With four children, the Lacey family have all the space they need in the Hyundai STARIA for a weekend away
With four children, the Lacey family have all the space they need in the Hyundai STARIA for a weekend away
A weekend camping trip for the Lacey family used to be a two-car affair.
For Ayumi and Damien Lacey, and their four children – 12-year-old Mia, 10-year-old Ewan, seven-year-old Aoife and four-year-old Ronan – even a day out from their East Bentleigh home in Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs to the Mornington Peninsula was like a game of Tetris.
But not this time, as the family ventured to Arthurs Seat for a picnic and a ride on the Arthurs Seat Eagle gondola to take in the spectacular view across Port Phillip Bay, thanks to the spacious, eight-seat all-new Hyundai STARIA.
“We need an eight-seat car; with four kids, my husband and I and sometimes the grandparents we need the space,” Ayumi Lacey told carsales.
“We used to travel on the weekends regularly before COVID, like a drive down to the Mornington Peninsula, to the beaches and the cafes, on the weekend. Or, during the school holidays, we would go up to country Victoria and spend a few nights somewhere.
“Sometimes, in the past, we would have to take two cars because we couldn’t carry everything – and everyone – in one car. But the STARIA has lots of space, and because you can arrange the seats in different ways you can make the boot even bigger, or have more room in the last row, whichever you need.
“The more space the better for us.”
The trip to Arthurs Seat is less than an hour’s drive from Melbourne, either meandering along the beachfront boulevards through some of Australia’s most prestigious suburbs or via the convenient eastern freeway network.
Rising 304m above sea level, the summit of Arthurs Seat is the highest vantage point around Port Phillip Bay. And gliding over the treetops on the Eagle gondola provides an even more commanding view of the surrounding area.
But getting there in the all-new Hyundai STARIA was just as spectacular for the Lacey family.
“It was amazing; everyone had enough space – even more space – and the kids love the massive sunroof, which made it feel even bigger, as well as all the buttons they could play with,” said Lacey.
“The back seat was really easy for the kids to get in and out and everyone was really comfortable on the drive.
“I really like the leather seats too; not only does it look good and feel luxurious but it looks like it is easy to keep clean when Aoife or Ronan spills something, which they inevitably would at some point in time.
“I think it is really good for this type of family car.”
Beyond the convenience of space – and cleaning – Lacey was impressed by the level of standard safety equipment in the all-new Hyundai STARIA, including family-friendly features such as Rear Occupant Alert and Safe Exit Assist which, respectively, alerts the driver if a rear-seat occupant is still in the vehicle when the driver’s door is opened and will keep the rear doors locked if a sensor detects another vehicle is approaching in an adjacent lane.
That’s on top of a comprehensive list of active driving features in the Hyundai SmartSense™* suite that includes automated emergency braking with Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist and Rear Cross Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist which automatically apply the brakes if the vehicle detects an obstacle, another vehicle and pedestrians in its path.
“Because we have little kids, we need that kind of security and it was great to know the STARIA has all the latest safety systems,” said Lacey.
“I also like the automatic sliding doors and rear tailgate too; that is thoughtful for families.
“It is particularly handy if I’m carrying the groceries that the boot opens when I’m close to the car, and the doors are great to get all the kids in safely.”
As it is for the Laceys, the all-new Hyundai STARIA is the spaceship every Australian family needs right now to find their own Aussie spaces. To find out more about the all-new Hyundai STARIA, visit https://www.hyundai.com/au/en/cars/people-movers-and-commercial/staria
*Disclaimer: Hyundai SmartSense™ is a registered trademark of Hyundai Motor Company. Safety features are not a substitute for attentive driving.
Keyword: Hyundai STARIA: the one solution for a two-car family