Hyundai has already shown the Staria several times, but the idiosyncratic space giant has now been presented in its entirety. The Staria is a small MPV, a passenger bus that, against all expectations, also comes onto the market in Europe.
In recent years, Hyundai has proven to have a preference for models with a nice idiosyncratic design. The Kona does not exactly have a thirteen in a dozen design, the i20 looks a bit unconventional for the segment in which it operates and with the Ioniq 5 the brand is taking a quirky approach. This all-new Hyundai Staria surpasses them all in terms of design. If you look at the Staria through his or her eyelashes, the way in which the bonnet and the windscreen are visually fused together may think of the AutoEuropa MPVs of the 1990s. That is by no means the only striking design element of the Staria.
Hyundai Staria
The optical attraction of the Hyundai Staria is its muzzle. An LED strip runs across the full width of the front, although these are not the actual headlights. They are one floor lower, just like with cars like the Kona and Santa Fe. Most of the front of the Staria consists of a gigantic grille. Just as striking is the windows of the Staria. Instead of an ascending shoulder line, the window line runs forward towards the A-pillar. The large windows of the Staria promise a huge amount of light in the interior, but above all must ensure good all-round visibility. The rear of the Staria is also quite strikingly designed, although the design on the back of the Staria is slightly more subtle. The Staria has an enormous tailgate that consists of half of the rear window. On the left and right side of it are elongated rear lights that – depending on the chosen version – are almost completely colorless and are made up of small segments. Parametric Pixel lamps, Hyundai calls them.
Hyundai Staria
With a length of 5.25 meters and a wheelbase of 3.27 meters, the Staria is a small MPV. You should therefore see it more or less as a relative of the H300, the 5.15 meter long passenger bus that was also available in the Netherlands until a few years ago. The Staria comes as a two-seater, seven-seater and there are also versions with eleven seats and flavors with luxurious-looking captain seats. However, the variants with these sturdy armchairs are reserved for the Korean market. The interior of the Staria has certainly been designed with the necessary imagination for a car in this class. The Staria has a deep and relatively minimalistic-looking dashboard with – depending on the chosen version – a large infotainment screen on the center console that includes the controls for the climate control and a 10.25-inch digital instrumentation behind the steering wheel that we find in cars. as the new Tucson. According to Hyundai, the dashboard design is inspired by a cruise ship. We just have to believe it. There is also smart storage space. As with more conventional-looking practical buses, there is a storage compartment above the windshield and the center tunnel also contains a large storage compartment.
Hyundai Staria
Hyundai proudly reports that the Staria is also coming to Europe as Van, Wagon and Wagon Premium. Now comes the disappointment: the Staria is not coming to the Netherlands. The Van is the delivery version with two or three seats that has up to 5,000 liters of luggage space and can carry three Euro pallets. The Wagon will become a regular passenger variant and the Wagon Premium a richly equipped version. It is known that the Premium version will only be available as a seven- and nine-seater. That version has the full-LED headlights, 18-inch alloy and the striking ‘gray’ rear lights. The Premium variant is also finished with copper-colored accents. For example, the Hyundai logo, the headlight surrounds, parts of the front and rear bumpers, the wheels, the side mirror caps and the door handles are finished in a copper tone. The seven-seater Premium gets Premium Relaxation Seats in the second row of seats, extensively electronically adjustable ones that can also be moved. At the push of a button, the seats lower down for a pleasant hanging experience. The Premium version with nine seats gets seats in the second row that can rotate 180 degrees. This way you can also look at the occupants in the third row of seats, which is so cozy. More premium decor comes in the form of mood lighting with 64 customizable colors and a Bose audio system.
Hyundai Staria
The Hyundai Staria will be available with a 177 hp 2.2 diesel engine, a 431 Nm strong machine that can be linked to a manual six-speed gearbox and an eight-speed automatic transmission. This is the only engine version with which the Staria will be available in Europe. In other markets, the Staria is also available with a 272 hp and 331 Nm strong 3.5 V6. As far as safety systems are concerned, things are fine. The Staria includes Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, Blind Spot Detection and Safe Exit Assist. Depending on the version selected, the front occupants can conjure up the rear passengers on the screen of the infotainment system. The driver and his co-driver can even talk to the rear passengers via a kind of intercom. That will no doubt prevent a lot of screaming.
The Staria is what Hyundai calls a Purpose Built Vehicle, which means that function took precedence over form. Hyundai says it also has limousines, ambulances and motorhomes in the barrel according to the same philosophy. That sounds promising.