Hyundai Staria Load 2022 review

At $45,240 (MSRP - before on-road costs) the new diesel-auto-only Staria Load seems kind of pricey, especially considering the iload was once considered a “cheap” van in the segment. But over the years the MSRP of the iLoad crept up to $42,710, and you're getting a lot more equipment for the $2530 step up. A lot.

And at that $45K price point, it's close to what you're paying for a HiAce diesel auto (identically priced at $45,240), and undercuts the diesel-auto Transit Custom in both short-wheelbase ($46,090) and LWB ($48,090) guises.

Of course, it's well and truly over the likes of the cut-price Chinese LDV G10 (from $32,490 drive-away for ABN holders), which is the third-biggest seller in the segment behind the HiAce and existing iLoad.

There's an 8.0-inch touchscreen media system with Apple CarPlay and Android auto. (Image: Matt Campbell)

There will also be a Staria Load 5 Seat Crew Van arriving in November 2021, which will likely be priced “close to $50,000”, according to the brand.

And it should be noted that if you choose either the 2 Seat or 5 Seat Staria Load, you have the choice of rear “Twin Swing” barn doors, or a liftback tailgate - there's no cost to choose either, but the barn-door-equipped versions miss out on the standard-fit surround view 360 degree camera offered on the tailgate models (instead, they get a standard reversing camera). Hey, that's still better than Toyota, which doesn't even offer you a barn door option on the HiAce!

Okay, so does the Staria Load justify its price by offering lots of equipment?

The Staria Load rides on 17-inch steel wheels. (Image: Matt Campbell)

Standard inclusions for Staria Load comprise 17-inch steel wheels with a full-size spare, auto dusk-sensing halogen headlights, front and rear parking sensors, cloth interior trim with rubber flooring, a leather steering wheel and gear knob, an 8.0-inch touchscreen media system with Apple CarPlay and Android auto, a two-speaker stereo, an electronic park brake, wireless smartphone charging, a 4.2-inch digital instrument cluster, and a digital speedometer and tachometer.

All grades come with twin side sliding doors with filled-in window panels on both sides, and there's a rubber floor liner, half-height panel liners and eight tie-down hooks fitted.

What's missing? Any form of LED lighting, for one, and there are no auto wipers, either. No sat nav, and there's just one cargo area light right at the back of the van - a second one in the middle wouldn't have gone astray.

The Staria load misses out on LED's, and instead, has auto dusk-sensing halogen headlights. (Image: Matt Campbell)

There are several accessories available for the Staria Load, though it isn't quite as configurable as the “make it how you need it” Volkswagen Transporter van range.

There's the choice of a bulkhead partition ($1799 fitted), cage style cargo barrier ($899 fitted), headlight protectors ($229 fitted), bonnet protector ($229 fitted), side wind deflectors ($199 fitted), a towbar kit with wiring harness ($1390 fitted) and 17-inch alloy wheels (price TBC) among others.

But there is no option for side windows unless you choose to buy the Crew Van 5 Seater, and even then the brand isn't offering the option of the rear-most panels being glazed. Some competitors offer that, so if you need better outward visibility you can spend more to have it - maybe you could just buy a Staria people mover and remove the back seats?

There aren't many colours to choose from - Hyundai reckons customers will prefer the blank canvas Creamy White finish at no cost, or they might choose the Shimmering Silver metallic at $695. Those are the only options - no red, yellow, brown, green, blue, black or grey.

It comes with a full-size spare. (Matt Campbell)

It's a cleverly designed space up front - it's clear the company has ensured that business owners and drivers will be able to use the cabin as a mobile office of sorts.

The driver's seat has height adjustment and the steering wheel has rake and reach adjustment, and while it doesn't have a desk or anything, I could find plenty of ways to make the space messier than my workzone in my home office.

There are overhead folder holders with mesh netting to stop things falling out, and the dashboard has a section that allows you to store items on top, too.

It’s a cleverly designed space up front - business owners and drivers will be able to use the cabin as a mobile office of sorts. (Image: Matt Campbell)

There is a high-mount cup holder on the driver's side dash top, and that isn't mirrored on the passenger side, oddly. But there is a pop out cup holder next to the gear shifter.

The glovebox is quite shallow, but you've got those other storage options overhead, as well as multiple tiered storage sections in the doors – one just below the handle, a second mid section that's a little deeper below that, and a large trench with bottle holder capacity on the bottom part of the door.

Below the 8.0-inch touchscreen media system (more on that in a sec) is a wireless phone charging bay, and further down there are also a couple of slots and caddies for additional stowage, as well as two USB ports and a 12-volt outlet.

There's nothing between the front seats in terms of storage, but there is a large flat area to allow you to store other items like backpacks, and if you don't have a cargo barrier, you can even walk through to the cargo zone.

The steering wheel is lined in a leather-appointed material and feels very nice in the hand, and it is a really nice piece of design as well. The controls on the wheel are easy to come to terms with, and while it's hardly the sort of thing a tradie would tell their mates about, the wiper and indicator stalks are beautiful - they have the jeweled design that we've also seen in Kia models. It's amazing what a difference a small thing like that can make to the overall perception of quality in a car, let alone a work van.

The sun visors have mirrors with lights in them on both sides, and they can be lengthened by sliding them across if the sun is in an annoying spot. The rear vision mirror has no auto dimming, and there is no sunglasses holder.

There are overhead folder holders with mesh netting to stop things falling out. (Image: Matt Campbell)

​​Now, that media system. There's a lot to be said for having multiple Bluetooth connections possible on a touchscreen, and further to that, wireless Apple CarPlay is going to excite some potential buyers. But for me, it's a pain - the Bluetooth connection to your phone can be frustrating to establish, and there's a painful delay on phone calls - a good two seconds on some of the calls I took and made during my loan. You can't hook up to the screen using USB, either - it's wireless or nothing.

I do love the big digital dials in front of the driver, and the 4.2-inch driver info display is easy to learn and simple to navigate. That binnacle almost looks like it should pop up and retract down, but it doesn't.

Rear of the driver zone, there are eight tie down hooks for securing your load, and every Staria Load has half-height lining in the cargo zone and a vinyl floor covering to stop things scratching or puncturing the metal below. Just beware, that can be slippery when wet.

There's just one light in the back of the van, and if you're wondering where the spare wheel is, it's under the cargo area floor - a full size steel spare wheel.

Being largely based on the same bits as the Staria people mover, it's no surprise that this is an easy van to drive on the daily.

It's more refined than you'd expect, comfy and cruisy to pilot on the highway or in suburbia, and quieter than most vans I've driven over the years without anything on board. Sure, there is some road noise from the rear, and if the road is wet you can hear it through the wheel arches, but it's a nice place to be. It would be even more cocoon-like with a steel bulkhead fitted, and that's something I'd definitely consider if I was buying one.

The engine is really strong, the eight-speed auto smart, and the overall effortlessness of progress quite outstanding. Not much to complain about there.

The steering wheel is lined in a leather-appointed material and feels very nice in the hand. (Image: Matt Campbell)

The suspension - Macpherson strut front suspension and solid-beam leaf spring rear suspension - isn't as good as it could be when driving without a load. It can wobble and bobble over lumps and bumps, and falls into potholes quite noticeably, too. A VW Transporter, Peugeot Partner, Toyota HiAce and even the existing iLoad arguably have the Staria Load's measure when it comes to unladen driving comfort, and the Hyundai is not nearly as ‘squishy’ in its body control as a Ford Transit Custom, either. And no doubt the placard-stated highish tyre pressures - 42PSI front and 48PSI rear - have something to do with that.

The reason not to offer all-wheel drive might seem an odd one, but presumably the extra weight of those underpinnings would adversely affect the payload capacity on offer, and the market for an all-wheel drive van is quite limited as it is. Still, if you need an AWD van like this, the VW Transporter 4Motion remains the best choice.

There is an 'auto hold' function for the transmission but oddly it doesn't work when the van is in reverse - which can mean the van will roll forward if you're parked on a slope, which is annoying. And while the electronic park brake is a nice touch, it would be even better if it automatically applied when you put the vehicle in Park, not just when you turn the van off. It does auto deactivate when you choose a gear after start-up, though.

There is no ANCAP crash test rating as yet for the Staria Load, but safety is one of the strongest suits of the Staria Load - it's more than a leap and bound better than the old iLoad, too.

All grades come with forward collision avoidance with front auto emergency braking (AEB) that operates at city and highway speeds (operable from 5km/h to 180km/h) and it incorporates pedestrian detection and cyclist detection (5km/h to 85km/h).

The Staria Load with barn doors gets a standard reversing camera. (Image: Matt Campbell)

There is blind spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert with avoidance technology (it can buzz the steering wheel if you're about to merge into someone or even steer away from a potential crash), plus there is lane departure warning and lane keeping assist (from 64km/h to 180km/h) and lane follow assist as part of the adaptive cruise control (0km/h to 150km/h).

All Staria Load models have front and rear parking sensors and there's a surround view camera on the model with the tailgate (reversing camera only on the barn door model), while there is also speed sign recognition, driver fatigue warning, and seven airbags including a centre front airbag and second row coverage, even if you don't have a five-seater.

All signs point to a new benchmark for van safety, here.

There is no ANCAP crash test rating as yet for the Staria Load. (Image: Matt Campbell)