Hyundai Staria: The perfect family van?

In Germany, the Staria is currently the only van model in the Hyundai pool. This is available as a transporter and as a passenger transport vehicle. In the following test report you will find out why it is particularly good at transporting people and whether there is enough space for a family holiday with nine seats.

The Staria is available as a bus with seven seats, essentially a business vehicle, and as a cheaper 9-seater. The latter is likely to appeal primarily to larger families who also like to go on vacation by car. We were just able to test this 9-seater with special equipment and can give you our impressions here.

tl;dr: Space, comfort and solid performance

The exterior of the Staria is of course a matter of taste. I often had to disabuse those present who initially thought that the Staria with a diesel engine was an electric car. However, the van's interior also surprised many with its comfort features. There are enough storage spaces and the modularity of the benches is impressive. Qi charging cradle, sun blinds and panoramic roof are nice additional extras that increase comfort on long journeys. It is operated via a digital infotainment system and touch-sensitive surfaces below the display, which work well. However, only a wired connection for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is supported.

The rear rows of seats are also comfortable and highly adjustable, maximizing storage space. The Staria impresses with its easy drivability, a quiet interior and solid performance from the diesel engine. The assistance systems mostly work well, although a few improvements could be made. Hyundai's Staria in our featured Prime version starts at 53.600,00 euros (including 19% VAT). With our “Abyss Black” paintwork and the parking and panoramic glass roof package we are 56.540,00 euros including VAT.

Design: Looks like E, but there's no E in it

At first glance, some people call the Staria an electric car. I can actually understand that, as the front looks very futuristic at first glance. This is due, on the one hand, to the clear and sloping line from the roof over the windshield to the hood of the vehicle and, on the other hand, to the light signature. The latter has great illumination of the road, but I would have liked a cornering light when maneuvering and turning, as the LED headlights hardly emit any light to the side. The side of the vehicle is relatively unspectacular. Here you can clearly see the flowing silhouette. However, you can't clearly see the people in the back two rows of seats because except for the windshield, everyone else is darkened. Things get more interesting again at the rear of the vehicle, because here too there is a long, but this time vertical, light signature.

Interior: More is more

There are a total of 11 cup holders and 2 USB-A ports in the Staria pro Row of seats accommodated. The glove compartment is relatively small, but is compensated for by countless storage options in the dashboard, in the folded front middle seat and doors of the vehicle. Even though these, like the extendable sun visors for the long windows, are actually just small things, they really impressed me in a positive way. By the way, each row of seats made of real and imitation leather also has its own ceiling lighting, but unfortunately ambient lighting is completely missing in the 9-seater. I also liked the silver accents, which make the steering wheel a four-spoke steering wheel and run through the middle of the front ventilation slots.

Front row of seats

There is what I believe is a rumble seat between the driver and passenger. Although you can sit there with three people, if the third person isn't a child, it gets a bit cozy. In our Prime version, the main seats have seat ventilation as well as seat heating. Regardless of the equipment, only the driver's seat is electric. There is no head-up display. But that's not necessary at all, as the 10,25-inch digital and customizable instrument cluster stands above the steering wheel. The touchscreen display is also 10,25 inches. For example, you can use this to control the occupant camera, the 360° camera or the interestingly designed navigation. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto work quickly and smoothly, but only wired. The touch buttons for further operation are located below the display. In general, I personally prefer having real buttons, but the touch behind them responds perfectly.

Picture: TechnikNews

Rear rows of seats and trunk

If you open the sides through the sliding doors (electric for an additional charge), you will first see two benches with three seats each. With these you can drive comfortably even when fully occupied. The special feature, however, lies in the adjustment options for the seats. On the one hand, the backrests can not only be adjusted vertically to make sitting more comfortable, but can also be folded down flush with the seat. The benches as a whole can also be moved forwards and backwards to provide even more storage space. There are pull-out sun blinds on both rear windows and each side window can be opened in its own way. There are four manually adjustable ventilation openings on the ceiling, the temperature output of which can be regulated via the control panel. The passenger camera mentioned above is located in the middle. The trunk volume of course depends on the position of the rear bench seat and whether the bench seats are folded down. Everything from 117 to 1303 liters is possible.

Driving impression and consumption: Simple, easy to drive

The Staria is available as a front-wheel drive or as an all-wheel drive version. Either way, it comes with a 177 hp, 2,2 liter diesel engine and 430 Nm. Just like the chassis, it's absolutely fine for traveling. The wind noise doesn't come into focus even at 130 km/h. The adaptive cruise control is supposed to recognize road signs and, after confirmation, adapt to them. In contrast to releasing the accelerator, this unfortunately doesn't work as well in sharper corners. Things get more interesting with the lane following assistant, which keeps the car in the middle of the lane itself, but does not switch off automatically when you apply the brake. I think it's nice not to have to activate it again and again, but you have to keep in mind that it stays on and intervenes in the steering. In general, it has to be said that the Staria is very easy to drive, even though it is 5,25 meters long. By the way, that's still 14 centimeters shorter than the BMW i7 we have here also tested.

Also interesting is the digital speedometer, which replaces the HUD, which offers a different display design depending on the driving mode selected. By the way, the blind spot cameras are displayed on the respective side of the instrument cluster when the turn signal is activated.

In our test, we averaged 10,2 liters of fuel consumption per 100 kilometers, which gives us a realistic range of 75 kilometers with a full 735-liter tank.

Thanks to Hyundai Germany for providing the Staria for this test report.

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