Image: Hyundai
Image: Hyundai
Image: Hyundai
Image: Hyundai
Image: Hyundai
Image: Hyundai
Image: Hyundai
From staggering fuel consumption to Airbus-swallowing space, there’s no better way to holiday than in the road trip-ready Hyundai Staria.
Image: Hyundai
After a mere few weeks into 2023, between the looming prospect of a further-skyrocketing cost of living this year, coupled with relentless load-shedding – it’s fair to say that prospect of near-certain misery already makes one all the more nostalgic over the festive breakaway enjoyed at the end of 2022 – if you were lucky enough to do so in the first place.
Over this period, CAR spent a month in what was undoubtedly 2022’s most underrated and surprise release. At R764 900 the Multicab is the entry point into the Hyundai Staria range. In forgoing a conventional passenger van’s third row of seats, its standout feature – make that four-letter expletively elephantine – is a closed-off load capsule that’s only accessible from the pair of rear wing doors.
Image: Hyundai
The Multicab’s sole purpose was a load-lugging, mile-munching pilgrimage from Cape Town to Knysna between Christmas and the New Year. For the 500 km trip on the Garden Route, the Hyundai returned an average consumption figure 8,6 L/100 km, which was impressive given its size and weight – though beatable by our 2022 long-term Opel Zafira Life 2.0TD Edition’s claimed (and attained) equivalent figure of 7,6 L/100 km during a similar trip last year.
Attempting to verbalise the Multicab’s effortless ability to ferry cargo is like defining speed by example of an F1 car. The rear bench seats a trio of adults, while the rear will swallow boxes, bicycles and inflated boats in preparation of the zombie apocalypse.
For such a long vehicle (measuring 5 253 mm in length), a key driving aid was its blind spot monitor. Also sitting what felt right above the front axle – made for easy viewing and manoeuvring; further aided by sail-sized windows all around.
Image: Hyundai
There are very few debits. The load bay is presented as bare metal and with no roof lining, turns into an oven in summer. For safety purposes, all the former’s apertures are reinforced by burglar bars, which in South Africa is essential; except that one of the cross-bars obstructs the centre of the rear-view mirror.
Image: Hyundai
In the cabin, the wireless charging is a treat, though with so much dashboard real estate on offer, one wonders why there couldn’t be a charging dock for each of the front occupants’ phones, instead of just for one. And lastly, the front seats lack seatback pockets for rear passengers’ loose items.
As more festive traffic-choked up the roads for our return trip, the average speed and by extension, average fuel consumption correspondingly dropped, too – to just 7,5 L/100 km.
That’s the Opel defeated – and us stunned.
Hyundai Staria 2,2D Multicab Fast Facts
Price: From R759 900
Engine: 2,2-litre diesel
Power: 130 kW
Torque: 430 N.m
Achieved fuel consumption: 7,5 L/100km
0-100 km/h: 12,4 seconds
Top speed: 185 km/h
Keyword: The Hyundai Staria Multicab is the only holiday transport on your shopping list