LDV eDeliver 7 v Toyota HiAce v Hyundai Staria Load 2024 Van Comparison

We’ve brought together Australia's two best-selling diesel vans in the medium van segment with the new LDV eDeliver 7, a battery-electric van. So, does a battery-electric van present a more sensible proposition for business owners in terms of running costs and practicality than an established fossil-fuelled rival? Some of our findings may surprise you…

From the first planning stages of this comparison, we knew that the battery-electric LDV eDeliver 7 would be more expensive in the initial purchase than the two internal-combustion-engined vehicles. But, as it turns out, the differences aren’t that great, especially if you’re going to lease them.

The Hyundai Staria Load is the least expensive of the trio with an entry price of $49,490 drive away. However, we didn’t end up with the entry-level vehicle we were aiming for. We got the Premium version with liftback tailgate, and prestige paint, with our test vehicle hitting the road at $56,488 drive away.

Our Toyota HiAce LWB van comes in at $55,950 drive away, with the auto adding $2054 and the barn doors an extra $771 to that total figure.

Our LDV eDeliver 7, meanwhile, is the top-of-the-line version with high roof and the 88kWh battery pack (a 77kWh battery pack is also available). Its recommended retail price is $73,674 drive away but the entry-level short-wheelbase 77kWh model can be had from $63,990 drive away for ABN holders.

These three vans are workhorses and their equipment levels reflect that. However, there are some differences which may or may not be deal-breakers for potential customers.

Firstly, both the Toyota and the Hyundai are fitted with sliding doors on both sides whereas the LDV is only available with a single sliding door on the left-hand side.

On the other hand, the LDV and the Toyota HiAce have twin ‘barn’ doors on the rear that open to 90 degrees and then further to 180 degrees, making loading – especially with a fork lift – easy. However, the Hyundai has a one-piece liftback tailgate which could make loading with a fork difficult. It is, however, powered, with a remote opening and closing feature.

In the load area, the LDV and the Hyundai have floor coverings whereas the Toyota makes do with bare metal. All three have mid-height internal side wall protection.

All three also had tie-down anchor points in the rear with the LDV having the sturdiest (they're also recessed). The count for tie-downs was eight for the LDV and Hyundai and six for the Toyota.

In the load areas, the LDV looked the least finished with exposed wires in a couple of places and, except for the floor, bare metal all around.

Up front, the Toyota and the Hyundai have single bucket seats while the LDV has a bucket and quasi-double-seat passenger bench that doesn’t fold down to make a work area as they often do on light trucks.

The Toyota was the only one to get a centre console storage box, which was a handy two-level affair with a good amount of space.

In terms of warranty, they all get five years with the Toyota’s distance cap being 160,000km, the Hyundai 130,000km and the LDV also 160,000km. The LDV eDeliver 7’s battery gets an eight-year or 250,000km warranty.

Servicing is where owners of electric vehicles can save some of their initial outlay, as electric vehicles have fewer moving engine parts than diesels. It’s as simple as that. Electric vehicles also need fewer consumables like brake pads, for instance, as they have regenerative braking systems which lowers the demands placed on the standard hydraulic/disc service brakes.

That said, over a period of 90,000km, the LDV eDeliver 7 will set you back just $1165 in capped-price servicing while the Hyundai will cost $2854 and the Toyota $3263. And over that same distance, the LDV will need to be off the road for just three services, compared to seven for the Hyundai and nine for the Toyota.

Modern vans, like modern cars, have come a long way in recent years in terms of safety and these three reflect that. There are airbags aplenty, with the Toyota and the Hyundai having seven and the LDV with six.

All of our vehicles have what are considered standard safety features in modern vehicles like AEB, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keeping assistance and the like, but there are anomalies. The Hyundai, for instance, has 360-degree monitoring on its screen whereas the other two do not. And the LDV and the Hyundai have active cruise control while the Toyota does not. Attention monitoring was present in the LDV and the Hyundai but not in the Toyota, but apart from those few things, the trio are fairly well equipped with safety features.

While the LDV is yet to be assessed by ANCAP (LDV Australia says it will be in the not-too-distant future), both the Toyota and the Hyundai have previously received five-star ANCAP safety ratings, but some time back (2019 for the Toyota and 2021 for the Hyundai).

These vans are all loaded with technology. Gone are the days of bare-bones work vans; these get nearly as much tech as modern cars. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard fare but it’s the wired version, not wireless as found in many passenger cars these days.

Our Hyundai Staria Load is perhaps the winner in the tech stakes, this Premium edition being the only van on test with wireless smartphone charging. It also has fully digital instrumentation and a 360-degree camera for parking and reversing, as well as a blind spot monitor.

Both the Hyundai and the Toyota come with integrated satellite navigation, whereas the LDV does not.

Our electric LDV is powered by a permanent-magnet synchronous motor driving the front wheels via a single-speed transmission and a steering-column-mounted shifter. It has claimed outputs of 130kW and 330Nm, three drive modes (Eco, Standard and Power), and three levels of regenerative braking.

The Toyota is powered by the venerable 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel that has been around in various forms for over 20 years. It has claimed outputs of 130kW at 3400rpm and a hefty 450Nm of torque between 1600 and 2400rpm.

The Toyota’s transmission is a six-speed auto which is nicely mated to the engine and received no complaints from our drivers. The Toyota was the only vehicle on test driving through the rear wheels.

The Hyundai then is powered by a turbo-diesel which is arguably more modern than the Toyota's. It has a smaller capacity but remarkably similar outputs to the Toyota, giving a claimed 130kW at 3800rpm and 430Nm between 1500 to 2500rpm. This is mated to a once-again more modern eight-speed auto driving the front wheels.

On paper, our two diesel vans had similar outputs and similar economy figures, but the reality is a different story. According to the manufacturer spec sheets, the Hyundai has an ADR Combined Cycle figure of 7.0L/100km while the Toyota has 7.5L/100km.

In our real-world testing, however, with driver plus equal test loads of 325kg, the Toyota returned a figure of between 9.8 and 10.2L/100km and the Hyundai achieved between 7.4 and 7.7L/100km. This would give the Toyota a range of over 600km and the Hyundai a range of over 900km.

Our LDV, meanwhile, with 88kWh battery comes with a WLTP (Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure) range figure of 328km. Over the course of three days of mixed driving and with the same 325kg test weight, our van returned an average of 25.6kWh/100km to give a theoretical range of over 300km on a full charge. We found that charging it from 10 per cent to 80 per cent took about 50 minutes at a high-output DC fast charger, which is also in line with LDV's claims.

We should note that charging at public fast chargers can be pricey, with the above charge costing just over $48. That's approaching fossil fuel prices, but smart business owners will likely use their own charging infrastructure to take advantage of scheduled charging and off-peak tariffs to lower charging costs significantly, while also potentially leveraging the benefits of solar power and battery storage systems.

In the drive experience of these three vehicles, there is a clear winner that all our judges agreed on and that was the Hyundai Staria Load. The Hyundai is the more car-like of the three. It is the most comfortable and the one that we’d rather spend a lot of time in.

The dash is well laid out and the inclusion of the 360-degree camera and the blind-spot cameras looking down the side when the indicators are used adds to Staria's safety and convenience.

The LDV is by no means a bad vehicle to drive but it has its foibles. Personally speaking, I find the seating position too upright and I struggle get the seat back to go back far enough. It's the highest of the three but it has no driver's side A-pillar grab handle to aid ingress, and the lack of a footrest or dead pedal for the left foot is a nuisance, albeit more so on longer runs. The LDV is also the most lightly sprung of three and, being heavy, this results in a small degree of wallowing in tighter bends that isn't present in the Toyota or Hyundai.

Some of the controls like the drive mode button and the seat heating are obscured by the steering wheel at the straight-ahead position and you can only change the regenerative braking mode via the touchscreen, which seems needlessly fiddly.

The LDV is, however, quiet and smooth and the acceleration afforded by the electric motor is impressive. It's swift enough in Eco mode and positively rapid in Power mode. We stuck with Eco for the most part, to help maximise the van's range.

The fleet-spec Toyota, as expected, is workmanlike. It does what it has to do. However, it is certainly the noisiest of the trio and the harshest in terms of ride. That said, it doesn't do anything wrong per se, and it has no shortage of torque, but it just isn't outstanding in any one respect.

If I was a delivery driver getting in and out of these vehicles numerous times a day, I’d probably pick the Toyota simply because it has a grab handle and footrest, although the Hyundai is the lowest and also very easy to slide in and out of.

But for the combined driving experience, comfort and ease, it has to be the Hyundai.

All three of these vehicles are designed to carry just over a tonne. Speaking in cubic metres, the LDV eDeliver 7 is a clear winner with 8.7 cubic metres (as you'd expect, being a high-roof version). Next is the Toyota HiAce with a claimed 6.2 cubic metres followed by the Hyundai Staria Load with 4.9 cubic metres (but measured using the VDA system – really, the Toyota and the Hyundai are very similar when it comes to load space).

Bear in mind that all of these vans can carry a standard Australian pallet between their rear wheel arches, so they’re all fully functional one-tonne vans.

The LDV is slightly compromised by the lack of a second sliding door, but the door that it does have is large and wide, so if you don’t need doors on either side, this could be the van for you.

While none of our test vans had towbars, towing weights are a mixed bag. The LDV has a maximum braked towing weight of 1500kg which, surprisingly, is the same as the Toyota. However, the Hyundai Staria Load is out in front here, with a maximum braked towing weight of 2500kg.

None of our vans on test have a bulkhead between the cabin and the load area (although the Hyundai was fitted with a non-standard mesh barrier) and this presents a problem in Melbourne in the middle of winter. Early morning starts mean the whole of the van has to be heated up before the driver gets much benefit. I expect if a driver is using one of these vans commercially in a chilly (or hot) climate, a bulkhead would be a good idea, although we certainly do appreciate the LDV's heated seating and heated steering wheel.

Seating is pretty good in all vans with the Hyundai having the best. Its seating is shapely, with good lateral support. The Toyota seats look sturdy with durable covers; they are what we expect from what is ostensibly a fleet-spec van.

The LDV’s seats are good for longish distances and look well-trimmed. This is the only one of the trio with an armrest for the driver, which is a good inclusion.

Instrumentation is great in all vehicles with everything needed either in the form of gauges or scroll-through screens. I liked the Hyundai’s digital gauges that were set forward in a sort of quasi-head-up display. Very easy to see without having to lower the eyes. A nice touch.

The LDV looks the most modern inside with its 12.3-inch multimedia touchscreen and sweeping lines, but the screen was a bit fiddly to get to certain functions like the regen braking options (of which there are three) or the audio options, which included digital radio (all three vans have DAB+ digital radio).

Once again, I think my favourite here is the Hyundai, without taking too much away from the others.

As we work our way forward to lower emissions and a more sustainable transport industry, we have to consider electric vehicles. They’re not just coming, they’re here, and there are more on the way. And the LDV eDeliver 7 is a practical and easy-to-live-with example.

Sure, they are not for everyone and they won’t make a viable substitute for petrol or diesel in a lot of cases. However, in some instances – especially for businesses with repeatable runs and known daily mileages – an electric vehicle will slot in with ease. And in the long run they can, and will, save money – not just in fuel savings, but in total cost of ownership. So the future for vehicles such as the LDV eDeliver 7 looks bright, especially given this model's reasonable sticker price.

In the meantime, though, if you need a diesel van that will serve the purpose of a work-a-day delivery van, either the Hyundai Staria Load or the Toyota HiAce LWB will do nicely, with probably the Hyundai Staria Load having a slight edge.

2024 LDV eDeliver 7 High Roof at a glance:
Price: $73,674 drive away
Available: Now
Powertrain: Single permanent magnet synchronous motor
Output: 150kW/330Nm
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear
Battery: 88kWh lithium-ion
Range: 328km (WLTP)
Energy consumption (as tested): 25.6kWh/100km
Safety rating: Not tested

2024 Toyota HiAce LWB Van auto at a glance:
Price: $55,950 drive away
Available: Now
Engine: 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 130kW/450Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel economy: 8.0L/100km (ADR Combined)
Fuel economy (as tested): 9.8L/100km
CO2: 214g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star ANCAP (2019)

2024 Hyundai Staria Load Premium auto at a glance:
Price: $56,4548 drive away
Available: Now
Engine: 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 130kW/430Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel economy: 7.0L/100km (ADR Combined)
Fuel economy (as tested): 7.5L/100km
CO2: 183g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star ANCAP (2021)