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The Advertiser
21-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Advertiser
2025 Hyundai Staria Load Premium review
Hyundai Staria Pros Hyundai Staria Cons Hyundai's commercial hauler has polarising looks, but its practicality is hard to debate. Note: This is a revised version of our recent review of the Hyundai Staria Load, as there have been no major changes to the model since it was published. We have updated key details such as pricing and specifications with the most up to date information available. Read our latest price and specs article here for all the details. WATCH: Paul's video review of the Hyundai Staria Highlander The Staria Load, like its related people mover namesake, the Staria, is a neat package from one of Australia's most versatile brands. There may not be performance or hybrid tech here, but what you do get is plenty of tech and features to keep you satisfied. A comfortable interior, quality infotainment, and agile steering are just a few things to get you interested; the rest you'll learn about through some time behind the wheel. Hyundai offers a large catalogue of genuine accessories too, which allows buyers to kit out their Staria Load with everything they need to improve the base package in their own specific way. It all comes in at a competitive price too, matching the comparable Toyota HiAce and undercutting the new Ford Transit Custom. In 2024, the commercial Staria outsold the people mover variant at 3503 to 1363, selling in fewer units than only Hyundai's best-selling passenger cars like the i30 and Tucson. In the van world, it doesn't quite match up to the best-selling HiAce (12,082), although it ranked ahead of the Transit Custom (3427) and LDV G10 (2843). Are you better off sticking with the crowd, or is the spaceship-style Staria Load the one you should be going for instead? The top-spec Premium variant of the Staria Load range rings up at $51,740 before on-road costs – exactly $5000 up on the range-opening two-seater. It's more expensive than even the five-seat crew van, despite missing out on side windows and those additional seats. That price is before you start adding the extra Hyundai accessories fitted to our tester, which include a cargo barrier ($958.33), a heavy-duty rubber cargo floor mat ($796.63), and all-weather floor mats ($249.80). Ours is also painted in Moonlight Blue (no longer available), which like the other premium colours brings an additional cost of $750. That means if you want a Staria Load like the one you see here, expect to add nearly $3000 to the list price – and that's before you consider on-road costs. Interested to see how the Hyundai Staria Load stacks up against its rivals? Use our comparison tool While we'd stop short of calling it luxurious, there's a lot to like about the Staria Load's cabin. The thing worth remembering with the Staria Load is that it is a commercial vehicle, and as such it'd be unreasonable to expect limousine-like comfort levels before getting behind the wheel. Being the Premium grade, you do get some extra goodies like a larger infotainment display and digital instrument cluster, but as with the cheaper variants it's headlined by its work-focused setup and barebones approach. Such elements are evident in the materials used, which are all hard to the touch and utilitarian in appearance. The only soft-touch items you get are the large gear selector and steering wheel, the latter of which we've seen in other large Hyundai models like the Palisade. I'm not the biggest fan of this steering wheel, but it does feel more at home here than it does in something like the Palisade. It's wrapped in smooth, quality leather, and its size and angle are reminiscent of a small bus or an older Toyota HiAce van. A quirk in the driving configuration is the seating position. From the comfortable cloth-trimmed seat you get a commanding view of everything around you, though it does lack armrests that would make the Staria Load that little bit more cruisy. It also lacks three-person seating up front, though that means you're able to make use of the space in the middle that's otherwise occupied by a storage box in the five-seat crew van. The Staria Load's layout is otherwise conventional, which means it takes no time to get used to. What you may not be used to is having to look over the steering wheel to view the instrument cluster, because the display is mounted high atop the dash to make way for a hidden storage cubby. It all works as intended, but you may need to take an extra second to get yourself adjusted accordingly if you're a shorter individual. That generally won't be an issue though, and it's worth the compromise for the extra storage space it unlocks. Ignoring the elephant in the van for the time being, Hyundai has been creative to implement as many storage options up front as possible. There are two hidden storage cubbies on top of the dashboard for various odds and ends, as well as a more conventional glovebox ahead of the passenger seat. On the roof are also two storage shelves with elastic nets. At the base of the centre console is another tub for loose items, and a cut-out for phone storage is found just above that. A wireless charging pad is located in a larger slot under the climate control panel, which also has plenty of space for other things like the key fob. There's also a singular cupholder on top of the dash on the driver's side, which seems precariously close to the digital instrument display. Passengers can make use of the hidden cupholder on the centre console, which folds out when you press on its panel. Storage is otherwise made up of space in the door cards and shallow cut-outs beneath the windows, while there's a hidden compartment integrated into the driver's side step for recovery gear. Creature comforts in the Staria Load are kept to a minimum. There are no heated seats, power-adjustment, or digital rear-view mirrors to make use of; everything instead gets straight to the point. The most complicated item is the climate and infotainment panel, which is populated by a plethora of touchscreen buttons and headlined by that 10.25-inch display. That display is nothing new for Hyundai models, and it looks great graphically with reliable functionality. A downside to the larger screen is the lack of wireless Apple CarPlay from smaller-screen models, which means you'll have to hook up your phone via cable instead. Doing so is achieved via the USB-A port next to the gear selector, and there's that convenient slot underneath for your phone to sit while plugged in. The climate control panel is clearly legible thanks to its large icons, and its centre display helps to show what's going on. There are shortcuts above for the various infotainment functions, and everything can be controlled via the buttons on the steering wheel. Those steering wheel buttons all function as the should and worked reliably in our week with the van. They're also the place to adjust things relating to appearance too, should you want to mess with the way the instrument cluster looks. The gloss-black button material is a gripe, but it gives a more premium look in conjunction with the textured stalks behind. It's all clean and classy – Hyundai has struck a convincing balance between practicality and interior design in the Staria Load. Displays on the instrument cluster are linked to drive mode, which can be toggled using the discreet button below the climate control interface. There are three modes and appearances to cycle through, but you can lock it in a particular theme if you prefer one over the others. Time to talk cargo. It's a van, and the space you get in the back is largely as you'd expect. Our tester was fitted with the optional rubber floor and cargo barrier, though we feel such items should be included as standard. The floor protection helps to dampen noise and reduce the risk of scratches to the interior paint – much like what the panelling fitted to the walls as standard does. The cargo barrier, which only works to keep cargo from sliding through, is nice to have even if it won't keep the cabin's climate isolated. Having the optional solid barrier (or even the optional partition screen) would be preferable for passenger comfort and noise dampening, but this is better than nothing. Space in the back of the Staria Load is quoted at 4.935 cubic metres, smaller than the HiAce at 6.2m. Even so, it doesn't feel compromised by any means. Hyundai fits a sliding door on each side as standard (unlike Ford does with the Transit Custom), though being the Premium grade it misses out on a rear barn door option, something included on both the Toyota and Ford rivals. You get the benefit of a powered tailgate instead, though it's quite long when fully open. That means you get shelter from the rain, but you'll struggle to load from the rear with a forklift, and you also won't be able to open it if you reverse even remotely closely up to a wall. The Staria Load makes up for it with sliding side doors, though their openings aren't terribly wide. On the inside you get eight tie-down points compared to the HiAce's six, but only one light positioned on the roof above the tailgate. That makes it difficult to see if you're using the side doors at night. There's only bare panelling on the roof, which echoes noise once on the road. It's the same as what you find in a Transit Custom, though Toyota adds a roof liner and a central dome light to its HiAce. The rear windows are protected by thick wire bars, and everything else is as it says on the box. It works well for the purpose it serves, though we suspect the rubber used in the optional floor contributed to the strange smell we were greeted with when stepping inside. Interested to see how the Hyundai Staria Load stacks up against its rivals? Use our comparison tool Unlike the Hyundai Staria people mover, there's just one engine available for the Staria Load. All three Staria Load variants share the same 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel, which is mated with an eight-speed automatic transmission exclusively. Drive is sent to only the front wheels, unlike in the rear-drive HiAce. Interested to see how the Hyundai Staria Load stacks up against its rivals? Use our comparison tool We say you shouldn't expect too much in terms of comfort from a van, and the Staria Load is a good example of why. Unladen, the ride is incredibly bouncy. Things that wouldn't bother a typical car suddenly feel like small jump ramps, and you'll find yourself going out of your way to avoid bumps and holes that could throw the van around. That's not to say it'll become unsettled over larger bumps, but it can often be enough to catch you off guard. With a couple hundred kilograms worth of cargo loaded into the back it's a different story, but if you're often driving an empty van it can become difficult to live with. While we had similar comments about the Transit Custom, it's still true that the HiAce can manage its ride a lot better even when the load space is empty. The Hyundai is quieter than the Toyota, at least compared to the bog-standard HiAce we drove with no interior options selected. Had they been comparably optioned, the noise battle may have turned out differently. The bounciness isn't helped by its wheels either, as although they're a fairly standard size at 17-inches they feel (and look) far too small for such a large van. Bumping up the wheel size an inch or two would make it look better, but would increase tyre replacement costs, worsen the bumpy-road ride and also come at the expense of on-road noise – which already isn't great. Still, it's not all bad, and if you come into the Staria Load with a rough idea of what to expect there's not much that will take you by surprise. Once you're past the initial bumps and bounces, this Hyundai turns out to be an enjoyable van to drive. It feels considerably taller than its rivals, and that helps to provide the high driving position it benefits from. There's also great visibility out front thanks to its sloped bonnet, and it's a good middle ground between a typical passenger car and the vans of old in which the crumple zones were your knees. Visibility is good out the side windows too, but that's where the limitations start. As it's a standard van with no side windows, physical blind-spot visibility is poor. Hyundai makes up for it with the cameras fitted on each side, which project a live image to the instrument cluster when the corresponding indicator is activated. We've seen such tech in other Hyundai and Kia products before, and while it seemed superfluous there, we feel this is a much more practical application. For comparison, Ford's solution to the blind-spot issue is to fit a fisheye mirror to each side mirror housing, while Toyota has nothing beyond digital monitoring. Ford and Hyundai supplement their blind-spot solutions with a monitoring system. The performance of the Staria Load isn't anything ridiculous, but it has no trouble getting up to speed in a hurry. Low-end torque is strong enough to get it out of most sticky situations, and when there's nothing in the back it can be quite spritely and agile. Surprising given its dimensions, but it makes it even better as a run-around in built-up areas. The eight-speed automatic transmission is well-behaved and almost never caught in the wrong gear, with smooth shifts and a quick response its headlining characteristics. Hyundai has made the driving experience as easy as possible from a handling perspective too, as the Staria Load boasts light steering and a tight turning circle to make up for its size. If you're a commercial vehicle buyer who needs the Staria Load for transport and logistics, it's good to have that manoeuvrability for the various tight spaces you may find yourself in. The Staria Load is fitted with adaptive cruise control with lane centring as standard, and it worked reliably in our week with the van. There wasn't a tendency to stray out of its lane, and steering inputs were consistent and smooth. Longer drives on the freeway were made easy as a result, especially if you avoided changing lanes as much as possible because of those blind-spot limitations. Downsides include its headlights, which we feel could be a bit brighter. Its high-beams worked fine, but in unlit areas it's not quite as bright as we're used to. You do get the benefit of the LED light bar across the front, which provides greater visibility for other road users. Another was the road noise, which was especially bad on wet roads. As it isn't a passenger vehicle, that isn't a deal-breaker, and it's manageable if you're fine with a bit of extra volume. Interested to see how the Hyundai Staria Load stacks up against our rivals? Use our comparison tool. There are three grades of Staria Load, each with a handful of key features to set them apart. 2025 Hyundai Staria Load equipment highlights: The Crew Van receives a centre console storage box, a three-seat second-row bench, second-row windows and two more USB-C ports. Staria Premium (liftback only) adds: Interested to see how the Hyundai Staria Load stacks up against its rivals? Use our comparison tool The Hyundai Staria Load has a five-star safety rating from ANCAP, based on testing of the related people mover conducted in 2021. Standard safety equipment includes: While previous Starias featured blind-spot assist as standard, the 2025 model has reverted to an alarm-only system. The Staria Load Premium adds a blind-spot view monitor, as well as the model debut of Hyundai's Bluelink connectivity, which includes automatic collision notification, emergency call (SOS) function and alert services including geo-fencing, valet, speed and time alerts. Interested to see how the Hyundai Staria Load stacks up against its rivals? Use our comparison tool The Hyundai Staria Load is backed by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, with servicing required every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first. Interested to see how the Hyundai Staria Load stacks up against its rivals? Use our comparison tool If you're in need of a van, the Staria Load is one well worth considering. It may not be as iconic as something like a HiAce or as stylish as the new Transit Custom, but if you're after strong cargo capacity in a comfortable package, the Staria Load has plenty to offer. Its interior tech is great, even without wireless smartphone mirroring, and the cabin is well-enough appointed to keep you interested without going over the top. The driving tech works reliably and never becomes intrusive either, which is more than can be said for many other Hyundai and Kia products. Hyundai's diesel engine is a strong unit too, and when mated with a reliable gearbox it makes for an enjoyable drive – even if it can be a bit bouncy with nothing in the back. Ride quality does leave a bit to be desired, and if you need to transport more than one passenger you're going to struggle with the lack of a middle seat. The options fitted to our tester, including the cargo barrier, are things that should be included as standard, because we feel they're van must-haves. Driving around with cargo sliding into the front cabin isn't ideal, and it's a lot of space to heat in winter. It also lacks the practicality of rear barn doors, and for a top-spec model it'd benefit from something like powered sliding side doors. Wireless Apple CarPlay would also complement that large infotainment display nicely. But as a van made to transport cargo and be comfortable for long hours on the road, the Staria Load obliges. It may not be our first choice, but as a rival to other well-established van nameplates it's a worthy contender. Interested in buying a Hyundai Staria Load? Get in touch with one of CarExpert's trusted dealers Everything Hyundai Staria Content originally sourced from: Staria Pros Hyundai Staria Cons Hyundai's commercial hauler has polarising looks, but its practicality is hard to debate. Note: This is a revised version of our recent review of the Hyundai Staria Load, as there have been no major changes to the model since it was published. We have updated key details such as pricing and specifications with the most up to date information available. Read our latest price and specs article here for all the details. WATCH: Paul's video review of the Hyundai Staria Highlander The Staria Load, like its related people mover namesake, the Staria, is a neat package from one of Australia's most versatile brands. There may not be performance or hybrid tech here, but what you do get is plenty of tech and features to keep you satisfied. A comfortable interior, quality infotainment, and agile steering are just a few things to get you interested; the rest you'll learn about through some time behind the wheel. Hyundai offers a large catalogue of genuine accessories too, which allows buyers to kit out their Staria Load with everything they need to improve the base package in their own specific way. It all comes in at a competitive price too, matching the comparable Toyota HiAce and undercutting the new Ford Transit Custom. In 2024, the commercial Staria outsold the people mover variant at 3503 to 1363, selling in fewer units than only Hyundai's best-selling passenger cars like the i30 and Tucson. In the van world, it doesn't quite match up to the best-selling HiAce (12,082), although it ranked ahead of the Transit Custom (3427) and LDV G10 (2843). Are you better off sticking with the crowd, or is the spaceship-style Staria Load the one you should be going for instead? The top-spec Premium variant of the Staria Load range rings up at $51,740 before on-road costs – exactly $5000 up on the range-opening two-seater. It's more expensive than even the five-seat crew van, despite missing out on side windows and those additional seats. That price is before you start adding the extra Hyundai accessories fitted to our tester, which include a cargo barrier ($958.33), a heavy-duty rubber cargo floor mat ($796.63), and all-weather floor mats ($249.80). Ours is also painted in Moonlight Blue (no longer available), which like the other premium colours brings an additional cost of $750. That means if you want a Staria Load like the one you see here, expect to add nearly $3000 to the list price – and that's before you consider on-road costs. Interested to see how the Hyundai Staria Load stacks up against its rivals? Use our comparison tool While we'd stop short of calling it luxurious, there's a lot to like about the Staria Load's cabin. The thing worth remembering with the Staria Load is that it is a commercial vehicle, and as such it'd be unreasonable to expect limousine-like comfort levels before getting behind the wheel. Being the Premium grade, you do get some extra goodies like a larger infotainment display and digital instrument cluster, but as with the cheaper variants it's headlined by its work-focused setup and barebones approach. Such elements are evident in the materials used, which are all hard to the touch and utilitarian in appearance. The only soft-touch items you get are the large gear selector and steering wheel, the latter of which we've seen in other large Hyundai models like the Palisade. I'm not the biggest fan of this steering wheel, but it does feel more at home here than it does in something like the Palisade. It's wrapped in smooth, quality leather, and its size and angle are reminiscent of a small bus or an older Toyota HiAce van. A quirk in the driving configuration is the seating position. From the comfortable cloth-trimmed seat you get a commanding view of everything around you, though it does lack armrests that would make the Staria Load that little bit more cruisy. It also lacks three-person seating up front, though that means you're able to make use of the space in the middle that's otherwise occupied by a storage box in the five-seat crew van. The Staria Load's layout is otherwise conventional, which means it takes no time to get used to. What you may not be used to is having to look over the steering wheel to view the instrument cluster, because the display is mounted high atop the dash to make way for a hidden storage cubby. It all works as intended, but you may need to take an extra second to get yourself adjusted accordingly if you're a shorter individual. That generally won't be an issue though, and it's worth the compromise for the extra storage space it unlocks. Ignoring the elephant in the van for the time being, Hyundai has been creative to implement as many storage options up front as possible. There are two hidden storage cubbies on top of the dashboard for various odds and ends, as well as a more conventional glovebox ahead of the passenger seat. On the roof are also two storage shelves with elastic nets. At the base of the centre console is another tub for loose items, and a cut-out for phone storage is found just above that. A wireless charging pad is located in a larger slot under the climate control panel, which also has plenty of space for other things like the key fob. There's also a singular cupholder on top of the dash on the driver's side, which seems precariously close to the digital instrument display. Passengers can make use of the hidden cupholder on the centre console, which folds out when you press on its panel. Storage is otherwise made up of space in the door cards and shallow cut-outs beneath the windows, while there's a hidden compartment integrated into the driver's side step for recovery gear. Creature comforts in the Staria Load are kept to a minimum. There are no heated seats, power-adjustment, or digital rear-view mirrors to make use of; everything instead gets straight to the point. The most complicated item is the climate and infotainment panel, which is populated by a plethora of touchscreen buttons and headlined by that 10.25-inch display. That display is nothing new for Hyundai models, and it looks great graphically with reliable functionality. A downside to the larger screen is the lack of wireless Apple CarPlay from smaller-screen models, which means you'll have to hook up your phone via cable instead. Doing so is achieved via the USB-A port next to the gear selector, and there's that convenient slot underneath for your phone to sit while plugged in. The climate control panel is clearly legible thanks to its large icons, and its centre display helps to show what's going on. There are shortcuts above for the various infotainment functions, and everything can be controlled via the buttons on the steering wheel. Those steering wheel buttons all function as the should and worked reliably in our week with the van. They're also the place to adjust things relating to appearance too, should you want to mess with the way the instrument cluster looks. The gloss-black button material is a gripe, but it gives a more premium look in conjunction with the textured stalks behind. It's all clean and classy – Hyundai has struck a convincing balance between practicality and interior design in the Staria Load. Displays on the instrument cluster are linked to drive mode, which can be toggled using the discreet button below the climate control interface. There are three modes and appearances to cycle through, but you can lock it in a particular theme if you prefer one over the others. Time to talk cargo. It's a van, and the space you get in the back is largely as you'd expect. Our tester was fitted with the optional rubber floor and cargo barrier, though we feel such items should be included as standard. The floor protection helps to dampen noise and reduce the risk of scratches to the interior paint – much like what the panelling fitted to the walls as standard does. The cargo barrier, which only works to keep cargo from sliding through, is nice to have even if it won't keep the cabin's climate isolated. Having the optional solid barrier (or even the optional partition screen) would be preferable for passenger comfort and noise dampening, but this is better than nothing. Space in the back of the Staria Load is quoted at 4.935 cubic metres, smaller than the HiAce at 6.2m. Even so, it doesn't feel compromised by any means. Hyundai fits a sliding door on each side as standard (unlike Ford does with the Transit Custom), though being the Premium grade it misses out on a rear barn door option, something included on both the Toyota and Ford rivals. You get the benefit of a powered tailgate instead, though it's quite long when fully open. That means you get shelter from the rain, but you'll struggle to load from the rear with a forklift, and you also won't be able to open it if you reverse even remotely closely up to a wall. The Staria Load makes up for it with sliding side doors, though their openings aren't terribly wide. On the inside you get eight tie-down points compared to the HiAce's six, but only one light positioned on the roof above the tailgate. That makes it difficult to see if you're using the side doors at night. There's only bare panelling on the roof, which echoes noise once on the road. It's the same as what you find in a Transit Custom, though Toyota adds a roof liner and a central dome light to its HiAce. The rear windows are protected by thick wire bars, and everything else is as it says on the box. It works well for the purpose it serves, though we suspect the rubber used in the optional floor contributed to the strange smell we were greeted with when stepping inside. Interested to see how the Hyundai Staria Load stacks up against its rivals? Use our comparison tool Unlike the Hyundai Staria people mover, there's just one engine available for the Staria Load. All three Staria Load variants share the same 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel, which is mated with an eight-speed automatic transmission exclusively. Drive is sent to only the front wheels, unlike in the rear-drive HiAce. Interested to see how the Hyundai Staria Load stacks up against its rivals? Use our comparison tool We say you shouldn't expect too much in terms of comfort from a van, and the Staria Load is a good example of why. Unladen, the ride is incredibly bouncy. Things that wouldn't bother a typical car suddenly feel like small jump ramps, and you'll find yourself going out of your way to avoid bumps and holes that could throw the van around. That's not to say it'll become unsettled over larger bumps, but it can often be enough to catch you off guard. With a couple hundred kilograms worth of cargo loaded into the back it's a different story, but if you're often driving an empty van it can become difficult to live with. While we had similar comments about the Transit Custom, it's still true that the HiAce can manage its ride a lot better even when the load space is empty. The Hyundai is quieter than the Toyota, at least compared to the bog-standard HiAce we drove with no interior options selected. Had they been comparably optioned, the noise battle may have turned out differently. The bounciness isn't helped by its wheels either, as although they're a fairly standard size at 17-inches they feel (and look) far too small for such a large van. Bumping up the wheel size an inch or two would make it look better, but would increase tyre replacement costs, worsen the bumpy-road ride and also come at the expense of on-road noise – which already isn't great. Still, it's not all bad, and if you come into the Staria Load with a rough idea of what to expect there's not much that will take you by surprise. Once you're past the initial bumps and bounces, this Hyundai turns out to be an enjoyable van to drive. It feels considerably taller than its rivals, and that helps to provide the high driving position it benefits from. There's also great visibility out front thanks to its sloped bonnet, and it's a good middle ground between a typical passenger car and the vans of old in which the crumple zones were your knees. Visibility is good out the side windows too, but that's where the limitations start. As it's a standard van with no side windows, physical blind-spot visibility is poor. Hyundai makes up for it with the cameras fitted on each side, which project a live image to the instrument cluster when the corresponding indicator is activated. We've seen such tech in other Hyundai and Kia products before, and while it seemed superfluous there, we feel this is a much more practical application. For comparison, Ford's solution to the blind-spot issue is to fit a fisheye mirror to each side mirror housing, while Toyota has nothing beyond digital monitoring. Ford and Hyundai supplement their blind-spot solutions with a monitoring system. The performance of the Staria Load isn't anything ridiculous, but it has no trouble getting up to speed in a hurry. Low-end torque is strong enough to get it out of most sticky situations, and when there's nothing in the back it can be quite spritely and agile. Surprising given its dimensions, but it makes it even better as a run-around in built-up areas. The eight-speed automatic transmission is well-behaved and almost never caught in the wrong gear, with smooth shifts and a quick response its headlining characteristics. Hyundai has made the driving experience as easy as possible from a handling perspective too, as the Staria Load boasts light steering and a tight turning circle to make up for its size. If you're a commercial vehicle buyer who needs the Staria Load for transport and logistics, it's good to have that manoeuvrability for the various tight spaces you may find yourself in. The Staria Load is fitted with adaptive cruise control with lane centring as standard, and it worked reliably in our week with the van. There wasn't a tendency to stray out of its lane, and steering inputs were consistent and smooth. Longer drives on the freeway were made easy as a result, especially if you avoided changing lanes as much as possible because of those blind-spot limitations. Downsides include its headlights, which we feel could be a bit brighter. Its high-beams worked fine, but in unlit areas it's not quite as bright as we're used to. You do get the benefit of the LED light bar across the front, which provides greater visibility for other road users. Another was the road noise, which was especially bad on wet roads. As it isn't a passenger vehicle, that isn't a deal-breaker, and it's manageable if you're fine with a bit of extra volume. Interested to see how the Hyundai Staria Load stacks up against our rivals? Use our comparison tool. There are three grades of Staria Load, each with a handful of key features to set them apart. 2025 Hyundai Staria Load equipment highlights: The Crew Van receives a centre console storage box, a three-seat second-row bench, second-row windows and two more USB-C ports. Staria Premium (liftback only) adds: Interested to see how the Hyundai Staria Load stacks up against its rivals? Use our comparison tool The Hyundai Staria Load has a five-star safety rating from ANCAP, based on testing of the related people mover conducted in 2021. Standard safety equipment includes: While previous Starias featured blind-spot assist as standard, the 2025 model has reverted to an alarm-only system. The Staria Load Premium adds a blind-spot view monitor, as well as the model debut of Hyundai's Bluelink connectivity, which includes automatic collision notification, emergency call (SOS) function and alert services including geo-fencing, valet, speed and time alerts. Interested to see how the Hyundai Staria Load stacks up against its rivals? Use our comparison tool The Hyundai Staria Load is backed by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, with servicing required every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first. Interested to see how the Hyundai Staria Load stacks up against its rivals? Use our comparison tool If you're in need of a van, the Staria Load is one well worth considering. It may not be as iconic as something like a HiAce or as stylish as the new Transit Custom, but if you're after strong cargo capacity in a comfortable package, the Staria Load has plenty to offer. Its interior tech is great, even without wireless smartphone mirroring, and the cabin is well-enough appointed to keep you interested without going over the top. The driving tech works reliably and never becomes intrusive either, which is more than can be said for many other Hyundai and Kia products. Hyundai's diesel engine is a strong unit too, and when mated with a reliable gearbox it makes for an enjoyable drive – even if it can be a bit bouncy with nothing in the back. Ride quality does leave a bit to be desired, and if you need to transport more than one passenger you're going to struggle with the lack of a middle seat. The options fitted to our tester, including the cargo barrier, are things that should be included as standard, because we feel they're van must-haves. Driving around with cargo sliding into the front cabin isn't ideal, and it's a lot of space to heat in winter. It also lacks the practicality of rear barn doors, and for a top-spec model it'd benefit from something like powered sliding side doors. Wireless Apple CarPlay would also complement that large infotainment display nicely. But as a van made to transport cargo and be comfortable for long hours on the road, the Staria Load obliges. It may not be our first choice, but as a rival to other well-established van nameplates it's a worthy contender. Interested in buying a Hyundai Staria Load? Get in touch with one of CarExpert's trusted dealers Everything Hyundai Staria Content originally sourced from: Staria Pros Hyundai Staria Cons Hyundai's commercial hauler has polarising looks, but its practicality is hard to debate. Note: This is a revised version of our recent review of the Hyundai Staria Load, as there have been no major changes to the model since it was published. We have updated key details such as pricing and specifications with the most up to date information available. Read our latest price and specs article here for all the details. WATCH: Paul's video review of the Hyundai Staria Highlander The Staria Load, like its related people mover namesake, the Staria, is a neat package from one of Australia's most versatile brands. There may not be performance or hybrid tech here, but what you do get is plenty of tech and features to keep you satisfied. A comfortable interior, quality infotainment, and agile steering are just a few things to get you interested; the rest you'll learn about through some time behind the wheel. Hyundai offers a large catalogue of genuine accessories too, which allows buyers to kit out their Staria Load with everything they need to improve the base package in their own specific way. It all comes in at a competitive price too, matching the comparable Toyota HiAce and undercutting the new Ford Transit Custom. In 2024, the commercial Staria outsold the people mover variant at 3503 to 1363, selling in fewer units than only Hyundai's best-selling passenger cars like the i30 and Tucson. In the van world, it doesn't quite match up to the best-selling HiAce (12,082), although it ranked ahead of the Transit Custom (3427) and LDV G10 (2843). Are you better off sticking with the crowd, or is the spaceship-style Staria Load the one you should be going for instead? The top-spec Premium variant of the Staria Load range rings up at $51,740 before on-road costs – exactly $5000 up on the range-opening two-seater. It's more expensive than even the five-seat crew van, despite missing out on side windows and those additional seats. That price is before you start adding the extra Hyundai accessories fitted to our tester, which include a cargo barrier ($958.33), a heavy-duty rubber cargo floor mat ($796.63), and all-weather floor mats ($249.80). Ours is also painted in Moonlight Blue (no longer available), which like the other premium colours brings an additional cost of $750. That means if you want a Staria Load like the one you see here, expect to add nearly $3000 to the list price – and that's before you consider on-road costs. Interested to see how the Hyundai Staria Load stacks up against its rivals? Use our comparison tool While we'd stop short of calling it luxurious, there's a lot to like about the Staria Load's cabin. The thing worth remembering with the Staria Load is that it is a commercial vehicle, and as such it'd be unreasonable to expect limousine-like comfort levels before getting behind the wheel. Being the Premium grade, you do get some extra goodies like a larger infotainment display and digital instrument cluster, but as with the cheaper variants it's headlined by its work-focused setup and barebones approach. Such elements are evident in the materials used, which are all hard to the touch and utilitarian in appearance. The only soft-touch items you get are the large gear selector and steering wheel, the latter of which we've seen in other large Hyundai models like the Palisade. I'm not the biggest fan of this steering wheel, but it does feel more at home here than it does in something like the Palisade. It's wrapped in smooth, quality leather, and its size and angle are reminiscent of a small bus or an older Toyota HiAce van. A quirk in the driving configuration is the seating position. From the comfortable cloth-trimmed seat you get a commanding view of everything around you, though it does lack armrests that would make the Staria Load that little bit more cruisy. It also lacks three-person seating up front, though that means you're able to make use of the space in the middle that's otherwise occupied by a storage box in the five-seat crew van. The Staria Load's layout is otherwise conventional, which means it takes no time to get used to. What you may not be used to is having to look over the steering wheel to view the instrument cluster, because the display is mounted high atop the dash to make way for a hidden storage cubby. It all works as intended, but you may need to take an extra second to get yourself adjusted accordingly if you're a shorter individual. That generally won't be an issue though, and it's worth the compromise for the extra storage space it unlocks. Ignoring the elephant in the van for the time being, Hyundai has been creative to implement as many storage options up front as possible. There are two hidden storage cubbies on top of the dashboard for various odds and ends, as well as a more conventional glovebox ahead of the passenger seat. On the roof are also two storage shelves with elastic nets. At the base of the centre console is another tub for loose items, and a cut-out for phone storage is found just above that. A wireless charging pad is located in a larger slot under the climate control panel, which also has plenty of space for other things like the key fob. There's also a singular cupholder on top of the dash on the driver's side, which seems precariously close to the digital instrument display. Passengers can make use of the hidden cupholder on the centre console, which folds out when you press on its panel. Storage is otherwise made up of space in the door cards and shallow cut-outs beneath the windows, while there's a hidden compartment integrated into the driver's side step for recovery gear. Creature comforts in the Staria Load are kept to a minimum. There are no heated seats, power-adjustment, or digital rear-view mirrors to make use of; everything instead gets straight to the point. The most complicated item is the climate and infotainment panel, which is populated by a plethora of touchscreen buttons and headlined by that 10.25-inch display. That display is nothing new for Hyundai models, and it looks great graphically with reliable functionality. A downside to the larger screen is the lack of wireless Apple CarPlay from smaller-screen models, which means you'll have to hook up your phone via cable instead. Doing so is achieved via the USB-A port next to the gear selector, and there's that convenient slot underneath for your phone to sit while plugged in. The climate control panel is clearly legible thanks to its large icons, and its centre display helps to show what's going on. There are shortcuts above for the various infotainment functions, and everything can be controlled via the buttons on the steering wheel. Those steering wheel buttons all function as the should and worked reliably in our week with the van. They're also the place to adjust things relating to appearance too, should you want to mess with the way the instrument cluster looks. The gloss-black button material is a gripe, but it gives a more premium look in conjunction with the textured stalks behind. It's all clean and classy – Hyundai has struck a convincing balance between practicality and interior design in the Staria Load. Displays on the instrument cluster are linked to drive mode, which can be toggled using the discreet button below the climate control interface. There are three modes and appearances to cycle through, but you can lock it in a particular theme if you prefer one over the others. Time to talk cargo. It's a van, and the space you get in the back is largely as you'd expect. Our tester was fitted with the optional rubber floor and cargo barrier, though we feel such items should be included as standard. The floor protection helps to dampen noise and reduce the risk of scratches to the interior paint – much like what the panelling fitted to the walls as standard does. The cargo barrier, which only works to keep cargo from sliding through, is nice to have even if it won't keep the cabin's climate isolated. Having the optional solid barrier (or even the optional partition screen) would be preferable for passenger comfort and noise dampening, but this is better than nothing. Space in the back of the Staria Load is quoted at 4.935 cubic metres, smaller than the HiAce at 6.2m. Even so, it doesn't feel compromised by any means. Hyundai fits a sliding door on each side as standard (unlike Ford does with the Transit Custom), though being the Premium grade it misses out on a rear barn door option, something included on both the Toyota and Ford rivals. You get the benefit of a powered tailgate instead, though it's quite long when fully open. That means you get shelter from the rain, but you'll struggle to load from the rear with a forklift, and you also won't be able to open it if you reverse even remotely closely up to a wall. The Staria Load makes up for it with sliding side doors, though their openings aren't terribly wide. On the inside you get eight tie-down points compared to the HiAce's six, but only one light positioned on the roof above the tailgate. That makes it difficult to see if you're using the side doors at night. There's only bare panelling on the roof, which echoes noise once on the road. It's the same as what you find in a Transit Custom, though Toyota adds a roof liner and a central dome light to its HiAce. The rear windows are protected by thick wire bars, and everything else is as it says on the box. It works well for the purpose it serves, though we suspect the rubber used in the optional floor contributed to the strange smell we were greeted with when stepping inside. Interested to see how the Hyundai Staria Load stacks up against its rivals? Use our comparison tool Unlike the Hyundai Staria people mover, there's just one engine available for the Staria Load. All three Staria Load variants share the same 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel, which is mated with an eight-speed automatic transmission exclusively. Drive is sent to only the front wheels, unlike in the rear-drive HiAce. Interested to see how the Hyundai Staria Load stacks up against its rivals? Use our comparison tool We say you shouldn't expect too much in terms of comfort from a van, and the Staria Load is a good example of why. Unladen, the ride is incredibly bouncy. Things that wouldn't bother a typical car suddenly feel like small jump ramps, and you'll find yourself going out of your way to avoid bumps and holes that could throw the van around. That's not to say it'll become unsettled over larger bumps, but it can often be enough to catch you off guard. With a couple hundred kilograms worth of cargo loaded into the back it's a different story, but if you're often driving an empty van it can become difficult to live with. While we had similar comments about the Transit Custom, it's still true that the HiAce can manage its ride a lot better even when the load space is empty. The Hyundai is quieter than the Toyota, at least compared to the bog-standard HiAce we drove with no interior options selected. Had they been comparably optioned, the noise battle may have turned out differently. The bounciness isn't helped by its wheels either, as although they're a fairly standard size at 17-inches they feel (and look) far too small for such a large van. Bumping up the wheel size an inch or two would make it look better, but would increase tyre replacement costs, worsen the bumpy-road ride and also come at the expense of on-road noise – which already isn't great. Still, it's not all bad, and if you come into the Staria Load with a rough idea of what to expect there's not much that will take you by surprise. Once you're past the initial bumps and bounces, this Hyundai turns out to be an enjoyable van to drive. It feels considerably taller than its rivals, and that helps to provide the high driving position it benefits from. There's also great visibility out front thanks to its sloped bonnet, and it's a good middle ground between a typical passenger car and the vans of old in which the crumple zones were your knees. Visibility is good out the side windows too, but that's where the limitations start. As it's a standard van with no side windows, physical blind-spot visibility is poor. Hyundai makes up for it with the cameras fitted on each side, which project a live image to the instrument cluster when the corresponding indicator is activated. We've seen such tech in other Hyundai and Kia products before, and while it seemed superfluous there, we feel this is a much more practical application. For comparison, Ford's solution to the blind-spot issue is to fit a fisheye mirror to each side mirror housing, while Toyota has nothing beyond digital monitoring. Ford and Hyundai supplement their blind-spot solutions with a monitoring system. The performance of the Staria Load isn't anything ridiculous, but it has no trouble getting up to speed in a hurry. Low-end torque is strong enough to get it out of most sticky situations, and when there's nothing in the back it can be quite spritely and agile. Surprising given its dimensions, but it makes it even better as a run-around in built-up areas. The eight-speed automatic transmission is well-behaved and almost never caught in the wrong gear, with smooth shifts and a quick response its headlining characteristics. Hyundai has made the driving experience as easy as possible from a handling perspective too, as the Staria Load boasts light steering and a tight turning circle to make up for its size. If you're a commercial vehicle buyer who needs the Staria Load for transport and logistics, it's good to have that manoeuvrability for the various tight spaces you may find yourself in. The Staria Load is fitted with adaptive cruise control with lane centring as standard, and it worked reliably in our week with the van. There wasn't a tendency to stray out of its lane, and steering inputs were consistent and smooth. Longer drives on the freeway were made easy as a result, especially if you avoided changing lanes as much as possible because of those blind-spot limitations. Downsides include its headlights, which we feel could be a bit brighter. Its high-beams worked fine, but in unlit areas it's not quite as bright as we're used to. You do get the benefit of the LED light bar across the front, which provides greater visibility for other road users. Another was the road noise, which was especially bad on wet roads. As it isn't a passenger vehicle, that isn't a deal-breaker, and it's manageable if you're fine with a bit of extra volume. Interested to see how the Hyundai Staria Load stacks up against our rivals? Use our comparison tool. There are three grades of Staria Load, each with a handful of key features to set them apart. 2025 Hyundai Staria Load equipment highlights: The Crew Van receives a centre console storage box, a three-seat second-row bench, second-row windows and two more USB-C ports. Staria Premium (liftback only) adds: Interested to see how the Hyundai Staria Load stacks up against its rivals? Use our comparison tool The Hyundai Staria Load has a five-star safety rating from ANCAP, based on testing of the related people mover conducted in 2021. Standard safety equipment includes: While previous Starias featured blind-spot assist as standard, the 2025 model has reverted to an alarm-only system. The Staria Load Premium adds a blind-spot view monitor, as well as the model debut of Hyundai's Bluelink connectivity, which includes automatic collision notification, emergency call (SOS) function and alert services including geo-fencing, valet, speed and time alerts. Interested to see how the Hyundai Staria Load stacks up against its rivals? Use our comparison tool The Hyundai Staria Load is backed by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, with servicing required every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first. Interested to see how the Hyundai Staria Load stacks up against its rivals? Use our comparison tool If you're in need of a van, the Staria Load is one well worth considering. It may not be as iconic as something like a HiAce or as stylish as the new Transit Custom, but if you're after strong cargo capacity in a comfortable package, the Staria Load has plenty to offer. Its interior tech is great, even without wireless smartphone mirroring, and the cabin is well-enough appointed to keep you interested without going over the top. The driving tech works reliably and never becomes intrusive either, which is more than can be said for many other Hyundai and Kia products. Hyundai's diesel engine is a strong unit too, and when mated with a reliable gearbox it makes for an enjoyable drive – even if it can be a bit bouncy with nothing in the back. Ride quality does leave a bit to be desired, and if you need to transport more than one passenger you're going to struggle with the lack of a middle seat. The options fitted to our tester, including the cargo barrier, are things that should be included as standard, because we feel they're van must-haves. Driving around with cargo sliding into the front cabin isn't ideal, and it's a lot of space to heat in winter. It also lacks the practicality of rear barn doors, and for a top-spec model it'd benefit from something like powered sliding side doors. Wireless Apple CarPlay would also complement that large infotainment display nicely. But as a van made to transport cargo and be comfortable for long hours on the road, the Staria Load obliges. It may not be our first choice, but as a rival to other well-established van nameplates it's a worthy contender. Interested in buying a Hyundai Staria Load? Get in touch with one of CarExpert's trusted dealers Everything Hyundai Staria Content originally sourced from: Staria Pros Hyundai Staria Cons Hyundai's commercial hauler has polarising looks, but its practicality is hard to debate. Note: This is a revised version of our recent review of the Hyundai Staria Load, as there have been no major changes to the model since it was published. We have updated key details such as pricing and specifications with the most up to date information available. Read our latest price and specs article here for all the details. WATCH: Paul's video review of the Hyundai Staria Highlander The Staria Load, like its related people mover namesake, the Staria, is a neat package from one of Australia's most versatile brands. There may not be performance or hybrid tech here, but what you do get is plenty of tech and features to keep you satisfied. A comfortable interior, quality infotainment, and agile steering are just a few things to get you interested; the rest you'll learn about through some time behind the wheel. Hyundai offers a large catalogue of genuine accessories too, which allows buyers to kit out their Staria Load with everything they need to improve the base package in their own specific way. It all comes in at a competitive price too, matching the comparable Toyota HiAce and undercutting the new Ford Transit Custom. In 2024, the commercial Staria outsold the people mover variant at 3503 to 1363, selling in fewer units than only Hyundai's best-selling passenger cars like the i30 and Tucson. In the van world, it doesn't quite match up to the best-selling HiAce (12,082), although it ranked ahead of the Transit Custom (3427) and LDV G10 (2843). Are you better off sticking with the crowd, or is the spaceship-style Staria Load the one you should be going for instead? The top-spec Premium variant of the Staria Load range rings up at $51,740 before on-road costs – exactly $5000 up on the range-opening two-seater. It's more expensive than even the five-seat crew van, despite missing out on side windows and those additional seats. That price is before you start adding the extra Hyundai accessories fitted to our tester, which include a cargo barrier ($958.33), a heavy-duty rubber cargo floor mat ($796.63), and all-weather floor mats ($249.80). Ours is also painted in Moonlight Blue (no longer available), which like the other premium colours brings an additional cost of $750. That means if you want a Staria Load like the one you see here, expect to add nearly $3000 to the list price – and that's before you consider on-road costs. Interested to see how the Hyundai Staria Load stacks up against its rivals? Use our comparison tool While we'd stop short of calling it luxurious, there's a lot to like about the Staria Load's cabin. The thing worth remembering with the Staria Load is that it is a commercial vehicle, and as such it'd be unreasonable to expect limousine-like comfort levels before getting behind the wheel. Being the Premium grade, you do get some extra goodies like a larger infotainment display and digital instrument cluster, but as with the cheaper variants it's headlined by its work-focused setup and barebones approach. Such elements are evident in the materials used, which are all hard to the touch and utilitarian in appearance. The only soft-touch items you get are the large gear selector and steering wheel, the latter of which we've seen in other large Hyundai models like the Palisade. I'm not the biggest fan of this steering wheel, but it does feel more at home here than it does in something like the Palisade. It's wrapped in smooth, quality leather, and its size and angle are reminiscent of a small bus or an older Toyota HiAce van. A quirk in the driving configuration is the seating position. From the comfortable cloth-trimmed seat you get a commanding view of everything around you, though it does lack armrests that would make the Staria Load that little bit more cruisy. It also lacks three-person seating up front, though that means you're able to make use of the space in the middle that's otherwise occupied by a storage box in the five-seat crew van. The Staria Load's layout is otherwise conventional, which means it takes no time to get used to. What you may not be used to is having to look over the steering wheel to view the instrument cluster, because the display is mounted high atop the dash to make way for a hidden storage cubby. It all works as intended, but you may need to take an extra second to get yourself adjusted accordingly if you're a shorter individual. That generally won't be an issue though, and it's worth the compromise for the extra storage space it unlocks. Ignoring the elephant in the van for the time being, Hyundai has been creative to implement as many storage options up front as possible. There are two hidden storage cubbies on top of the dashboard for various odds and ends, as well as a more conventional glovebox ahead of the passenger seat. On the roof are also two storage shelves with elastic nets. At the base of the centre console is another tub for loose items, and a cut-out for phone storage is found just above that. A wireless charging pad is located in a larger slot under the climate control panel, which also has plenty of space for other things like the key fob. There's also a singular cupholder on top of the dash on the driver's side, which seems precariously close to the digital instrument display. Passengers can make use of the hidden cupholder on the centre console, which folds out when you press on its panel. Storage is otherwise made up of space in the door cards and shallow cut-outs beneath the windows, while there's a hidden compartment integrated into the driver's side step for recovery gear. Creature comforts in the Staria Load are kept to a minimum. There are no heated seats, power-adjustment, or digital rear-view mirrors to make use of; everything instead gets straight to the point. The most complicated item is the climate and infotainment panel, which is populated by a plethora of touchscreen buttons and headlined by that 10.25-inch display. That display is nothing new for Hyundai models, and it looks great graphically with reliable functionality. A downside to the larger screen is the lack of wireless Apple CarPlay from smaller-screen models, which means you'll have to hook up your phone via cable instead. Doing so is achieved via the USB-A port next to the gear selector, and there's that convenient slot underneath for your phone to sit while plugged in. The climate control panel is clearly legible thanks to its large icons, and its centre display helps to show what's going on. There are shortcuts above for the various infotainment functions, and everything can be controlled via the buttons on the steering wheel. Those steering wheel buttons all function as the should and worked reliably in our week with the van. They're also the place to adjust things relating to appearance too, should you want to mess with the way the instrument cluster looks. The gloss-black button material is a gripe, but it gives a more premium look in conjunction with the textured stalks behind. It's all clean and classy – Hyundai has struck a convincing balance between practicality and interior design in the Staria Load. Displays on the instrument cluster are linked to drive mode, which can be toggled using the discreet button below the climate control interface. There are three modes and appearances to cycle through, but you can lock it in a particular theme if you prefer one over the others. Time to talk cargo. It's a van, and the space you get in the back is largely as you'd expect. Our tester was fitted with the optional rubber floor and cargo barrier, though we feel such items should be included as standard. The floor protection helps to dampen noise and reduce the risk of scratches to the interior paint – much like what the panelling fitted to the walls as standard does. The cargo barrier, which only works to keep cargo from sliding through, is nice to have even if it won't keep the cabin's climate isolated. Having the optional solid barrier (or even the optional partition screen) would be preferable for passenger comfort and noise dampening, but this is better than nothing. Space in the back of the Staria Load is quoted at 4.935 cubic metres, smaller than the HiAce at 6.2m. Even so, it doesn't feel compromised by any means. Hyundai fits a sliding door on each side as standard (unlike Ford does with the Transit Custom), though being the Premium grade it misses out on a rear barn door option, something included on both the Toyota and Ford rivals. You get the benefit of a powered tailgate instead, though it's quite long when fully open. That means you get shelter from the rain, but you'll struggle to load from the rear with a forklift, and you also won't be able to open it if you reverse even remotely closely up to a wall. The Staria Load makes up for it with sliding side doors, though their openings aren't terribly wide. On the inside you get eight tie-down points compared to the HiAce's six, but only one light positioned on the roof above the tailgate. That makes it difficult to see if you're using the side doors at night. There's only bare panelling on the roof, which echoes noise once on the road. It's the same as what you find in a Transit Custom, though Toyota adds a roof liner and a central dome light to its HiAce. The rear windows are protected by thick wire bars, and everything else is as it says on the box. It works well for the purpose it serves, though we suspect the rubber used in the optional floor contributed to the strange smell we were greeted with when stepping inside. Interested to see how the Hyundai Staria Load stacks up against its rivals? Use our comparison tool Unlike the Hyundai Staria people mover, there's just one engine available for the Staria Load. All three Staria Load variants share the same 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel, which is mated with an eight-speed automatic transmission exclusively. Drive is sent to only the front wheels, unlike in the rear-drive HiAce. Interested to see how the Hyundai Staria Load stacks up against its rivals? Use our comparison tool We say you shouldn't expect too much in terms of comfort from a van, and the Staria Load is a good example of why. Unladen, the ride is incredibly bouncy. Things that wouldn't bother a typical car suddenly feel like small jump ramps, and you'll find yourself going out of your way to avoid bumps and holes that could throw the van around. That's not to say it'll become unsettled over larger bumps, but it can often be enough to catch you off guard. With a couple hundred kilograms worth of cargo loaded into the back it's a different story, but if you're often driving an empty van it can become difficult to live with. While we had similar comments about the Transit Custom, it's still true that the HiAce can manage its ride a lot better even when the load space is empty. The Hyundai is quieter than the Toyota, at least compared to the bog-standard HiAce we drove with no interior options selected. Had they been comparably optioned, the noise battle may have turned out differently. The bounciness isn't helped by its wheels either, as although they're a fairly standard size at 17-inches they feel (and look) far too small for such a large van. Bumping up the wheel size an inch or two would make it look better, but would increase tyre replacement costs, worsen the bumpy-road ride and also come at the expense of on-road noise – which already isn't great. Still, it's not all bad, and if you come into the Staria Load with a rough idea of what to expect there's not much that will take you by surprise. Once you're past the initial bumps and bounces, this Hyundai turns out to be an enjoyable van to drive. It feels considerably taller than its rivals, and that helps to provide the high driving position it benefits from. There's also great visibility out front thanks to its sloped bonnet, and it's a good middle ground between a typical passenger car and the vans of old in which the crumple zones were your knees. Visibility is good out the side windows too, but that's where the limitations start. As it's a standard van with no side windows, physical blind-spot visibility is poor. Hyundai makes up for it with the cameras fitted on each side, which project a live image to the instrument cluster when the corresponding indicator is activated. We've seen such tech in other Hyundai and Kia products before, and while it seemed superfluous there, we feel this is a much more practical application. For comparison, Ford's solution to the blind-spot issue is to fit a fisheye mirror to each side mirror housing, while Toyota has nothing beyond digital monitoring. Ford and Hyundai supplement their blind-spot solutions with a monitoring system. The performance of the Staria Load isn't anything ridiculous, but it has no trouble getting up to speed in a hurry. Low-end torque is strong enough to get it out of most sticky situations, and when there's nothing in the back it can be quite spritely and agile. Surprising given its dimensions, but it makes it even better as a run-around in built-up areas. The eight-speed automatic transmission is well-behaved and almost never caught in the wrong gear, with smooth shifts and a quick response its headlining characteristics. Hyundai has made the driving experience as easy as possible from a handling perspective too, as the Staria Load boasts light steering and a tight turning circle to make up for its size. If you're a commercial vehicle buyer who needs the Staria Load for transport and logistics, it's good to have that manoeuvrability for the various tight spaces you may find yourself in. The Staria Load is fitted with adaptive cruise control with lane centring as standard, and it worked reliably in our week with the van. There wasn't a tendency to stray out of its lane, and steering inputs were consistent and smooth. Longer drives on the freeway were made easy as a result, especially if you avoided changing lanes as much as possible because of those blind-spot limitations. Downsides include its headlights, which we feel could be a bit brighter. Its high-beams worked fine, but in unlit areas it's not quite as bright as we're used to. You do get the benefit of the LED light bar across the front, which provides greater visibility for other road users. Another was the road noise, which was especially bad on wet roads. As it isn't a passenger vehicle, that isn't a deal-breaker, and it's manageable if you're fine with a bit of extra volume. Interested to see how the Hyundai Staria Load stacks up against our rivals? Use our comparison tool. There are three grades of Staria Load, each with a handful of key features to set them apart. 2025 Hyundai Staria Load equipment highlights: The Crew Van receives a centre console storage box, a three-seat second-row bench, second-row windows and two more USB-C ports. Staria Premium (liftback only) adds: Interested to see how the Hyundai Staria Load stacks up against its rivals? Use our comparison tool The Hyundai Staria Load has a five-star safety rating from ANCAP, based on testing of the related people mover conducted in 2021. Standard safety equipment includes: While previous Starias featured blind-spot assist as standard, the 2025 model has reverted to an alarm-only system. The Staria Load Premium adds a blind-spot view monitor, as well as the model debut of Hyundai's Bluelink connectivity, which includes automatic collision notification, emergency call (SOS) function and alert services including geo-fencing, valet, speed and time alerts. Interested to see how the Hyundai Staria Load stacks up against its rivals? Use our comparison tool The Hyundai Staria Load is backed by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, with servicing required every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first. Interested to see how the Hyundai Staria Load stacks up against its rivals? Use our comparison tool If you're in need of a van, the Staria Load is one well worth considering. It may not be as iconic as something like a HiAce or as stylish as the new Transit Custom, but if you're after strong cargo capacity in a comfortable package, the Staria Load has plenty to offer. Its interior tech is great, even without wireless smartphone mirroring, and the cabin is well-enough appointed to keep you interested without going over the top. The driving tech works reliably and never becomes intrusive either, which is more than can be said for many other Hyundai and Kia products. Hyundai's diesel engine is a strong unit too, and when mated with a reliable gearbox it makes for an enjoyable drive – even if it can be a bit bouncy with nothing in the back. Ride quality does leave a bit to be desired, and if you need to transport more than one passenger you're going to struggle with the lack of a middle seat. The options fitted to our tester, including the cargo barrier, are things that should be included as standard, because we feel they're van must-haves. Driving around with cargo sliding into the front cabin isn't ideal, and it's a lot of space to heat in winter. It also lacks the practicality of rear barn doors, and for a top-spec model it'd benefit from something like powered sliding side doors. Wireless Apple CarPlay would also complement that large infotainment display nicely. But as a van made to transport cargo and be comfortable for long hours on the road, the Staria Load obliges. It may not be our first choice, but as a rival to other well-established van nameplates it's a worthy contender. Interested in buying a Hyundai Staria Load? Get in touch with one of CarExpert's trusted dealers Everything Hyundai Staria Content originally sourced from:
The Advertiser
27-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Advertiser
2025 Ford Transit Custom Trend LWB review
Ford Transit Custom Pros Ford Transit Custom Cons Gee, when did vans get so good? Seriously, I was expecting a circa 18-hour drive in a van to be, if not unpleasant, then still a bit of a chore. However, I was in a Ford Transit Custom, which proved a comfortable way to haul a cargo bay full of my partner's clothes, kitchenware, and even some furniture from Melbourne to Brisbane. I'd love to tell you how the Transit Custom compares with the Hyundai Staria Load or the top-selling Toyota HiAce across a similar distance but, ah, I think I'm good for cross-country road trips for a little while. Let's talk about what the Transit Custom does right, though, and where it needs improvement. You get a choice of two trim levels in the diesel-powered Transit Custom range: Trend and Sport. Both are available in short- and long-wheelbase body styles, however, the long-wheelbase Sport is what Ford calls a Double Cab and it includes a second row of seating. The Trend LWB, therefore, is the one to choose if you want maximum cargo space. If you want it with plug-in hybrid power, you'll need to cough up an extra $10,000, while the electric version commands an additional $10,000 premium on top of that. It's far from the cheapest vehicle in the mid-size commercial van segment. For example, the Toyota HiAce LWB – which has a similar overall cargo bay volume – is several thousand dollars cheaper. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool We did the bulk of our drive in one day, which worked out to around 14 hours in the Transit Custom. Not once did our bodies complain. Kudos to the designers of the Transit Custom's seats, because they proved comfortable and supportive. That's despite the passenger seat actually being more of a bench than a traditional bucket seat. The cloth upholstery is pleasant, and the outboard seats even feature heating. The driver's seat has a fold-down armrest that you can ratchet into your desired position, and the lack of a centre console means you can easily shimmy across the front seats if, for example, someone has parked too close to the driver's door. This is aided by a completely flat cabin floor. The steering wheel has tilt and telescopic adjustment, though we found the pedal placement to be a bit awkward. About that steering wheel: it's wonderful. The switchgear is logically laid out and tactile, while the leather wrapping is wonderfully soft and the size is spot-on. It's a better steering wheel than you'll find in many passenger cars! Overseas, an optional Mobile Office Pack includes a folding version of the steering wheel, allowing you to use it as a work surface or, let's be honest, an easier way to eat your Maccas. Sadly, it's not yet available here. As expected of a van, there's ample storage even up front. Storage shelves span the width of the dashboard, while the doors have a small pocket for items like pens, and then larger pockets at their base. These larger storage cavities incorporate bottle holders large enough for 1.5-litre bottles, while we were able to safely stash items like 3L milk bottles and even a vase in the other part of the lower cavity. Each side of the dashboard has a cupholder that can fit a medium McCafe beverage or a 600ml soft drink bottle, while there's another cupholder that folds out from the centre stack. Everything feels solidly assembled and hard-wearing, and the cabin overall appears modern. Our tester came equipped with a metal bulkhead, helping to insulate the front of the van from any sounds (but not necessarily smells) in the rear and featuring a clever load-through hatch which we didn't end up using. You can still see through the window in the bulkhead and out through the windows in the barn doors, but at night time the reflection of the touchscreen almost completely obscures your view out the back. You can get a digital rear-view mirror in the Transit Custom, but this comes only in an option package that includes a solid bulkhead with no window. Fortunately, the Transit Custom comes standard with blind-spot monitoring, while the exterior mirrors feature two different types of mirror so you've got multiple viewing angles. There's no surround-view camera, though you get a reversing camera with decent resolution plus front and rear parking sensors. The windscreen is huge and the view out the front is expansive, though we were perturbed by a demister that would turn itself off far too quickly. That brings us to perhaps our greatest gripe: the lack of physical climate controls. There are shortcuts anchored to the bottom of the touchscreen, but they can be finicky on the move – particularly temperature adjustment – and would likely prove cumbersome if you're wearing gloves. The centre stack has virtually no switchgear, apart from a handful of shortcut buttons for functions like the driver assistance systems menu plus a volume knob. The touchscreen is an impressive 13-inch unit running the SYNC4 operating system, and features wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The latter connects quickly and maintained a stable connection during our road trip, thankfully deciding to wait until we were in Brisbane to occasionally throw up a repetitive "The inserted USB device isn't responding" error message when we had a phone plugged in. This was fixed by unplugging my phone. There is a wireless phone charger so in theory you don't need to ever plug in your phone, but in my experience wireless phone chargers charge too slowly and heat up your phone too much. Cue Alborz chiding me for having an Android. There's a simple 7.0-inch instrument cluster screen that's presentable and logically laid out, and is flanked by a couple of more traditional metres for fuel level and engine temperature. Moving to the rear, there's a single sliding door on the kerbside, though you can option a driver's side sliding door as well. Unlocking the vehicle once doesn't unlock the rear, so you'll need to press that button on the fob again; alternatively, you can separately unlock just the rear of the vehicle, which is handy if you are unloading goods and don't want anybody to nick your van. You'll need to give the sliding door and the barn doors a firm slam to close them, though even still we experienced a handful of phantom 'tailgate open' alerts in the instrument cluster. Inside the cargo bay, you'll find bright LED lighting. There's a helpful switch at the rear to turn on additional lighting, while along the sides of the cargo bay you'll find eight tie-down points as well as padding so your stuff doesn't damage the walls of the van. As standard, there's a single sliding door within an opening 1030mm wide and 1301mm tall, though you can option a second sliding door. The rear door opening is 1400mm wide and 1316mm tall, and the Transit Custom LWB is rated to fit four Euro (1200mm x 800mm) pallets. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool For now, the Transit Custom is a diesel-only affair in Australia, however, plug-in hybrid and electric versions are coming soon. Out of an abundance of caution, we filled up at a quarter of the tank remaining both times we filled up the van. That means we could have easily done Melbourne to Brisbane on two tanks. The Transit Custom quickly settled into a fuel consumption groove, and couldn't be shaken from 7.7 to 7.8 litres per 100km. The final score was 7.8L/100km across over 1800km of driving. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool The first thing you notice about the way the Transit Custom drives is its excellent steering. Not only is the wheel lovely to hold, as mentioned earlier, but the steering is nicely weighted – it's light enough to help you manoeuvre around tight carparks, but confidence-inspiring out on the road, too. Then there's the powertrain. The eight-speed automatic occasionally exhibits a not-so-smooth shift at low speed, but otherwise it's well-matched for the torquey turbo-diesel engine. You change gears using a stalk on the column, which may trip up people for whom the Transit Custom is among a fleet of vehicles they regularly drive. If this will be your primary source of transportation, however, you'll find you quickly get used to the stalk. The Transit Custom feels like it has more grunt than its outputs suggest, while the cabin is quite well insulated from the usual clatter you get from a turbo-diesel. Mind you, the cabin does get a bit boomy at high speeds with tyre roar, but this is a van after all. We drove over some rather rotten rural roads in New South Wales, and the Transit Custom took them in its stride. It has a surprisingly loping ride for a van, and unusually features independent rear suspension. And yet, despite being softly sprung, body control was commendable. When we picked up the car, we found the headlight beam didn't extend far enough, but adjusting the headlight aim with the toggle to the right-hand side of the steering wheel fixed this. What we couldn't fix, however, was the automatic high-beam. It proved erratic and inconsistent, dipping the lights on pitch-black country roads. It got to the point where I just wished the Transit Custom didn't have the feature, as I was constantly having to flick the headlight stalk anyway and this was just giving me another detent to flick through. The low-beam headlights are LEDs, which are lovely and bright. The high-beams may elegantly fade on, but they're disappointingly halogen units. Ford refers to these headlights as "hybrid" headlights, which makes them sound more clever than they are… You fill up the Transit Custom via a flap on the passenger's side, though you'll need to open the passenger-side door in order to open this flap. Fortunately, the filler itself doesn't have a cap. The blind-spot monitoring worked well, as did the lane-keep assist though there's no lane centring. There is adaptive cruise control, which would often allow the van to exceed the speed limit by 2km/h – not ideal, but that shouldn't be enough to get you in trouble with the law. There is an annoying overspeed alert, but you can turn it off or easily drown it out with music. The driver fatigue monitoring feature doesn't scan your eyes like in some cars, though if you swerve over a lane marking or drive for a long time without a break, it will flash up a helpful reminder. The safe exit warning feature is a welcome inclusion, sounding a chime if the van detects you're about to open your door into oncoming traffic. The Transit Custom is under 2m tall, so it should fit in most carparks. Very handy. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool The Trend is the entry-level Transit Custom. 2025 Ford Transit Custom equipment highlights: Metallic paint is a $700 option, though our tester came in standard Frozen White. You can also spend $1400 and get SVO Paint, allowing you to choose from a wider range of colours than the monochromatic trio of $700 finishes. Other options include: To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool While like most vans the Transit Custom hasn't been crash-tested by ANCAP, it does have a 96 per cent rating in assessment of its driver assistance systems. Standard safety equipment includes: To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool Ford backs its vehicles with a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, with 12 months of roadside assistance included at the time of purchase and extended with every service provided they're completed within Ford's network. For other buyers, the first four services are priced at $580, $915, $715, and $915 respectively. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool An 18-hour drive can be a real torture test of a vehicle. If something is bugging you when you set off, it's bound to infuriate you by the end of the trip. I've been in cars with uncomfortable seats, or with annoying lane-keeping aids, that would have had me raging at the end of 18 hours. But any faults the Ford has are minor, and I quickly came to respect this van. Hell, at one point I even thought, "Hey, would I want to own one of these?" (The answer is no: I hate moving my own stuff, so the last thing I'd want as a van owner is to get roped into helping every friend and family member move). With its comfortable interior, spacious load bay, punchy powertrain and slick infotainment, the Transit Custom should be on your shortlist if you're buying a van. Interested in buying a Ford Transit Custom? Get in touch with one of CarExpert's trusted dealers hereMORE: Everything Ford Transit Custom Content originally sourced from: Transit Custom Pros Ford Transit Custom Cons Gee, when did vans get so good? Seriously, I was expecting a circa 18-hour drive in a van to be, if not unpleasant, then still a bit of a chore. However, I was in a Ford Transit Custom, which proved a comfortable way to haul a cargo bay full of my partner's clothes, kitchenware, and even some furniture from Melbourne to Brisbane. I'd love to tell you how the Transit Custom compares with the Hyundai Staria Load or the top-selling Toyota HiAce across a similar distance but, ah, I think I'm good for cross-country road trips for a little while. Let's talk about what the Transit Custom does right, though, and where it needs improvement. You get a choice of two trim levels in the diesel-powered Transit Custom range: Trend and Sport. Both are available in short- and long-wheelbase body styles, however, the long-wheelbase Sport is what Ford calls a Double Cab and it includes a second row of seating. The Trend LWB, therefore, is the one to choose if you want maximum cargo space. If you want it with plug-in hybrid power, you'll need to cough up an extra $10,000, while the electric version commands an additional $10,000 premium on top of that. It's far from the cheapest vehicle in the mid-size commercial van segment. For example, the Toyota HiAce LWB – which has a similar overall cargo bay volume – is several thousand dollars cheaper. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool We did the bulk of our drive in one day, which worked out to around 14 hours in the Transit Custom. Not once did our bodies complain. Kudos to the designers of the Transit Custom's seats, because they proved comfortable and supportive. That's despite the passenger seat actually being more of a bench than a traditional bucket seat. The cloth upholstery is pleasant, and the outboard seats even feature heating. The driver's seat has a fold-down armrest that you can ratchet into your desired position, and the lack of a centre console means you can easily shimmy across the front seats if, for example, someone has parked too close to the driver's door. This is aided by a completely flat cabin floor. The steering wheel has tilt and telescopic adjustment, though we found the pedal placement to be a bit awkward. About that steering wheel: it's wonderful. The switchgear is logically laid out and tactile, while the leather wrapping is wonderfully soft and the size is spot-on. It's a better steering wheel than you'll find in many passenger cars! Overseas, an optional Mobile Office Pack includes a folding version of the steering wheel, allowing you to use it as a work surface or, let's be honest, an easier way to eat your Maccas. Sadly, it's not yet available here. As expected of a van, there's ample storage even up front. Storage shelves span the width of the dashboard, while the doors have a small pocket for items like pens, and then larger pockets at their base. These larger storage cavities incorporate bottle holders large enough for 1.5-litre bottles, while we were able to safely stash items like 3L milk bottles and even a vase in the other part of the lower cavity. Each side of the dashboard has a cupholder that can fit a medium McCafe beverage or a 600ml soft drink bottle, while there's another cupholder that folds out from the centre stack. Everything feels solidly assembled and hard-wearing, and the cabin overall appears modern. Our tester came equipped with a metal bulkhead, helping to insulate the front of the van from any sounds (but not necessarily smells) in the rear and featuring a clever load-through hatch which we didn't end up using. You can still see through the window in the bulkhead and out through the windows in the barn doors, but at night time the reflection of the touchscreen almost completely obscures your view out the back. You can get a digital rear-view mirror in the Transit Custom, but this comes only in an option package that includes a solid bulkhead with no window. Fortunately, the Transit Custom comes standard with blind-spot monitoring, while the exterior mirrors feature two different types of mirror so you've got multiple viewing angles. There's no surround-view camera, though you get a reversing camera with decent resolution plus front and rear parking sensors. The windscreen is huge and the view out the front is expansive, though we were perturbed by a demister that would turn itself off far too quickly. That brings us to perhaps our greatest gripe: the lack of physical climate controls. There are shortcuts anchored to the bottom of the touchscreen, but they can be finicky on the move – particularly temperature adjustment – and would likely prove cumbersome if you're wearing gloves. The centre stack has virtually no switchgear, apart from a handful of shortcut buttons for functions like the driver assistance systems menu plus a volume knob. The touchscreen is an impressive 13-inch unit running the SYNC4 operating system, and features wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The latter connects quickly and maintained a stable connection during our road trip, thankfully deciding to wait until we were in Brisbane to occasionally throw up a repetitive "The inserted USB device isn't responding" error message when we had a phone plugged in. This was fixed by unplugging my phone. There is a wireless phone charger so in theory you don't need to ever plug in your phone, but in my experience wireless phone chargers charge too slowly and heat up your phone too much. Cue Alborz chiding me for having an Android. There's a simple 7.0-inch instrument cluster screen that's presentable and logically laid out, and is flanked by a couple of more traditional metres for fuel level and engine temperature. Moving to the rear, there's a single sliding door on the kerbside, though you can option a driver's side sliding door as well. Unlocking the vehicle once doesn't unlock the rear, so you'll need to press that button on the fob again; alternatively, you can separately unlock just the rear of the vehicle, which is handy if you are unloading goods and don't want anybody to nick your van. You'll need to give the sliding door and the barn doors a firm slam to close them, though even still we experienced a handful of phantom 'tailgate open' alerts in the instrument cluster. Inside the cargo bay, you'll find bright LED lighting. There's a helpful switch at the rear to turn on additional lighting, while along the sides of the cargo bay you'll find eight tie-down points as well as padding so your stuff doesn't damage the walls of the van. As standard, there's a single sliding door within an opening 1030mm wide and 1301mm tall, though you can option a second sliding door. The rear door opening is 1400mm wide and 1316mm tall, and the Transit Custom LWB is rated to fit four Euro (1200mm x 800mm) pallets. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool For now, the Transit Custom is a diesel-only affair in Australia, however, plug-in hybrid and electric versions are coming soon. Out of an abundance of caution, we filled up at a quarter of the tank remaining both times we filled up the van. That means we could have easily done Melbourne to Brisbane on two tanks. The Transit Custom quickly settled into a fuel consumption groove, and couldn't be shaken from 7.7 to 7.8 litres per 100km. The final score was 7.8L/100km across over 1800km of driving. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool The first thing you notice about the way the Transit Custom drives is its excellent steering. Not only is the wheel lovely to hold, as mentioned earlier, but the steering is nicely weighted – it's light enough to help you manoeuvre around tight carparks, but confidence-inspiring out on the road, too. Then there's the powertrain. The eight-speed automatic occasionally exhibits a not-so-smooth shift at low speed, but otherwise it's well-matched for the torquey turbo-diesel engine. You change gears using a stalk on the column, which may trip up people for whom the Transit Custom is among a fleet of vehicles they regularly drive. If this will be your primary source of transportation, however, you'll find you quickly get used to the stalk. The Transit Custom feels like it has more grunt than its outputs suggest, while the cabin is quite well insulated from the usual clatter you get from a turbo-diesel. Mind you, the cabin does get a bit boomy at high speeds with tyre roar, but this is a van after all. We drove over some rather rotten rural roads in New South Wales, and the Transit Custom took them in its stride. It has a surprisingly loping ride for a van, and unusually features independent rear suspension. And yet, despite being softly sprung, body control was commendable. When we picked up the car, we found the headlight beam didn't extend far enough, but adjusting the headlight aim with the toggle to the right-hand side of the steering wheel fixed this. What we couldn't fix, however, was the automatic high-beam. It proved erratic and inconsistent, dipping the lights on pitch-black country roads. It got to the point where I just wished the Transit Custom didn't have the feature, as I was constantly having to flick the headlight stalk anyway and this was just giving me another detent to flick through. The low-beam headlights are LEDs, which are lovely and bright. The high-beams may elegantly fade on, but they're disappointingly halogen units. Ford refers to these headlights as "hybrid" headlights, which makes them sound more clever than they are… You fill up the Transit Custom via a flap on the passenger's side, though you'll need to open the passenger-side door in order to open this flap. Fortunately, the filler itself doesn't have a cap. The blind-spot monitoring worked well, as did the lane-keep assist though there's no lane centring. There is adaptive cruise control, which would often allow the van to exceed the speed limit by 2km/h – not ideal, but that shouldn't be enough to get you in trouble with the law. There is an annoying overspeed alert, but you can turn it off or easily drown it out with music. The driver fatigue monitoring feature doesn't scan your eyes like in some cars, though if you swerve over a lane marking or drive for a long time without a break, it will flash up a helpful reminder. The safe exit warning feature is a welcome inclusion, sounding a chime if the van detects you're about to open your door into oncoming traffic. The Transit Custom is under 2m tall, so it should fit in most carparks. Very handy. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool The Trend is the entry-level Transit Custom. 2025 Ford Transit Custom equipment highlights: Metallic paint is a $700 option, though our tester came in standard Frozen White. You can also spend $1400 and get SVO Paint, allowing you to choose from a wider range of colours than the monochromatic trio of $700 finishes. Other options include: To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool While like most vans the Transit Custom hasn't been crash-tested by ANCAP, it does have a 96 per cent rating in assessment of its driver assistance systems. Standard safety equipment includes: To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool Ford backs its vehicles with a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, with 12 months of roadside assistance included at the time of purchase and extended with every service provided they're completed within Ford's network. For other buyers, the first four services are priced at $580, $915, $715, and $915 respectively. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool An 18-hour drive can be a real torture test of a vehicle. If something is bugging you when you set off, it's bound to infuriate you by the end of the trip. I've been in cars with uncomfortable seats, or with annoying lane-keeping aids, that would have had me raging at the end of 18 hours. But any faults the Ford has are minor, and I quickly came to respect this van. Hell, at one point I even thought, "Hey, would I want to own one of these?" (The answer is no: I hate moving my own stuff, so the last thing I'd want as a van owner is to get roped into helping every friend and family member move). With its comfortable interior, spacious load bay, punchy powertrain and slick infotainment, the Transit Custom should be on your shortlist if you're buying a van. Interested in buying a Ford Transit Custom? Get in touch with one of CarExpert's trusted dealers hereMORE: Everything Ford Transit Custom Content originally sourced from: Transit Custom Pros Ford Transit Custom Cons Gee, when did vans get so good? Seriously, I was expecting a circa 18-hour drive in a van to be, if not unpleasant, then still a bit of a chore. However, I was in a Ford Transit Custom, which proved a comfortable way to haul a cargo bay full of my partner's clothes, kitchenware, and even some furniture from Melbourne to Brisbane. I'd love to tell you how the Transit Custom compares with the Hyundai Staria Load or the top-selling Toyota HiAce across a similar distance but, ah, I think I'm good for cross-country road trips for a little while. Let's talk about what the Transit Custom does right, though, and where it needs improvement. You get a choice of two trim levels in the diesel-powered Transit Custom range: Trend and Sport. Both are available in short- and long-wheelbase body styles, however, the long-wheelbase Sport is what Ford calls a Double Cab and it includes a second row of seating. The Trend LWB, therefore, is the one to choose if you want maximum cargo space. If you want it with plug-in hybrid power, you'll need to cough up an extra $10,000, while the electric version commands an additional $10,000 premium on top of that. It's far from the cheapest vehicle in the mid-size commercial van segment. For example, the Toyota HiAce LWB – which has a similar overall cargo bay volume – is several thousand dollars cheaper. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool We did the bulk of our drive in one day, which worked out to around 14 hours in the Transit Custom. Not once did our bodies complain. Kudos to the designers of the Transit Custom's seats, because they proved comfortable and supportive. That's despite the passenger seat actually being more of a bench than a traditional bucket seat. The cloth upholstery is pleasant, and the outboard seats even feature heating. The driver's seat has a fold-down armrest that you can ratchet into your desired position, and the lack of a centre console means you can easily shimmy across the front seats if, for example, someone has parked too close to the driver's door. This is aided by a completely flat cabin floor. The steering wheel has tilt and telescopic adjustment, though we found the pedal placement to be a bit awkward. About that steering wheel: it's wonderful. The switchgear is logically laid out and tactile, while the leather wrapping is wonderfully soft and the size is spot-on. It's a better steering wheel than you'll find in many passenger cars! Overseas, an optional Mobile Office Pack includes a folding version of the steering wheel, allowing you to use it as a work surface or, let's be honest, an easier way to eat your Maccas. Sadly, it's not yet available here. As expected of a van, there's ample storage even up front. Storage shelves span the width of the dashboard, while the doors have a small pocket for items like pens, and then larger pockets at their base. These larger storage cavities incorporate bottle holders large enough for 1.5-litre bottles, while we were able to safely stash items like 3L milk bottles and even a vase in the other part of the lower cavity. Each side of the dashboard has a cupholder that can fit a medium McCafe beverage or a 600ml soft drink bottle, while there's another cupholder that folds out from the centre stack. Everything feels solidly assembled and hard-wearing, and the cabin overall appears modern. Our tester came equipped with a metal bulkhead, helping to insulate the front of the van from any sounds (but not necessarily smells) in the rear and featuring a clever load-through hatch which we didn't end up using. You can still see through the window in the bulkhead and out through the windows in the barn doors, but at night time the reflection of the touchscreen almost completely obscures your view out the back. You can get a digital rear-view mirror in the Transit Custom, but this comes only in an option package that includes a solid bulkhead with no window. Fortunately, the Transit Custom comes standard with blind-spot monitoring, while the exterior mirrors feature two different types of mirror so you've got multiple viewing angles. There's no surround-view camera, though you get a reversing camera with decent resolution plus front and rear parking sensors. The windscreen is huge and the view out the front is expansive, though we were perturbed by a demister that would turn itself off far too quickly. That brings us to perhaps our greatest gripe: the lack of physical climate controls. There are shortcuts anchored to the bottom of the touchscreen, but they can be finicky on the move – particularly temperature adjustment – and would likely prove cumbersome if you're wearing gloves. The centre stack has virtually no switchgear, apart from a handful of shortcut buttons for functions like the driver assistance systems menu plus a volume knob. The touchscreen is an impressive 13-inch unit running the SYNC4 operating system, and features wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The latter connects quickly and maintained a stable connection during our road trip, thankfully deciding to wait until we were in Brisbane to occasionally throw up a repetitive "The inserted USB device isn't responding" error message when we had a phone plugged in. This was fixed by unplugging my phone. There is a wireless phone charger so in theory you don't need to ever plug in your phone, but in my experience wireless phone chargers charge too slowly and heat up your phone too much. Cue Alborz chiding me for having an Android. There's a simple 7.0-inch instrument cluster screen that's presentable and logically laid out, and is flanked by a couple of more traditional metres for fuel level and engine temperature. Moving to the rear, there's a single sliding door on the kerbside, though you can option a driver's side sliding door as well. Unlocking the vehicle once doesn't unlock the rear, so you'll need to press that button on the fob again; alternatively, you can separately unlock just the rear of the vehicle, which is handy if you are unloading goods and don't want anybody to nick your van. You'll need to give the sliding door and the barn doors a firm slam to close them, though even still we experienced a handful of phantom 'tailgate open' alerts in the instrument cluster. Inside the cargo bay, you'll find bright LED lighting. There's a helpful switch at the rear to turn on additional lighting, while along the sides of the cargo bay you'll find eight tie-down points as well as padding so your stuff doesn't damage the walls of the van. As standard, there's a single sliding door within an opening 1030mm wide and 1301mm tall, though you can option a second sliding door. The rear door opening is 1400mm wide and 1316mm tall, and the Transit Custom LWB is rated to fit four Euro (1200mm x 800mm) pallets. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool For now, the Transit Custom is a diesel-only affair in Australia, however, plug-in hybrid and electric versions are coming soon. Out of an abundance of caution, we filled up at a quarter of the tank remaining both times we filled up the van. That means we could have easily done Melbourne to Brisbane on two tanks. The Transit Custom quickly settled into a fuel consumption groove, and couldn't be shaken from 7.7 to 7.8 litres per 100km. The final score was 7.8L/100km across over 1800km of driving. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool The first thing you notice about the way the Transit Custom drives is its excellent steering. Not only is the wheel lovely to hold, as mentioned earlier, but the steering is nicely weighted – it's light enough to help you manoeuvre around tight carparks, but confidence-inspiring out on the road, too. Then there's the powertrain. The eight-speed automatic occasionally exhibits a not-so-smooth shift at low speed, but otherwise it's well-matched for the torquey turbo-diesel engine. You change gears using a stalk on the column, which may trip up people for whom the Transit Custom is among a fleet of vehicles they regularly drive. If this will be your primary source of transportation, however, you'll find you quickly get used to the stalk. The Transit Custom feels like it has more grunt than its outputs suggest, while the cabin is quite well insulated from the usual clatter you get from a turbo-diesel. Mind you, the cabin does get a bit boomy at high speeds with tyre roar, but this is a van after all. We drove over some rather rotten rural roads in New South Wales, and the Transit Custom took them in its stride. It has a surprisingly loping ride for a van, and unusually features independent rear suspension. And yet, despite being softly sprung, body control was commendable. When we picked up the car, we found the headlight beam didn't extend far enough, but adjusting the headlight aim with the toggle to the right-hand side of the steering wheel fixed this. What we couldn't fix, however, was the automatic high-beam. It proved erratic and inconsistent, dipping the lights on pitch-black country roads. It got to the point where I just wished the Transit Custom didn't have the feature, as I was constantly having to flick the headlight stalk anyway and this was just giving me another detent to flick through. The low-beam headlights are LEDs, which are lovely and bright. The high-beams may elegantly fade on, but they're disappointingly halogen units. Ford refers to these headlights as "hybrid" headlights, which makes them sound more clever than they are… You fill up the Transit Custom via a flap on the passenger's side, though you'll need to open the passenger-side door in order to open this flap. Fortunately, the filler itself doesn't have a cap. The blind-spot monitoring worked well, as did the lane-keep assist though there's no lane centring. There is adaptive cruise control, which would often allow the van to exceed the speed limit by 2km/h – not ideal, but that shouldn't be enough to get you in trouble with the law. There is an annoying overspeed alert, but you can turn it off or easily drown it out with music. The driver fatigue monitoring feature doesn't scan your eyes like in some cars, though if you swerve over a lane marking or drive for a long time without a break, it will flash up a helpful reminder. The safe exit warning feature is a welcome inclusion, sounding a chime if the van detects you're about to open your door into oncoming traffic. The Transit Custom is under 2m tall, so it should fit in most carparks. Very handy. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool The Trend is the entry-level Transit Custom. 2025 Ford Transit Custom equipment highlights: Metallic paint is a $700 option, though our tester came in standard Frozen White. You can also spend $1400 and get SVO Paint, allowing you to choose from a wider range of colours than the monochromatic trio of $700 finishes. Other options include: To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool While like most vans the Transit Custom hasn't been crash-tested by ANCAP, it does have a 96 per cent rating in assessment of its driver assistance systems. Standard safety equipment includes: To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool Ford backs its vehicles with a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, with 12 months of roadside assistance included at the time of purchase and extended with every service provided they're completed within Ford's network. For other buyers, the first four services are priced at $580, $915, $715, and $915 respectively. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool An 18-hour drive can be a real torture test of a vehicle. If something is bugging you when you set off, it's bound to infuriate you by the end of the trip. I've been in cars with uncomfortable seats, or with annoying lane-keeping aids, that would have had me raging at the end of 18 hours. But any faults the Ford has are minor, and I quickly came to respect this van. Hell, at one point I even thought, "Hey, would I want to own one of these?" (The answer is no: I hate moving my own stuff, so the last thing I'd want as a van owner is to get roped into helping every friend and family member move). With its comfortable interior, spacious load bay, punchy powertrain and slick infotainment, the Transit Custom should be on your shortlist if you're buying a van. Interested in buying a Ford Transit Custom? Get in touch with one of CarExpert's trusted dealers hereMORE: Everything Ford Transit Custom Content originally sourced from: Transit Custom Pros Ford Transit Custom Cons Gee, when did vans get so good? Seriously, I was expecting a circa 18-hour drive in a van to be, if not unpleasant, then still a bit of a chore. However, I was in a Ford Transit Custom, which proved a comfortable way to haul a cargo bay full of my partner's clothes, kitchenware, and even some furniture from Melbourne to Brisbane. I'd love to tell you how the Transit Custom compares with the Hyundai Staria Load or the top-selling Toyota HiAce across a similar distance but, ah, I think I'm good for cross-country road trips for a little while. Let's talk about what the Transit Custom does right, though, and where it needs improvement. You get a choice of two trim levels in the diesel-powered Transit Custom range: Trend and Sport. Both are available in short- and long-wheelbase body styles, however, the long-wheelbase Sport is what Ford calls a Double Cab and it includes a second row of seating. The Trend LWB, therefore, is the one to choose if you want maximum cargo space. If you want it with plug-in hybrid power, you'll need to cough up an extra $10,000, while the electric version commands an additional $10,000 premium on top of that. It's far from the cheapest vehicle in the mid-size commercial van segment. For example, the Toyota HiAce LWB – which has a similar overall cargo bay volume – is several thousand dollars cheaper. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool We did the bulk of our drive in one day, which worked out to around 14 hours in the Transit Custom. Not once did our bodies complain. Kudos to the designers of the Transit Custom's seats, because they proved comfortable and supportive. That's despite the passenger seat actually being more of a bench than a traditional bucket seat. The cloth upholstery is pleasant, and the outboard seats even feature heating. The driver's seat has a fold-down armrest that you can ratchet into your desired position, and the lack of a centre console means you can easily shimmy across the front seats if, for example, someone has parked too close to the driver's door. This is aided by a completely flat cabin floor. The steering wheel has tilt and telescopic adjustment, though we found the pedal placement to be a bit awkward. About that steering wheel: it's wonderful. The switchgear is logically laid out and tactile, while the leather wrapping is wonderfully soft and the size is spot-on. It's a better steering wheel than you'll find in many passenger cars! Overseas, an optional Mobile Office Pack includes a folding version of the steering wheel, allowing you to use it as a work surface or, let's be honest, an easier way to eat your Maccas. Sadly, it's not yet available here. As expected of a van, there's ample storage even up front. Storage shelves span the width of the dashboard, while the doors have a small pocket for items like pens, and then larger pockets at their base. These larger storage cavities incorporate bottle holders large enough for 1.5-litre bottles, while we were able to safely stash items like 3L milk bottles and even a vase in the other part of the lower cavity. Each side of the dashboard has a cupholder that can fit a medium McCafe beverage or a 600ml soft drink bottle, while there's another cupholder that folds out from the centre stack. Everything feels solidly assembled and hard-wearing, and the cabin overall appears modern. Our tester came equipped with a metal bulkhead, helping to insulate the front of the van from any sounds (but not necessarily smells) in the rear and featuring a clever load-through hatch which we didn't end up using. You can still see through the window in the bulkhead and out through the windows in the barn doors, but at night time the reflection of the touchscreen almost completely obscures your view out the back. You can get a digital rear-view mirror in the Transit Custom, but this comes only in an option package that includes a solid bulkhead with no window. Fortunately, the Transit Custom comes standard with blind-spot monitoring, while the exterior mirrors feature two different types of mirror so you've got multiple viewing angles. There's no surround-view camera, though you get a reversing camera with decent resolution plus front and rear parking sensors. The windscreen is huge and the view out the front is expansive, though we were perturbed by a demister that would turn itself off far too quickly. That brings us to perhaps our greatest gripe: the lack of physical climate controls. There are shortcuts anchored to the bottom of the touchscreen, but they can be finicky on the move – particularly temperature adjustment – and would likely prove cumbersome if you're wearing gloves. The centre stack has virtually no switchgear, apart from a handful of shortcut buttons for functions like the driver assistance systems menu plus a volume knob. The touchscreen is an impressive 13-inch unit running the SYNC4 operating system, and features wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The latter connects quickly and maintained a stable connection during our road trip, thankfully deciding to wait until we were in Brisbane to occasionally throw up a repetitive "The inserted USB device isn't responding" error message when we had a phone plugged in. This was fixed by unplugging my phone. There is a wireless phone charger so in theory you don't need to ever plug in your phone, but in my experience wireless phone chargers charge too slowly and heat up your phone too much. Cue Alborz chiding me for having an Android. There's a simple 7.0-inch instrument cluster screen that's presentable and logically laid out, and is flanked by a couple of more traditional metres for fuel level and engine temperature. Moving to the rear, there's a single sliding door on the kerbside, though you can option a driver's side sliding door as well. Unlocking the vehicle once doesn't unlock the rear, so you'll need to press that button on the fob again; alternatively, you can separately unlock just the rear of the vehicle, which is handy if you are unloading goods and don't want anybody to nick your van. You'll need to give the sliding door and the barn doors a firm slam to close them, though even still we experienced a handful of phantom 'tailgate open' alerts in the instrument cluster. Inside the cargo bay, you'll find bright LED lighting. There's a helpful switch at the rear to turn on additional lighting, while along the sides of the cargo bay you'll find eight tie-down points as well as padding so your stuff doesn't damage the walls of the van. As standard, there's a single sliding door within an opening 1030mm wide and 1301mm tall, though you can option a second sliding door. The rear door opening is 1400mm wide and 1316mm tall, and the Transit Custom LWB is rated to fit four Euro (1200mm x 800mm) pallets. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool For now, the Transit Custom is a diesel-only affair in Australia, however, plug-in hybrid and electric versions are coming soon. Out of an abundance of caution, we filled up at a quarter of the tank remaining both times we filled up the van. That means we could have easily done Melbourne to Brisbane on two tanks. The Transit Custom quickly settled into a fuel consumption groove, and couldn't be shaken from 7.7 to 7.8 litres per 100km. The final score was 7.8L/100km across over 1800km of driving. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool The first thing you notice about the way the Transit Custom drives is its excellent steering. Not only is the wheel lovely to hold, as mentioned earlier, but the steering is nicely weighted – it's light enough to help you manoeuvre around tight carparks, but confidence-inspiring out on the road, too. Then there's the powertrain. The eight-speed automatic occasionally exhibits a not-so-smooth shift at low speed, but otherwise it's well-matched for the torquey turbo-diesel engine. You change gears using a stalk on the column, which may trip up people for whom the Transit Custom is among a fleet of vehicles they regularly drive. If this will be your primary source of transportation, however, you'll find you quickly get used to the stalk. The Transit Custom feels like it has more grunt than its outputs suggest, while the cabin is quite well insulated from the usual clatter you get from a turbo-diesel. Mind you, the cabin does get a bit boomy at high speeds with tyre roar, but this is a van after all. We drove over some rather rotten rural roads in New South Wales, and the Transit Custom took them in its stride. It has a surprisingly loping ride for a van, and unusually features independent rear suspension. And yet, despite being softly sprung, body control was commendable. When we picked up the car, we found the headlight beam didn't extend far enough, but adjusting the headlight aim with the toggle to the right-hand side of the steering wheel fixed this. What we couldn't fix, however, was the automatic high-beam. It proved erratic and inconsistent, dipping the lights on pitch-black country roads. It got to the point where I just wished the Transit Custom didn't have the feature, as I was constantly having to flick the headlight stalk anyway and this was just giving me another detent to flick through. The low-beam headlights are LEDs, which are lovely and bright. The high-beams may elegantly fade on, but they're disappointingly halogen units. Ford refers to these headlights as "hybrid" headlights, which makes them sound more clever than they are… You fill up the Transit Custom via a flap on the passenger's side, though you'll need to open the passenger-side door in order to open this flap. Fortunately, the filler itself doesn't have a cap. The blind-spot monitoring worked well, as did the lane-keep assist though there's no lane centring. There is adaptive cruise control, which would often allow the van to exceed the speed limit by 2km/h – not ideal, but that shouldn't be enough to get you in trouble with the law. There is an annoying overspeed alert, but you can turn it off or easily drown it out with music. The driver fatigue monitoring feature doesn't scan your eyes like in some cars, though if you swerve over a lane marking or drive for a long time without a break, it will flash up a helpful reminder. The safe exit warning feature is a welcome inclusion, sounding a chime if the van detects you're about to open your door into oncoming traffic. The Transit Custom is under 2m tall, so it should fit in most carparks. Very handy. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool The Trend is the entry-level Transit Custom. 2025 Ford Transit Custom equipment highlights: Metallic paint is a $700 option, though our tester came in standard Frozen White. You can also spend $1400 and get SVO Paint, allowing you to choose from a wider range of colours than the monochromatic trio of $700 finishes. Other options include: To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool While like most vans the Transit Custom hasn't been crash-tested by ANCAP, it does have a 96 per cent rating in assessment of its driver assistance systems. Standard safety equipment includes: To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool Ford backs its vehicles with a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, with 12 months of roadside assistance included at the time of purchase and extended with every service provided they're completed within Ford's network. For other buyers, the first four services are priced at $580, $915, $715, and $915 respectively. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool An 18-hour drive can be a real torture test of a vehicle. If something is bugging you when you set off, it's bound to infuriate you by the end of the trip. I've been in cars with uncomfortable seats, or with annoying lane-keeping aids, that would have had me raging at the end of 18 hours. But any faults the Ford has are minor, and I quickly came to respect this van. Hell, at one point I even thought, "Hey, would I want to own one of these?" (The answer is no: I hate moving my own stuff, so the last thing I'd want as a van owner is to get roped into helping every friend and family member move). With its comfortable interior, spacious load bay, punchy powertrain and slick infotainment, the Transit Custom should be on your shortlist if you're buying a van. Interested in buying a Ford Transit Custom? Get in touch with one of CarExpert's trusted dealers hereMORE: Everything Ford Transit Custom Content originally sourced from:
Perth Now
26-05-2025
- Automotive
- Perth Now
2025 Ford Transit Custom Trend LWB review
Gee, when did vans get so good? 2025 Ford Transit Custom Trend LWB Credit: CarExpert Seriously, I was expecting a circa 18-hour drive in a van to be, if not unpleasant, then still a bit of a chore. However, I was in a Ford Transit Custom, which proved a comfortable way to haul a cargo bay full of my partner's clothes, kitchenware, and even some furniture from Melbourne to Brisbane. I'd love to tell you how the Transit Custom compares with the Hyundai Staria Load or the top-selling Toyota HiAce across a similar distance but, ah, I think I'm good for cross-country road trips for a little while. Let's talk about what the Transit Custom does right, though, and where it needs improvement. You get a choice of two trim levels in the diesel-powered Transit Custom range: Trend and Sport. 2025 Ford Transit Custom Trend LWB Credit: CarExpert Both are available in short- and long-wheelbase body styles, however, the long-wheelbase Sport is what Ford calls a Double Cab and it includes a second row of seating. The Trend LWB, therefore, is the one to choose if you want maximum cargo space. If you want it with plug-in hybrid power, you'll need to cough up an extra $10,000, while the electric version commands an additional $10,000 premium on top of that. It's far from the cheapest vehicle in the mid-size commercial van segment. For example, the Toyota HiAce LWB – which has a similar overall cargo bay volume – is several thousand dollars cheaper. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool We did the bulk of our drive in one day, which worked out to around 14 hours in the Transit Custom. Not once did our bodies complain. 2025 Ford Transit Custom Trend LWB Credit: CarExpert Kudos to the designers of the Transit Custom's seats, because they proved comfortable and supportive. That's despite the passenger seat actually being more of a bench than a traditional bucket seat. The cloth upholstery is pleasant, and the outboard seats even feature heating. The driver's seat has a fold-down armrest that you can ratchet into your desired position, and the lack of a centre console means you can easily shimmy across the front seats if, for example, someone has parked too close to the driver's door. This is aided by a completely flat cabin floor. The steering wheel has tilt and telescopic adjustment, though we found the pedal placement to be a bit awkward. About that steering wheel: it's wonderful. The switchgear is logically laid out and tactile, while the leather wrapping is wonderfully soft and the size is spot-on. It's a better steering wheel than you'll find in many passenger cars! 2025 Ford Transit Custom Trend LWB Credit: CarExpert Overseas, an optional Mobile Office Pack includes a folding version of the steering wheel, allowing you to use it as a work surface or, let's be honest, an easier way to eat your Maccas. Sadly, it's not yet available here. As expected of a van, there's ample storage even up front. Storage shelves span the width of the dashboard, while the doors have a small pocket for items like pens, and then larger pockets at their base. These larger storage cavities incorporate bottle holders large enough for 1.5-litre bottles, while we were able to safely stash items like 3L milk bottles and even a vase in the other part of the lower cavity. Each side of the dashboard has a cupholder that can fit a medium McCafe beverage or a 600ml soft drink bottle, while there's another cupholder that folds out from the centre stack. Everything feels solidly assembled and hard-wearing, and the cabin overall appears modern. 2025 Ford Transit Custom Trend LWB Credit: CarExpert Our tester came equipped with a metal bulkhead, helping to insulate the front of the van from any sounds (but not necessarily smells) in the rear and featuring a clever load-through hatch which we didn't end up using. You can still see through the window in the bulkhead and out through the windows in the barn doors, but at night time the reflection of the touchscreen almost completely obscures your view out the back. You can get a digital rear-view mirror in the Transit Custom, but this comes only in an option package that includes a solid bulkhead with no window. Fortunately, the Transit Custom comes standard with blind-spot monitoring, while the exterior mirrors feature two different types of mirror so you've got multiple viewing angles. There's no surround-view camera, though you get a reversing camera with decent resolution plus front and rear parking sensors. The windscreen is huge and the view out the front is expansive, though we were perturbed by a demister that would turn itself off far too quickly. 2025 Ford Transit Custom Trend LWB Credit: CarExpert That brings us to perhaps our greatest gripe: the lack of physical climate controls. There are shortcuts anchored to the bottom of the touchscreen, but they can be finicky on the move – particularly temperature adjustment – and would likely prove cumbersome if you're wearing gloves. The centre stack has virtually no switchgear, apart from a handful of shortcut buttons for functions like the driver assistance systems menu plus a volume knob. The touchscreen is an impressive 13-inch unit running the SYNC4 operating system, and features wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The latter connects quickly and maintained a stable connection during our road trip, thankfully deciding to wait until we were in Brisbane to occasionally throw up a repetitive 'The inserted USB device isn't responding' error message when we had a phone plugged in. This was fixed by unplugging my phone. There is a wireless phone charger so in theory you don't need to ever plug in your phone, but in my experience wireless phone chargers charge too slowly and heat up your phone too much. Cue Alborz chiding me for having an Android. There's a simple 7.0-inch instrument cluster screen that's presentable and logically laid out, and is flanked by a couple of more traditional metres for fuel level and engine temperature. 2025 Ford Transit Custom Trend LWB Credit: CarExpert Moving to the rear, there's a single sliding door on the kerbside, though you can option a driver's side sliding door as well. Unlocking the vehicle once doesn't unlock the rear, so you'll need to press that button on the fob again; alternatively, you can separately unlock just the rear of the vehicle, which is handy if you are unloading goods and don't want anybody to nick your van. You'll need to give the sliding door and the barn doors a firm slam to close them, though even still we experienced a handful of phantom 'tailgate open' alerts in the instrument cluster. Inside the cargo bay, you'll find bright LED lighting. There's a helpful switch at the rear to turn on additional lighting, while along the sides of the cargo bay you'll find eight tie-down points as well as padding so your stuff doesn't damage the walls of the van. As standard, there's a single sliding door within an opening 1030mm wide and 1301mm tall, though you can option a second sliding door. The rear door opening is 1400mm wide and 1316mm tall, and the Transit Custom LWB is rated to fit four Euro (1200mm x 800mm) pallets. 2025 Ford Transit Custom Trend LWB Credit: CarExpert 2025 Ford Transit Custom Trend LWB Credit: CarExpert To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool For now, the Transit Custom is a diesel-only affair in Australia, however, plug-in hybrid and electric versions are coming soon. 2025 Ford Transit Custom Trend LWB Credit: CarExpert Out of an abundance of caution, we filled up at a quarter of the tank remaining both times we filled up the van. That means we could have easily done Melbourne to Brisbane on two tanks. The Transit Custom quickly settled into a fuel consumption groove, and couldn't be shaken from 7.7 to 7.8 litres per 100km. The final score was 7.8L/100km across over 1800km of driving. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool The first thing you notice about the way the Transit Custom drives is its excellent steering. 2025 Ford Transit Custom Trend LWB Credit: CarExpert Not only is the wheel lovely to hold, as mentioned earlier, but the steering is nicely weighted – it's light enough to help you manoeuvre around tight carparks, but confidence-inspiring out on the road, too. Then there's the powertrain. The eight-speed automatic occasionally exhibits a not-so-smooth shift at low speed, but otherwise it's well-matched for the torquey turbo-diesel engine. You change gears using a stalk on the column, which may trip up people for whom the Transit Custom is among a fleet of vehicles they regularly drive. If this will be your primary source of transportation, however, you'll find you quickly get used to the stalk. The Transit Custom feels like it has more grunt than its outputs suggest, while the cabin is quite well insulated from the usual clatter you get from a turbo-diesel. Mind you, the cabin does get a bit boomy at high speeds with tyre roar, but this is a van after all. 2025 Ford Transit Custom Trend LWB Credit: CarExpert We drove over some rather rotten rural roads in New South Wales, and the Transit Custom took them in its stride. It has a surprisingly loping ride for a van, and unusually features independent rear suspension. And yet, despite being softly sprung, body control was commendable. When we picked up the car, we found the headlight beam didn't extend far enough, but adjusting the headlight aim with the toggle to the right-hand side of the steering wheel fixed this. What we couldn't fix, however, was the automatic high-beam. It proved erratic and inconsistent, dipping the lights on pitch-black country roads. It got to the point where I just wished the Transit Custom didn't have the feature, as I was constantly having to flick the headlight stalk anyway and this was just giving me another detent to flick through. The low-beam headlights are LEDs, which are lovely and bright. The high-beams may elegantly fade on, but they're disappointingly halogen units. Ford refers to these headlights as 'hybrid' headlights, which makes them sound more clever than they are… You fill up the Transit Custom via a flap on the passenger's side, though you'll need to open the passenger-side door in order to open this flap. Fortunately, the filler itself doesn't have a cap. 2025 Ford Transit Custom Trend LWB Credit: CarExpert The blind-spot monitoring worked well, as did the lane-keep assist though there's no lane centring. There is adaptive cruise control, which would often allow the van to exceed the speed limit by 2km/h – not ideal, but that shouldn't be enough to get you in trouble with the law. There is an annoying overspeed alert, but you can turn it off or easily drown it out with music. The driver fatigue monitoring feature doesn't scan your eyes like in some cars, though if you swerve over a lane marking or drive for a long time without a break, it will flash up a helpful reminder. The safe exit warning feature is a welcome inclusion, sounding a chime if the van detects you're about to open your door into oncoming traffic. The Transit Custom is under 2m tall, so it should fit in most carparks. Very handy. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool The Trend is the entry-level Transit Custom. 2025 Ford Transit Custom Trend LWB Credit: CarExpert 2025 Ford Transit Custom Trend LWB Credit: CarExpert 2025 Ford Transit Custom Trend LWB Credit: CarExpert 2025 Ford Transit Custom Trend LWB Credit: CarExpert 2025 Ford Transit Custom equipment highlights: 7.0-inch instrument cluster screen 13.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto DAB+ digital radio Satellite navigation 5G embedded modem Wireless phone charger FordPass app connectivity 4-speaker sound system 8-way manual driver's seat with single armrest Heated front seats Leatherette-wrapped steering wheel Drive mode selection: Normal, Eco, Slippery and Tow/Haul Load Area Protection Kit Side and rear door protection Moulded load floor liner LED load bay lighting Metal bulkhead Kerbside sliding door Integrated roof racks Halogen and LED 'hybrid' headlights Rain-sensing wipers Quickclear heated windscreen Push-button start Metallic paint is a $700 option, though our tester came in standard Frozen White. You can also spend $1400 and get SVO Paint, allowing you to choose from a wider range of colours than the monochromatic trio of $700 finishes. Other options include: A two-seat configuration: $150; deletes the load-through hatch Rear liftgate: $700; replaces the barn doors Secure Visibility Pack: $1500; includes steel rear doors with no windows, a metal bulkhead with no window; and a digital rear-view mirror with an integrated dash cam To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool While like most vans the Transit Custom hasn't been crash-tested by ANCAP, it does have a 96 per cent rating in assessment of its driver assistance systems. 2025 Ford Transit Custom Trend LWB Credit: CarExpert Standard safety equipment includes: Autonomous emergency braking Adaptive cruise control Blind-spot assist Evasive steering assist Lane keep assist Rear cross-traffic alert Safe exit warning Traffic sign recognition Reversing camera with 180-degree view Front, rear parking sensors Front, front-side, and curtain airbags To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool Ford backs its vehicles with a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, with 12 months of roadside assistance included at the time of purchase and extended with every service provided they're completed within Ford's network. 2025 Ford Transit Custom Trend LWB Credit: CarExpert For other buyers, the first four services are priced at $580, $915, $715, and $915 respectively. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool An 18-hour drive can be a real torture test of a vehicle. If something is bugging you when you set off, it's bound to infuriate you by the end of the trip. 2025 Ford Transit Custom Trend LWB Credit: CarExpert I've been in cars with uncomfortable seats, or with annoying lane-keeping aids, that would have had me raging at the end of 18 hours. But any faults the Ford has are minor, and I quickly came to respect this van. Hell, at one point I even thought, 'Hey, would I want to own one of these?' (The answer is no: I hate moving my own stuff, so the last thing I'd want as a van owner is to get roped into helping every friend and family member move). With its comfortable interior, spacious load bay, punchy powertrain and slick infotainment, the Transit Custom should be on your shortlist if you're buying a van. 2025 Ford Transit Custom Trend LWB Credit: CarExpert Interested in buying a Ford Transit Custom? Get in touch with one of CarExpert's trusted dealers here MORE: Everything Ford Transit Custom Spacious and practical Solid dynamics Good technology No physical climate controls More expensive than rivals Annoying automatic high-beam Power: 125kW Fuel Type: Diesel Economy: 7.6L/100km CO2 Emissions: 197g/km ANCAP Safety Rating: Untested
7NEWS
26-05-2025
- Automotive
- 7NEWS
2025 Ford Transit Custom Trend LWB review
Gee, when did vans get so good? Seriously, I was expecting a circa 18-hour drive in a van to be, if not unpleasant, then still a bit of a chore. However, I was in a Ford Transit Custom, which proved a comfortable way to haul a cargo bay full of my partner's clothes, kitchenware, and even some furniture from Melbourne to Brisbane. I'd love to tell you how the Transit Custom compares with the Hyundai Staria Load or the top-selling Toyota HiAce across a similar distance but, ah, I think I'm good for cross-country road trips for a little while. Let's talk about what the Transit Custom does right, though, and where it needs improvement. How much does the Ford Transit Custom cost? You get a choice of two trim levels in the diesel-powered Transit Custom range: Trend and Sport. Both are available in short- and long-wheelbase body styles, however, the long-wheelbase Sport is what Ford calls a Double Cab and it includes a second row of seating. The Trend LWB, therefore, is the one to choose if you want maximum cargo space. If you want it with plug-in hybrid power, you'll need to cough up an extra $10,000, while the electric version commands an additional $10,000 premium on top of that. It's far from the cheapest vehicle in the mid-size commercial van segment. For example, the Toyota HiAce LWB – which has a similar overall cargo bay volume – is several thousand dollars cheaper. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool What is the Ford Transit Custom like on the inside? We did the bulk of our drive in one day, which worked out to around 14 hours in the Transit Custom. Not once did our bodies complain. Kudos to the designers of the Transit Custom's seats, because they proved comfortable and supportive. That's despite the passenger seat actually being more of a bench than a traditional bucket seat. The cloth upholstery is pleasant, and the outboard seats even feature heating. The driver's seat has a fold-down armrest that you can ratchet into your desired position, and the lack of a centre console means you can easily shimmy across the front seats if, for example, someone has parked too close to the driver's door. This is aided by a completely flat cabin floor. The steering wheel has tilt and telescopic adjustment, though we found the pedal placement to be a bit awkward. About that steering wheel: it's wonderful. The switchgear is logically laid out and tactile, while the leather wrapping is wonderfully soft and the size is spot-on. It's a better steering wheel than you'll find in many passenger cars! Overseas, an optional Mobile Office Pack includes a folding version of the steering wheel, allowing you to use it as a work surface or, let's be honest, an easier way to eat your Maccas. Sadly, it's not yet available here. As expected of a van, there's ample storage even up front. Storage shelves span the width of the dashboard, while the doors have a small pocket for items like pens, and then larger pockets at their base. These larger storage cavities incorporate bottle holders large enough for 1.5-litre bottles, while we were able to safely stash items like 3L milk bottles and even a vase in the other part of the lower cavity. Each side of the dashboard has a cupholder that can fit a medium McCafe beverage or a 600ml soft drink bottle, while there's another cupholder that folds out from the centre stack. Everything feels solidly assembled and hard-wearing, and the cabin overall appears modern. Our tester came equipped with a metal bulkhead, helping to insulate the front of the van from any sounds (but not necessarily smells) in the rear and featuring a clever load-through hatch which we didn't end up using. You can still see through the window in the bulkhead and out through the windows in the barn doors, but at night time the reflection of the touchscreen almost completely obscures your view out the back. You can get a digital rear-view mirror in the Transit Custom, but this comes only in an option package that includes a solid bulkhead with no window. Fortunately, the Transit Custom comes standard with blind-spot monitoring, while the exterior mirrors feature two different types of mirror so you've got multiple viewing angles. There's no surround-view camera, though you get a reversing camera with decent resolution plus front and rear parking sensors. The windscreen is huge and the view out the front is expansive, though we were perturbed by a demister that would turn itself off far too quickly. That brings us to perhaps our greatest gripe: the lack of physical climate controls. There are shortcuts anchored to the bottom of the touchscreen, but they can be finicky on the move – particularly temperature adjustment – and would likely prove cumbersome if you're wearing gloves. The centre stack has virtually no switchgear, apart from a handful of shortcut buttons for functions like the driver assistance systems menu plus a volume knob. The touchscreen is an impressive 13-inch unit running the SYNC4 operating system, and features wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The latter connects quickly and maintained a stable connection during our road trip, thankfully deciding to wait until we were in Brisbane to occasionally throw up a repetitive 'The inserted USB device isn't responding' error message when we had a phone plugged in. This was fixed by unplugging my phone. There is a wireless phone charger so in theory you don't need to ever plug in your phone, but in my experience wireless phone chargers charge too slowly and heat up your phone too much. Cue Alborz chiding me for having an Android. There's a simple 7.0-inch instrument cluster screen that's presentable and logically laid out, and is flanked by a couple of more traditional metres for fuel level and engine temperature. Moving to the rear, there's a single sliding door on the kerbside, though you can option a driver's side sliding door as well. Unlocking the vehicle once doesn't unlock the rear, so you'll need to press that button on the fob again; alternatively, you can separately unlock just the rear of the vehicle, which is handy if you are unloading goods and don't want anybody to nick your van. You'll need to give the sliding door and the barn doors a firm slam to close them, though even still we experienced a handful of phantom 'tailgate open' alerts in the instrument cluster. Inside the cargo bay, you'll find bright LED lighting. There's a helpful switch at the rear to turn on additional lighting, while along the sides of the cargo bay you'll find eight tie-down points as well as padding so your stuff doesn't damage the walls of the van. As standard, there's a single sliding door within an opening 1030mm wide and 1301mm tall, though you can option a second sliding door. The rear door opening is 1400mm wide and 1316mm tall, and the Transit Custom LWB is rated to fit four Euro (1200mm x 800mm) pallets. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool What's under the bonnet? For now, the Transit Custom is a diesel-only affair in Australia, however, plug-in hybrid and electric versions are coming soon. Out of an abundance of caution, we filled up at a quarter of the tank remaining both times we filled up the van. That means we could have easily done Melbourne to Brisbane on two tanks. The Transit Custom quickly settled into a fuel consumption groove, and couldn't be shaken from 7.7 to 7.8 litres per 100km. The final score was 7.8L/100km across over 1800km of driving. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool How does the Ford Transit Custom drive? The first thing you notice about the way the Transit Custom drives is its excellent steering. Not only is the wheel lovely to hold, as mentioned earlier, but the steering is nicely weighted – it's light enough to help you manoeuvre around tight carparks, but confidence-inspiring out on the road, too. Then there's the powertrain. The eight-speed automatic occasionally exhibits a not-so-smooth shift at low speed, but otherwise it's well-matched for the torquey turbo-diesel engine. You change gears using a stalk on the column, which may trip up people for whom the Transit Custom is among a fleet of vehicles they regularly drive. If this will be your primary source of transportation, however, you'll find you quickly get used to the stalk. The Transit Custom feels like it has more grunt than its outputs suggest, while the cabin is quite well insulated from the usual clatter you get from a turbo-diesel. Mind you, the cabin does get a bit boomy at high speeds with tyre roar, but this is a van after all. We drove over some rather rotten rural roads in New South Wales, and the Transit Custom took them in its stride. It has a surprisingly loping ride for a van, and unusually features independent rear suspension. And yet, despite being softly sprung, body control was commendable. When we picked up the car, we found the headlight beam didn't extend far enough, but adjusting the headlight aim with the toggle to the right-hand side of the steering wheel fixed this. What we couldn't fix, however, was the automatic high-beam. It proved erratic and inconsistent, dipping the lights on pitch-black country roads. It got to the point where I just wished the Transit Custom didn't have the feature, as I was constantly having to flick the headlight stalk anyway and this was just giving me another detent to flick through. The low-beam headlights are LEDs, which are lovely and bright. The high-beams may elegantly fade on, but they're disappointingly halogen units. Ford refers to these headlights as 'hybrid' headlights, which makes them sound more clever than they are… You fill up the Transit Custom via a flap on the passenger's side, though you'll need to open the passenger-side door in order to open this flap. Fortunately, the filler itself doesn't have a cap. The blind-spot monitoring worked well, as did the lane-keep assist though there's no lane centring. There is adaptive cruise control, which would often allow the van to exceed the speed limit by 2km/h – not ideal, but that shouldn't be enough to get you in trouble with the law. There is an annoying overspeed alert, but you can turn it off or easily drown it out with music. The driver fatigue monitoring feature doesn't scan your eyes like in some cars, though if you swerve over a lane marking or drive for a long time without a break, it will flash up a helpful reminder. The safe exit warning feature is a welcome inclusion, sounding a chime if the van detects you're about to open your door into oncoming traffic. The Transit Custom is under 2m tall, so it should fit in most carparks. Very handy. What do you get? The Trend is the entry-level Transit Custom. 2025 Ford Transit Custom equipment highlights: 7.0-inch instrument cluster screen 13.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto DAB+ digital radio Satellite navigation 5G embedded modem Wireless phone charger FordPass app connectivity 4-speaker sound system 8-way manual driver's seat with single armrest Heated front seats Leatherette-wrapped steering wheel Drive mode selection: Normal, Eco, Slippery and Tow/Haul Load Area Protection Kit Side and rear door protection Moulded load floor liner LED load bay lighting Metal bulkhead Kerbside sliding door Integrated roof racks Halogen and LED 'hybrid' headlights Rain-sensing wipers Quickclear heated windscreen Push-button start Metallic paint is a $700 option, though our tester came in standard Frozen White. You can also spend $1400 and get SVO Paint, allowing you to choose from a wider range of colours than the monochromatic trio of $700 finishes. Other options include: To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool Is the Ford Transit Custom safe? While like most vans the Transit Custom hasn't been crash-tested by ANCAP, it does have a 96 per cent rating in assessment of its driver assistance systems. Standard safety equipment includes: Autonomous emergency braking Adaptive cruise control Blind-spot assist Evasive steering assist Lane keep assist Rear cross-traffic alert Safe exit warning Traffic sign recognition Reversing camera with 180-degree view Front, rear parking sensors Front, front-side, and curtain airbags To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool How much does the Ford Transit Custom cost to run? Ford backs its vehicles with a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, with 12 months of roadside assistance included at the time of purchase and extended with every service provided they're completed within Ford's network. For other buyers, the first four services are priced at $580, $915, $715, and $915 respectively. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool CarExpert's Take on the Ford Transit Custom An 18-hour drive can be a real torture test of a vehicle. If something is bugging you when you set off, it's bound to infuriate you by the end of the trip. I've been in cars with uncomfortable seats, or with annoying lane-keeping aids, that would have had me raging at the end of 18 hours. But any faults the Ford has are minor, and I quickly came to respect this van. Hell, at one point I even thought, 'Hey, would I want to own one of these?' (The answer is no: I hate moving my own stuff, so the last thing I'd want as a van owner is to get roped into helping every friend and family member move). With its comfortable interior, spacious load bay, punchy powertrain and slick infotainment, the Transit Custom should be on your shortlist if you're buying a van. Interested in buying a Ford Transit Custom? Get in touch with one of CarExpert's trusted dealers here MORE: Everything Ford Transit Custom Pros Spacious and practical Solid dynamics Good technology Cons No physical climate controls More expensive than rivals Annoying automatic high-beam Top Line Specs
West Australian
26-05-2025
- Automotive
- West Australian
2025 Ford Transit Custom Trend LWB review
Gee, when did vans get so good? Seriously, I was expecting a circa 18-hour drive in a van to be, if not unpleasant, then still a bit of a chore. However, I was in a Ford Transit Custom , which proved a comfortable way to haul a cargo bay full of my partner's clothes, kitchenware, and even some furniture from Melbourne to Brisbane. I'd love to tell you how the Transit Custom compares with the Hyundai Staria Load or the top-selling Toyota HiAce across a similar distance but, ah, I think I'm good for cross-country road trips for a little while. Let's talk about what the Transit Custom does right, though, and where it needs improvement. You get a choice of two trim levels in the diesel-powered Transit Custom range: Trend and Sport. Both are available in short- and long-wheelbase body styles, however, the long-wheelbase Sport is what Ford calls a Double Cab and it includes a second row of seating. The Trend LWB, therefore, is the one to choose if you want maximum cargo space. If you want it with plug-in hybrid power, you'll need to cough up an extra $10,000, while the electric version commands an additional $10,000 premium on top of that. It's far from the cheapest vehicle in the mid-size commercial van segment. For example, the Toyota HiAce LWB – which has a similar overall cargo bay volume – is several thousand dollars cheaper. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool We did the bulk of our drive in one day, which worked out to around 14 hours in the Transit Custom. Not once did our bodies complain. Kudos to the designers of the Transit Custom's seats, because they proved comfortable and supportive. That's despite the passenger seat actually being more of a bench than a traditional bucket seat. The cloth upholstery is pleasant, and the outboard seats even feature heating. The driver's seat has a fold-down armrest that you can ratchet into your desired position, and the lack of a centre console means you can easily shimmy across the front seats if, for example, someone has parked too close to the driver's door. This is aided by a completely flat cabin floor. The steering wheel has tilt and telescopic adjustment, though we found the pedal placement to be a bit awkward. About that steering wheel: it's wonderful. The switchgear is logically laid out and tactile, while the leather wrapping is wonderfully soft and the size is spot-on. It's a better steering wheel than you'll find in many passenger cars! Overseas, an optional Mobile Office Pack includes a folding version of the steering wheel, allowing you to use it as a work surface or, let's be honest, an easier way to eat your Maccas. Sadly, it's not yet available here. As expected of a van, there's ample storage even up front. Storage shelves span the width of the dashboard, while the doors have a small pocket for items like pens, and then larger pockets at their base. These larger storage cavities incorporate bottle holders large enough for 1.5-litre bottles, while we were able to safely stash items like 3L milk bottles and even a vase in the other part of the lower cavity. Each side of the dashboard has a cupholder that can fit a medium McCafe beverage or a 600ml soft drink bottle, while there's another cupholder that folds out from the centre stack. Everything feels solidly assembled and hard-wearing, and the cabin overall appears modern. Our tester came equipped with a metal bulkhead, helping to insulate the front of the van from any sounds (but not necessarily smells) in the rear and featuring a clever load-through hatch which we didn't end up using. You can still see through the window in the bulkhead and out through the windows in the barn doors, but at night time the reflection of the touchscreen almost completely obscures your view out the back. You can get a digital rear-view mirror in the Transit Custom, but this comes only in an option package that includes a solid bulkhead with no window. Fortunately, the Transit Custom comes standard with blind-spot monitoring, while the exterior mirrors feature two different types of mirror so you've got multiple viewing angles. There's no surround-view camera, though you get a reversing camera with decent resolution plus front and rear parking sensors. The windscreen is huge and the view out the front is expansive, though we were perturbed by a demister that would turn itself off far too quickly. That brings us to perhaps our greatest gripe: the lack of physical climate controls. There are shortcuts anchored to the bottom of the touchscreen, but they can be finicky on the move – particularly temperature adjustment – and would likely prove cumbersome if you're wearing gloves. The centre stack has virtually no switchgear, apart from a handful of shortcut buttons for functions like the driver assistance systems menu plus a volume knob. The touchscreen is an impressive 13-inch unit running the SYNC4 operating system, and features wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The latter connects quickly and maintained a stable connection during our road trip, thankfully deciding to wait until we were in Brisbane to occasionally throw up a repetitive 'The inserted USB device isn't responding' error message when we had a phone plugged in. This was fixed by unplugging my phone. There is a wireless phone charger so in theory you don't need to ever plug in your phone, but in my experience wireless phone chargers charge too slowly and heat up your phone too much. Cue Alborz chiding me for having an Android. There's a simple 7.0-inch instrument cluster screen that's presentable and logically laid out, and is flanked by a couple of more traditional metres for fuel level and engine temperature. Moving to the rear, there's a single sliding door on the kerbside, though you can option a driver's side sliding door as well. Unlocking the vehicle once doesn't unlock the rear, so you'll need to press that button on the fob again; alternatively, you can separately unlock just the rear of the vehicle, which is handy if you are unloading goods and don't want anybody to nick your van. You'll need to give the sliding door and the barn doors a firm slam to close them, though even still we experienced a handful of phantom 'tailgate open' alerts in the instrument cluster. Inside the cargo bay, you'll find bright LED lighting. There's a helpful switch at the rear to turn on additional lighting, while along the sides of the cargo bay you'll find eight tie-down points as well as padding so your stuff doesn't damage the walls of the van. As standard, there's a single sliding door within an opening 1030mm wide and 1301mm tall, though you can option a second sliding door. The rear door opening is 1400mm wide and 1316mm tall, and the Transit Custom LWB is rated to fit four Euro (1200mm x 800mm) pallets. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool For now, the Transit Custom is a diesel-only affair in Australia, however, plug-in hybrid and electric versions are coming soon. Out of an abundance of caution, we filled up at a quarter of the tank remaining both times we filled up the van. That means we could have easily done Melbourne to Brisbane on two tanks. The Transit Custom quickly settled into a fuel consumption groove, and couldn't be shaken from 7.7 to 7.8 litres per 100km. The final score was 7.8L/100km across over 1800km of driving. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool The first thing you notice about the way the Transit Custom drives is its excellent steering. Not only is the wheel lovely to hold, as mentioned earlier, but the steering is nicely weighted – it's light enough to help you manoeuvre around tight carparks, but confidence-inspiring out on the road, too. Then there's the powertrain. The eight-speed automatic occasionally exhibits a not-so-smooth shift at low speed, but otherwise it's well-matched for the torquey turbo-diesel engine. You change gears using a stalk on the column, which may trip up people for whom the Transit Custom is among a fleet of vehicles they regularly drive. If this will be your primary source of transportation, however, you'll find you quickly get used to the stalk. The Transit Custom feels like it has more grunt than its outputs suggest, while the cabin is quite well insulated from the usual clatter you get from a turbo-diesel. Mind you, the cabin does get a bit boomy at high speeds with tyre roar, but this is a van after all. We drove over some rather rotten rural roads in New South Wales, and the Transit Custom took them in its stride. It has a surprisingly loping ride for a van, and unusually features independent rear suspension. And yet, despite being softly sprung, body control was commendable. When we picked up the car, we found the headlight beam didn't extend far enough, but adjusting the headlight aim with the toggle to the right-hand side of the steering wheel fixed this. What we couldn't fix, however, was the automatic high-beam. It proved erratic and inconsistent, dipping the lights on pitch-black country roads. It got to the point where I just wished the Transit Custom didn't have the feature, as I was constantly having to flick the headlight stalk anyway and this was just giving me another detent to flick through. The low-beam headlights are LEDs, which are lovely and bright. The high-beams may elegantly fade on, but they're disappointingly halogen units. Ford refers to these headlights as 'hybrid' headlights, which makes them sound more clever than they are… You fill up the Transit Custom via a flap on the passenger's side, though you'll need to open the passenger-side door in order to open this flap. Fortunately, the filler itself doesn't have a cap. The blind-spot monitoring worked well, as did the lane-keep assist though there's no lane centring. There is adaptive cruise control, which would often allow the van to exceed the speed limit by 2km/h – not ideal, but that shouldn't be enough to get you in trouble with the law. There is an annoying overspeed alert, but you can turn it off or easily drown it out with music. The driver fatigue monitoring feature doesn't scan your eyes like in some cars, though if you swerve over a lane marking or drive for a long time without a break, it will flash up a helpful reminder. The safe exit warning feature is a welcome inclusion, sounding a chime if the van detects you're about to open your door into oncoming traffic. The Transit Custom is under 2m tall, so it should fit in most carparks. Very handy. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool The Trend is the entry-level Transit Custom. 2025 Ford Transit Custom equipment highlights: Metallic paint is a $700 option, though our tester came in standard Frozen White. You can also spend $1400 and get SVO Paint, allowing you to choose from a wider range of colours than the monochromatic trio of $700 finishes. Other options include: To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool While like most vans the Transit Custom hasn't been crash-tested by ANCAP, it does have a 96 per cent rating in assessment of its driver assistance systems. Standard safety equipment includes: To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool Ford backs its vehicles with a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, with 12 months of roadside assistance included at the time of purchase and extended with every service provided they're completed within Ford's network. For other buyers, the first four services are priced at $580, $915, $715, and $915 respectively. To see how the Ford Transit Custom stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool An 18-hour drive can be a real torture test of a vehicle. If something is bugging you when you set off, it's bound to infuriate you by the end of the trip. I've been in cars with uncomfortable seats, or with annoying lane-keeping aids, that would have had me raging at the end of 18 hours. But any faults the Ford has are minor, and I quickly came to respect this van. Hell, at one point I even thought, 'Hey, would I want to own one of these?' (The answer is no: I hate moving my own stuff, so the last thing I'd want as a van owner is to get roped into helping every friend and family member move). With its comfortable interior, spacious load bay, punchy powertrain and slick infotainment, the Transit Custom should be on your shortlist if you're buying a van. Interested in buying a Ford Transit Custom? Get in touch with one of CarExpert's trusted dealers here MORE: Everything Ford Transit Custom
