You are now looking at a very unique and versatile vehicle… whose appeal goes much further than the striking new design.
You should know: There isn’t much choice in the half-a-van half-a-box market segment, and while this Hyundai’s main rivals (Quantum CrewCab and VW Transporter Crew Bus) are quite stylish, they don’t hold a candle to the Staria’s crazy looks.
And just for your convenience, here’s a quick comparative table:
| Staria MultiCab | VW Crew Bus | Quantum Crew Cab | |
| Engine | 2.2 (i-4) Turbo-diesel | 2.0 (i-4) Turbo-diesel | 2.8 (i-4) Turbo-diesel |
| kW/Nm | 130/430 | 110/340 | 130/420 |
| Gears/drive | 8-sp Auto / FWD | 7-sp DCT / FWD | 6-sp Manual / RWD |
| Max. load | 1075L | 845L | 975L |
| L/100km | 8.7 | 6.6 | No claim |
| Tank size | 75L | 80L | 65L |
| Warranty | 7-yr/200,000km | 2-yr/unlimited | 3-yr/100,000km |
| Service plan | 6-yr/90,000km | 3-yr/60,000km | 9 services / 90k |
| Price | R765,000 | R705,600 | R592,000 |
More info: From this it’s easy to see that the Hyundai is also slightly superior in most of their crucial specifications; except the price. I’ll quickly add that tank size, load volume or maximum kilowatts may be completely irrelevant to a brand-aligned or penny-pinching fleet operator… ditto for that active family who prefers the look of this Korean box.
What else? One of my colleagues immediately exclaimed that “you don’t need a double-cab anymore!” Because he easily piled three kids and a few bikes into this voluminous Staria while praising it for its roomy and comfortable cabin, car-like on-road behaviour and smidgen of dirt-road ability due to 215/65R17 tyres and 186mm of ground clearance.
Why you shouldn’t: Performance isn’t exactly overwhelming with a claimed 0-100km/h time of about 12.5 seconds and top speed around 185km/h. Our performance-test of the luxury Staria Elite resulted in a best time of 11.07 seconds, while this MultiCab won multiple drag races against an evenly-matched Suzuki…
Why you should: That’s simple. Because you get the comfort of a family van with the convenience of a builder’s bakkie. Yeah, some tall or bulky items might not fit into the Staria MultiCab’s back box but one of my contractor friends immediately spotted that parts of it can be disassembled… for even more versatility.