While the electric Hyundai range has a hatch, sedan, and too many SUVs to count, the new Staria Electric is the Korean automaker’s first electric people mover.
Based on the facelifted Staria unveiled in late 2025, which is due in Australia some time this year, the electric vehicle (EV) version brings little visual differentiation from its petrol, diesel and hybrid siblings.
Only the most dedicated of car spotters will notice the Electric badge on the tailgate, and the off-centre charging port located just above the front number plate.
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The Staria Electric has an electric motor with 160kW of power and 350Nm of torque driving the front wheels. It’s hooked up to a 84kWh battery pack that should be good for a WLTP range of “up to” 400km.
Currently the Staria is available Down Under with the choice of a 200kW/331Nm 3.5-litre V6 driving the front wheels, or a 130kW/430Nm 2.2-litre turbo-diesel driving all four wheels. We miss out on the 180kW/367Nm 1.6-litre turbo-petrol hybrid.
Although the Staria Electric uses a 800V electrical architecture, Hyundai hasn’t specified its maximum charging rate, merely stating that “under optimal DC fast charging conditions” the car is capable of being recharged from 10 to 80 per cent in roughly 20 minutes.
The Staria Electric does support 11kW AC charging, and has a heated charging port to help those living in cold climates. There’s also vehicle-to-load (V2L) capability, allowing it to power small electrical appliances, and an array of 100W USB ports.
The Staria Electric has a 2000kg braked towing capacity, and an unbraked towing capacity of 750kg.
Like other facelifted Starias, the Staria Electric has a revised dashboard with physical (not capacitive) buttons for the audio and climate control systems. There’s a larger 12.3-inch instrumentation display in front of the driver, and a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system running the brand’s latest ccNC operating system.
The Staria Electric will be available in two configurations. The Wagon variant, aimed at shuttle and tour operators, seats nine with three-seat benches in the second and third rows. It comes with heated and ventilated front seats, and has up to 1303 litres of storage in the boot behind the third row.
The Luxury setup (pictured here) is geared towards families. Seven people can be accommodated with a two captain’s chairs in the second row, and a three-person rear bench. It features heated and ventilated front- and middle-row seats, and up to 435L of storage behind the third row, while powered sliding doors and tailgate are standard.
All versions ride on 215/65 tyres with 17-inch alloy wheels. Available features include a digital smartphone key, a camera to monitor rear seat passengers, and a voice amplifier for the driver to allow easier communication to those in the back.
Safety features offered include autonomous emergency braking, lane keeping assist, blind spot monitoring, a 360-degree camera system, parking assistance, and adaptive cruise control that works with street sign recognition.
The paint palette includes black pearl, white, blue pearl, silver metallic, grey pearl, brown pearl, yellow, and maroon pearl. A large variety of interior colour schemes are available too, including black single-tone, black/beige, grey/cream, black/Anthracite Brown, and black/Bordeaux Brown.
The Staria Electric will go on sale in South Korea and Europe in the first half of 2026, with other markets to follow. It’s unclear at this stage whether Australia will be one of those other markets.
