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2022 Hyundai iMax and iLoad caught on camera as teaser photos are released

The 2022 Hyundai iMax and iLoad have been given spaceship looks and a new name.


Photos of the 2022 Hyundai Staria concept were released today just hours after two examples of the real deal were caught on camera in what appears to be a photoshoot.

The photo, published on the Korean website Autospynet, shows a commercial van version of the new Hyundai iLoad in front of what appears to be the successor to the Hyundai iMax.

It is unclear if only the iMax will adopt the new Staria name, or whether Hyundai will walk away from a more than a decade of reputation-building with the iLoad badge.

The photo of the real vehicles and the teaser images of the concept car show Hyundai’s next-generation van will adopt spaceship looks similar to the Toyota Tarago of the 1990s.

The styling was led by SangYup Lee, who previously worked on the Chevrolet Camaro in Holden's studios in Australia during his time at General Motors.

Mr Lee also worked at Bentley before being appointed senior vice president and head of global Hyundai design.

The van's sleek appearance is dominated by a large daytime-running light that stretches across the full width of the front of the vehicle.

The large and low windowline is designed to give back seat passengers a better view and, potentially, reduce motion sickness.

The photos also show a more upmarket interior with a large central infotainment screen, likely to be offered across both the commercial van and passenger versions.

As with the recently-released Hyundai Santa Fe and Hyundai Tucson SUVs, the low- and high-beam headlight clusters are mounted low in the front bumper.

Further details are yet to be released but Drive understands the new-generation Hyundai iLoad and iMax – or Staria as they may be called – will be much larger than the current model.

The vehicle is also expected to gain a full suite of advanced safety tech, as well as better occupant protection inside the cabin.

The current model Hyundai iLoad and iMax have only four airbags; the new models are expected to have at least six airbags, with the addition of curtain airbags as a minimum.

It is unclear if the vans will have – or require – a centre airbag between the front seats to earn a five-star safety rating.

The current Hyundai iLoad only has an old four-star safety rating. Other recently-released Hyundai models have a four-star safety rating based on the latest protocols, so there is no guarantee the new model will have top safety marks.

Hyundai dealers have been told the new-generation iLoad and iMax vans could be in Australian showrooms in August 2021. However, with delays, they may not be in stock until September or October.

Either way, the new-generation vans will be on sale before the end of this year.

Engine options are yet to be revealed but the current models are diesel-only propositions after petrol variants were dropped in recent years.

Dealers have also been told there could be an all-wheel-drive version available of either or both vans.

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Joshua Dowling

Joshua Dowling has been a motoring journalist for more than 20 years, spending most of that time working for The Sydney Morning Herald (as motoring editor and one of the early members of the Drive team) and News Corp Australia. He joined CarAdvice / Drive in 2018, and has been a World Car of the Year judge for more than 10 years.

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