Hyundai finally replaces iLoad with Staria Load

BACKING up last week’s Staria people mover launch, Hyundai Motor Company Australia (HMCA) has just revealed local pricing and specification details of its load-lugging sibling, the Staria Load, which starts from $45,740 plus on-road costs.

Due to be in showrooms by the end of the month, the Staria Load is available in four guises – adding to the six people mover variants on offer – the range consisting of a two-seat Van and five-seat Crew Van ($48,240 + ORC), each with the no-cost option of liftback or twin swing rear doors.

Compared to the iLoad it replaces, the Staria Load offers more cargo space, more power and more standard safety features. Drive comes exclusively from a turbocharged 2.2-litre diesel engine developing 138kW and 430Nm.

The new powerplant is the same as used in the people movers – and the Santa Fe large SUV – but unlike those models, sends its power to the front wheels only via an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, doing away with the iLoad’s old six-speed manual and five-speed automatic.

Switching to front-wheel drive contributes to the Staria Load’s superior carrying capacity over its rear-drive iLoad predecessor, offering 4935 litres of space with a 93mm-higher roofline and marginally wider cargo bed.

The cargo bed is 2607mm long, 1640mm wide and 1436mm high, enabling the Staria Load to swallow three Euro pallets compared to its predecessor’s two.

Not only is the cargo space bigger, but access to it has been improved by extending the sliding side doors’ aperture to 870mm.

Eight tie-down points line the bed for maximum load security while felt board trim lines key areas of the wall to prevent cargo-inflicted damage.

Just like the powertrain, the Staria Load’s platform has also been pinched from under the latest Santa Fe, albeit with a solid rear axle and leaf spring rear suspension, which HMCA says delivers “passenger car levels of comfort, driveability, and refinement”.

The Santa Fe’s 2500kg braked towing capacity has been carried over too.

Away from the commercial specs, what really sets the Staria Load apart from the iLoad are its safety credentials, with virtually the full Hyundai SmartSense suite of active driver assist and collision-avoidance tech included as standard.

This comprises driver attention warning, forward collision-avoidance assist, haptic warning function, intelligent speed limit assist, lane-keeping assist, lane following assist, leading vehicle departure alert, parking sensors, tyre pressure monitoring, safe exit warning, rear cross-traffic collision avoidance-assist and blind-spot collision-avoidance assist, in addition to the seven airbags.

In terms of creature comforts, drivers are greeted by a leather-wrapped multi-function steering wheel and a 4.2-inch supervision instrument cluster, automatic headlights, keyless entry, 8.0-inch infotainment system with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Bluetooth connectivity, wireless phone charging and black cloth upholstery.

The whole package rolls on 17-inch steel wheels with a full-sized spare.

“With an all-new platform, space-age design and cutting-edge standard features, the all-new Staria Load builds on the strong legacy of the long-lived iLoad to bring a bold new vision to the van segment,” HMCA said in a statement.

“Staria Load delivers all the dependability of iLoad coupled with a larger, more usable cargo area, greatly improved performance and a vast array of advanced safety and convenience technology not offered by the competition.”

HMCA sold 2365 examples of the more than decade-old iLoad across the first eight months of this year, accounting for 13.7 per cent of the mid-sized van segment behind the Toyota HiAce van (5945 units/34.4 per cent).

2022 Hyundai Staria Load pricing*

*Excludes on-road costs