Hyundai Staria 2.2L Diesel AWD Elite (2021-2026)

Great Practical Vehicle - But could Still Use some Polish – We purchased our 2022 Staria after doing 6 months of research. The limited model, which in NZ I think is similar/same to the Highlander in AU. Being in NZ, we are very limited on options. We picked the Staria for the large boot space (even with all seats in use), the AWD for camping trips whilst towing on gravel roads and going to snow, safety… Read more ·  1

features, and the light airy interior (great for those who get car sick). After 10 months of ownership all those boxes remain ticked.

Our experience was marred by a rattle at certain speeds. Hyundai eventually replaced the entire transmission, transfer case, rear diff and prop shaft. What is evident is that the Hyundai technicians don't actually know the vehicle, and are in the dark on how to fix anything on this mode. Parts are woefully slow to arrive and in most cases they seems to struggle to locate them. Eventually the problem was traced simply to a difference in rolling diameter which was easily fixed. Another gripe; The sales people emphasize how the Staria is supposedly built on the Santa Fe platform. This is mostly lies in practical terms. The transmission, transfer case, gear ratios are all different, which means the parts are all unique to the Staria.

After the rattle issue was sorted, the vehicle has been pretty good to drive. It is definitely still a van, and doesn't drive like a Santa Fe - but if you are ok to take accelerate at a sedate pace, it travels very nicely on the open road until you get too something very windy - then for the sake of the passengers you just have to slow down. We load it up with a lot of gear, bike racks, and trailer, and it performs well for us. The family love it on a good road trip. All the Tech works pretty well, with the occasional brain fart causing doors to muck around - but it happens infrequently.

Would I buy another one? It is difficult as there is nothing with the features we want anywhere near the price range (VW 4motion Caravelle would do it for another $30k) - I feel like the quality of this vehicle could be improved by Hyundai, and certainly the tech support - maybe a little rushed to market. The rattle issue was immensely frustrating at the time, and I just about threw the whole lot in. I would do a good shop around, but suspect we would still end up with one of these. I hope this helps someone.