lower revs, however, and the eight-speed auto can be caught out on steep hills.

Although the diesel only starts to get truly raucous under load, extra sound deadening between the engine bay and cabin wouldn’t go amiss. Noise refinement is a stark contrast to the experience of the related (but technically different) 2.2L diesel found in the group’s Genesis GV70 SUV and G80 limo.

Unlike the Staria-Load van, the Staria diesel comes with the bonus of an on-demand all-wheel-drive system, including 4WD Lock. It joins 4Motion versions of the Multivan as an advantageous alternative to the usual breed of front-drive or rear-drive people-movers.

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VERDICT

Even in this spec, the Hyundai isn’t quite the complete, ultra-versatile people-mover – owing to its lack of third-row child-seat anchorage and limited seating flexibility. But a strong mix of space, safety and technology – in Highlander form especially – makes the Staria, for families and fleets alike, worthwhile viewing.