The Hyundai Staria people mover and Staria Load van have achieved what their four-star iMax and iLoad predecessors never could: a five-star ANCAP safety rating.
Both configurations attained 85 per cent for adult occupant protection, 65 per cent for vulnerable road user protection, and 74 per cent for active safety assist features and efficacy.
The Staria people-mover also received a respectable 86 per cent score for child occupant protection in the rear.
In both cases, the Staria crash results are against the latest and most stringent 2020-22 crash protocols. The result applies to both petrol and diesel drivetrain variants, though only automatic transmission models are covered by the result.
The Staria Load in fact becomes the first commercial van to score the top rating under ANCAP’s latest test criteria – its Toyota HiAce nemesis carries a 2019 five-star score.
The eight-seater meanwhile scored fairly well across all areas of assessment, with full points awarded in the side impact test for both adult and child occupants, and for the driver in both the full-width frontal and mobile progressive deformable barrier tests.
The Staria comes with head and chest-protecting side airbags, a centre airbag, autonomous emergency braking, and a lane support system (LSS) as standard.
ANCAP said the Staria performed well in most of its active safety trials, showing good performance in tests of the AEB car-to-car system, with collisions avoided or mitigated in most scenarios, though it doesn’t respond to vehicles or pedestrians when turning (junction assist) or reversing.
The lane-keep assist and emergency lane-keeping systems showed “good capability”.
“The safety rating for the Hyundai Staria will be well received by families and fleet buyers, with the Staria becoming the third vehicle in the People Mover segment to achieve a 5 star safety rating under ANCAP’s 2020-2022 criteria – the most stringent to date,” said ANCAP chief executive Carla Hoorweg.
The other pair are the Kia Carnival (closely related to the Staria) and the smaller Volkswagen Caddy.
Regarding the Staria Load van, Ms Hoorweg added that: “This is a highly-anticipated result for fleets, and a significant step forward from the previous generation vehicle that the Staria Load replaces”.
“For so many small businesses and tradespeople their vehicle is their workplace. By providing the full suite of available safety specifications in the Staria Load, Hyundai has shown strong commitment to the safety of Australian and New Zealand road users and we expect this 5 star result will be well-received by fleets and commercial buyers.”
The Staria Load’s score is based on physically testing the Staria people-mover – they’re the same vehicle mechanically.
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