SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Many of the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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This is a launch report. In other words, it's simply a new model announcement. The driving experience was limited to a short drive over a preselected course. We can therefore not tell you what it will be like to live with over an extended period, how economical it is, or how reliable it will be. A very brief first impression is all we can give you until such time as we get a test unit for trial. Thank you for understanding.

Star turn: 2022 Hyundai Staria arrives in South Africa

Far from basic

Posted: November 11, 2021

There comes a time in every MPV’s life when it has to retire. Another van that's bigger, safer, stronger, more sophisticated and more comfortable is ready to take over. So it is with Hyundai’s venerable H1, or Starex, that has served the world faithfully for 21 years; 12 of which were in South Africa.

Its replacement, Staria, without even considering the upcoming new panel van, and a Multicab replacement due in 2022, is being offered in three trim levels; Executive, Elite and Luxury. All share Hyundai’s famous 2.2-litre turbodiesel engine and an eight-speed automatic transmission. All feature front-wheel drive – a major departure from H1 spec’.

Other changes include a stiffer and stronger body with improved crash resistance, more comfortable suspension and larger brakes.

Executive may be ordered in either nine- or eleven-seat form and comes with far-from-basic specification: McPherson strut front suspension with multi-links in the rear; disc brakes at both ends; artificial leather upholstery; cruise control; ABS brakes with EBD, ESP and hill start assistance; six airbags; auto-on headlights; speed-sensitive door locking; blind spot detection and cross traffic alert; automatic climate control; eight-inch touchscreen infotainment; park assist and rearview camera.

Features, especially safety and luxury equipment, get more sophisticated from there, but here are some highlights: smart (adaptive) cruise control; heated and ventilated seats with Nappa leather on Luxury; LED headlamps; button type gear selection; pushbutton starting; collision avoidance; lane departure and lane following assistance; tyre pressure monitoring; fatigue detection and rear cross traffic collision avoidance are all standard from Elite level up. Music lovers will appreciate the 12-speaker Bose sound system on the Luxury version.

For mobile conferences, 11-seat Executive and nine-seat Luxury models offer reversible captain’s chairs in their respective second rows.

Innovative blind spot monitors in the Luxury derivative show images in the 10.2-inch Supervision instrument cluster in front of the driver; replacing either the rev counter (for right turn) or speedometer (left turn), momentarily, with a real-time rear-view image.

Extra internal storage on Elite and Executive versions, big side windows and a low loading sill add to comfort and convenience. Exterior colours are Abyss Black pearl, Creamy White, Graphite Grey metallic, Midnight Blue pearl and Shimmering Silver metallic. There are many other new features and innovations but trying to describe them all would take up too many words and cause unnecessary confusion. See your dealer for further details.

Although H1 has served its public well and still sells in appreciable quantities, it is time to retire and hand over to new technology and more sophisticated customer demands. We wish it well.

Information gathered at a manufacturer-sponsored press launch.

Prices:
Staria R2.2 Executive 9-seater        R 789 900
Staria R2.2 Executive 11-seater      R 799 900
Staria R2.2 Elite 9-seater               R 959 900
Staria R2.2 Luxury 9-seater            R 1099 900

Engine: 2199 c , DOHC 16-valve four-cylinder turbodiesel

Power: 130 kW at 3800 rpm

Torque: 430 Nm between 1500 and 2500 rpm

Zero to 100 km/h (all): 12.4 seconds

Max. speed (all): 185 km/h

Tank size (all): 75 litres

Claimed average fuel consumption (all): 8.7 l/100 km

A 7-year/200 000 km manufacturer warranty and roadside assistance for 7-years or 150 000 km are included in the prices of all derivatives.

The Luxury version comes standard with a 7-year/105 000 km service plan included in the retail price, while Elite and Executive have 6-year/90 000 km service plans.




What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads or goat tracks as well. As a result, my test cars do occasionally get dirty. It's all part of the reviewing process.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.

If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles.  And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

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