Hyundai Staria vs MG MG3

What's the difference?

The Hyundai Staria Highlander looks big and drives big.

You get creature comforts and some excellent family features in the Highlander AWD model but the comfort sits firmly within the realm of ‘van’ rather than ‘plush’ and for a top-spec model, I’d expect more of the latter.

But the price point and ongoing costs beat the competition and if you need the space, the Staria is a solid option.

The MG3 still makes a strong argument for a low-cost, low-fuss option just like the models it now beats on price (Yaris, Mazda2, etc) used to.

While it also falls short in some areas like dynamics when pushed, the improvements to interior tech and comfort mean the MG3 should be considered if you're looking for a city runabout.

However, with the MG3’s price jump, rivals from Japanese and Korean brands are closer in cost than they were for the sub-$20K first-gen MG3, and their ability to handle Australia’s conditions outside the city mean they’ll prove a more useful long-term companion for many.

The MG3 nails its brief as a convincing option for first-car buyers or as a second runabout when there’s another option for long trips. It has taken a big step up from the ‘budget-friendly’ vibe of the original.

As my dad said, it's a face only a mother could love.

The design hasn’t seen any upgrades and the Staria still looks like a cross between a spaceship and a commercial van with its shape and size.

Unlike its cousin, the Carnival, which looks more like a stretched SUV, the beauty of the Staria may be hard to find for some but it suits the ‘people mover’ tag because it’s massive and sits at 5253mm long, 1997mm wide and 1990mm tall. 

The suite of LED external lights really highlights the spaceship look with the long strip light at the front and the mega-pixel panels at the rear. The snub nose is easy to see over and the flat bum means that, while large, you have a sense of where the car starts and ends.

The interior is much the same and the design memo seems to be ‘repurposed work van’. Space between occupants and the roof makes this anything but cosy and while that space is a big win for functionality, it doesn’t invoke a typical family cruiser-vibe.

Overall, the cabin lacks personality, despite being the top-spec grade.

Following the new design language pioneered here by the MG5 sedan and MG4 electric hatch, the MG3 looks like it’s trying for a sportier vibe than its predecessor, and maybe even a hint of European flair.

A grinning front grille and pointed set of headlights are followed around the side by a couple of body creases that give the hatchback a sweeping look, an attempt perhaps to seem longer than it is.

It doesn’t look like any of its rivals, unlike the MG5 which is easily mistaken for a small Mercedes CLA at glance.

Here on our Dover White test car, some angles are unflattering (it's giving 'hire car'), though the model’s available Diamond Red or Brighton Blue are fairly distinctive. Yes, some of the colours reference the brand’s UK heritage, despite being built in China.

Inside, the cabin benefits from a fairly tidy layout, with some genuinely thoughtful attempts at making the otherwise budget-focused model feel a little nice. A cross-hatch design through the dash mirrors, the seat stitching and the steering wheel and its buttons are nicely angular.

You are not hurting for space and the Staria is a people mover that can comfortably fit eight adults. Yep, even in the third row.

However, access to the cabin for the first and second rows is awkward because the ground clearance is 186mm, but the seats sit a lot higher. It truly can be an effort to climb in, especially on the driver's side as it lacks grab handles.

My seven-year-old is fine with access and finds it hilarious to do some parkour through the open sliding doors (kids are weird) but my grandmother couldn't manage getting in and out, and needed assistance. This is important to note if you're transporting a multi-generational family.

Access to the third row, however, is fantastic. You can position the middle row to still fit a six foot-plus adult and get into the third row without having to fold/slide the middle seat forward. Not an easy feat.

The front row offers the most seat comfort but it takes a while to get used to the lack of an armrest. It's surprising for a top model that only the driver's side is powered too but the heating/cooling functions for both seats softens the blow.

Fatigue can set in a little earlier than you might like due to the high driving position (my ankles were sore after a longer trip). The rear rows are bench-style seating that offer no side bolstering, armrests or anything really to hold you into position other than your cabin mate. Expect a lot of passenger movement because of this.

Families may be a bit bummed to learn that the Staria maintains its two ISOFIX and three top tethers. That means you're only getting three child seats in this one, despite being able to easily fit six.

Amenities throughout the car aren't too shabby but the front definitely benefits the most with storage. However, some thought has gone into passenger comfort for each row.

The 2025 update sees the older USB-A ports upgraded to USB-C ports and each row gets two. The front also gets a wireless charging pad and a 12-volt socket.

There are some good practical family features up front, like being able to control and lock the rear climate control and open the sliding doors and boot without having to leave your seat. You can also turn on a rear camera to referee any sibling squabbles, which is both cool and a little bit Truman Show. 

There are a total of 10 cupholders, four drink bottle holders, and two map pockets. The front gets an enormous middle console, two dashboard cubbies, a glove box that can fit a manual and long, if shallow, storage bins in each door.

The rear rows get climate control, directional air vents (ceiling mounted), retractable sun blinds and electric sliding doors.

The bug bear this week is the manually sliding windows in the middle row. My kid struggled at first to open them but got the hang of it. The annoying bit is that the driver can't close them unless you climb into the back seat and that could be a problem if you want them closed but your kids aren’t cooperating, or are too young to help.

The technology is rounded out by a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and a 10.25-inch touchscreen multimedia system that could do with an upgrade in terms of looks and positioning as it catches the light a lot. The graphics are still good and it's easy to get your head around all the menus but it would have been better if it was slightly tilted towards the driver.

This system has satellite navigation and my phone maintained a steady connection this week to the wireless Apple CarPlay.

The middle row has a 60/40 split but both the Carnival and Granvia have the option for ‘walk-thru’ access with the removal of the middle seat and that would have been a great feature for the cabin.

You can lift the third-row seat up (towards the back) and slide the whole row forward to create more depth for the boot but when the whole seat folds, it doesn’t fold flat and you’re left with a big chunky ledge when it comes time to packing the boot.

The boot is both practical and odd to use. It’s really big with a whopping 831 litres of capacity available with all rows in use but most of that space is vertical and that can create a Tetris-like game for packing on road trips. 

The boot is large enough for an impromptu picnic spot and the huge boot lid provides excellent rain cover… but the lid is just too big for practicality. You can’t back into a spot and open it in a shopping centre and even if you drive into a spot, the tailgate juts out so much that anything larger than a hatchback might become a convertible.

A two-door scenario might have been better but it's handy having the powered tailgate function.

That tidy design inside helps when it comes to making use of the space, as well as offering some generous storage spaces.

For starters, while the clean layout means the screen looks like the main point of access for much of the car’s function, there’s an all-important shortcut button for the climate control which means you don't waste time navigating to the vent and temperature controls.

The only issue is that while my phone was connected to the system for Android Auto, I had to navigate away from the mirroring screen back to the MG3’s home screen before being able to shortcut to the climate settings.

Demister and volume control buttons are also present, but the screen itself has an easy-to-navigate menu.

The steering wheel controls are similarly straightforward and clearly labelled, while the driver display is tidy and shows important information clearly.

While the steering wheel isn’t telescopically adjustable, it's easy to find a comfortable seating position thanks to the adjustability of the seats. The material on the seats doesn't feel rough or cheap.

Behind that, there is enough space for my 178cm frame in the second row for the most part, but headroom isn’t incredibly generous.

The rear pew is a single unit, rather than a 60/40 split, so the whole backrest folds down if you need to load anything long through the boot. There’s not even an armrest or little ski hatch for long, thin items.

Its 293-litre boot isn’t small, and there’s a space-saver spare tyre in both petrol variants, but the hybrids are stuck with repair kits.

Even though it’s now more expensive with its $23,990 before on-roads price, it’s hard to deny the petrol-only MG3 Excite is a compelling offering when it comes to inexpensive runabouts.

Not only has the price been bumped up, but so has the apparent interior quality and features list.

A new 13.25-inch multimedia touchscreen is paired with a 7.0-inch driver display and both look pretty slick for the price point and operate well. 

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are both available, but are wired only and can’t be accessed with a Bluetooth connection, while a six-speaker sound system handles entertainment duties.

In terms of seating and material, the Excite gets cloth pews with some contrast stitching.

On the outside, folding mirrors and a set of 16-inch alloy wheels join the new MG3’s design, while this base model Excite is left with halogen headlights like it’s 2015. 

The Essence scores a set of LED units and is otherwise distinguishable by its sunroof, though it shares the same wheels as our base car, so it won’t feel like you’re missing out on heaps.

The Staria Highlander is all-wheel drive and has an eight-speed auto transmission, as well as, a 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine that produces 130kW of power and 430Nm of torque. So, a smidge less than its rivals in terms of outputs.

Our particular variant has a braked towing capacity of 2500kg, which is more than its rivals, and offers more flexibility for those who need to tow.

On paper, the MG3’s 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine is fairly underwhelming with its 81kW (peaking at 6000rpm) and 142Nm (at 4500rpm).

But these figures, including the engine size and even peak RPMs are not far off the likes of the Mazda2, which is a fairly peppy and fun car despite its lack of grunt.

Keen drivers will, however, be disappointed to hear the MG3 drives the front wheels via a continuously variable transmission (CVT) rather than a traditional torque-converter auto, taking much of the pep out of its power unit.

You can expect to hit 100km/h in a bit over 10 seconds.

The official combined-cycle fuel consumption figure is 8.2L/100km, and that’s higher than its rivals with the Carnival, Granvia and Multivan getting 6.5L, 8.0L, and 7.9L respectively.

My real-world usage is 8.0L/100km after a healthy mix of open-road and urban driving this week. It's not a shabby result at all but expect higher in the city. 

Based on the official combined fuel cycle and 75L fuel tank, expect a theoretical driving range of up to 914km, which is good for the annual family road trip.

MG claims the MG3 uses just 6.0 litres of 91 RON petrol every 100km on the combined fuel cycle, so with its 45-litre tank you can hypothetically bank on a 750km range.

Of course, that might be achievable in lab conditions, but on test we found the trip computer’s estimates looking closer to 500km on a tank for the kind of urban driving it was undertaking with us.

On a dynamic test drive route, the trip computer settled at a displayed consumption figure of 7.7L/100km, but stop-start driving was not great for efficiency, as you'd expect.

The turbo-diesel engine hauls the Staria's big body around without too much trouble and you can easily keep your speed consistent on hills but it is 100 per cent a van when it comes to handling.

The centre of gravity feels high and you get a bit of roll in corners but passengers will feel this the most on the rear bench-like seating.

The suspension is quite firm and you’ll feel like you’re in a stunt movie if you go over a speed bump too fast.

The cabin is surprisingly quiet from wind and road noise for a van. The most noise comes from some internal rattles and engine hum but you're voice gets lost mostly due to the cavernous interior space.

The A-Pillar is too wide from my driving position and I duck my head around it to see, but otherwise the rest of the wide windows provide great visibility.

There is no way around it, the Staria is huge. You well and truly fill out a car space, with some overhang.

If the Highlander model didn’t have a 360-degree view camera system, you might struggle to park it but the sliding doors provide great access in a small space.

Despite what some delivery drivers do, take it nice and easy in the Staria and it will be a fairly pleasant vehicle to drive on the open-road and in the city. It's just never hits the luxury feel like some of its counterparts do.

The higher quality look and feel of the new MG3 carries through to its day-to-day driving. Some of the car’s Chinese compatriots seem to fall down when it comes to the on-road part, which for some is the most important part of a car.

But for a small city car the MG3 is very user friendly, with light and direct steering, good visibility, and just enough power and torque to not feel like everyone’s getting the green light a couple of seconds earlier than you.

It’s comfortable at urban speeds when it comes to the suspension, and doesn't get rattled too much in the front end by tram tracks or other road imperfections.

In narrow streets, three-point turns aren’t a hassle and the car’s size means it’s easy to reverse parallel park, although the reversing camera takes a second to appear when using phone mirroring.

On the highway, however, and when it comes to high-speed cornering, the MG3 can feel a little uneasy.

The road noise becomes more and more obvious. Driving on well-maintained metro freeways at around 80km/h or above produces unpleasant noise, and a during a particularly breezy week the car felt susceptible to swaying in high wind.

Its power delivery starts to feel lacking out of town, too, and taking corners on fast back roads means plenty of slowing down to avoid the front-end sliding or the feeling of the MG3 leaning unsettlingly around corners.

If you’re considering the MG3 but you need to head out of town regularly, take a proper long test drive before opening your wallet.

But if you just need it as an urban runabout, the MG3 does a fine job.

ANCAP hasn’t tested the MG3 yet, so there’s no crash safety information available. It’s worth noting ANCAP gave the MG5 a zero star score for its lack of active safety equipment, but the MG3 comes with more under its belt than its sedan stablemate.

Six airbags, two front, two side and two curtain, are joined by adaptive cruise control, blind spot detection, rear cross-traffic assist, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, lane keeping assist and speed limit assist.

None of these systems were intrusive on test, though lane-keep assist feels like it could do with some more fine tuning.

Hyundai offers the Staria with a five-year/unlimited km warranty, but both its rivals offer up to seven years now.

The Staria makes up some ground with the servicing because you can pre-purchase servicing for up to five years and the break downs are as follows.

Three years or up to 45,000km at $1347 (average of $449 per service).

Four years or up to 60,000km at $1946 (average of $487 per service).

Five years or up to 75,000km at $2375 (average of $475 per service).

The servicing costs are very affordable for the class and the servicing intervals are good at every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first.

MG has a 10-year/250,000km warranty which is unmatched in the small-car market.

Servicing is scheduled at every 10,000km or 12-month intervals, with the first seven services averaging out at a fairly hefty $360 - the cheapest being $234 and the priciest $536.