Special thanks to Joshua Kurniawan, reporting from GIIAS 2023, Tangerang, Indonesia.
It’s been two years since our last visit to the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS) — an annual motor show held in Tangerang, Indonesia – and this time, we’re back to keep exploring the cars sold in this part of the world, most of which we unfortunately never get to see on our side of the pond. And once again, the show was quite a blast, featuring hundreds of vehicles from 25 participating manufacturers.
The displayed vehicles vary from the Citroen’s Amy buggy to the super rare $2.3 million Lamborghini Essenza SCV12. There were also several market-specific new car launches and the world debut of the latest Mitsubishi Xforce compact crossover.
Interestingly, while the US market is all about large SUVs, the Indonesian automotive market, on the other hand, is still largely dominated by minivans and MPVs, known for their comfort and practicality. And since we’ve done a piece covering the unique MPVs sold in this country two years ago, we thought this was the perfect time for a part two.
So, reporting from GIIAS 2023, here are more MPVs from the other side of the world.
Hyundai Stargazer
For years, compact MPVs in Indonesia have always been dominated by Japanese manufacturers like Toyota, Honda, and Suzuki. But recently, Hyundai decided to hop on the trend with the Stargazer. And despite its rather late appearance in the segment, the vehicle is said to be a complete package. Indeed, this robocop-looking small MPV seems to excel in every department, at least on paper.
Indeed, for a compact MPV to be deemed suitable for the Indonesian market, it needs to offer three-row seating, high ground clearance, and decent comfort features. Of course, since the Stargazer is a new player in the segment, it had more than enough time to learn from its competitors and try to outperform them. Design-wise, we definitely have to admit that it looks more futuristic than its rivals.
Still, while a vehicle of this size would probably be powered by a juicy sub-200 horsepower engine, the Stargazer is only fitted with a rather small 1.5l naturally-aspirated four-cylinder producing 113 hp and 106 lb-ft of torque and connected to a CVT/six-speed manual gearbox sending power to the front axle. It might not sound like much, but compact minivans with similar powertrain configurations are quite popular in Southeast Asia.
Leaving the small engine aside, the Stargazer is actually quite roomy despite its petite size. It measures 175.6 inches long and offers 20.7 cubic feet of cargo space when the third seat is folded. It has tons of storage and cupholders, and you can opt for captain seats for the second row.
In addition, one of the perks of being a small MPV is that it doesn’t have to be expensive. It starts from just under $17,000 — what a bargain!
Toyota Kijang Innova Zenix
Despite being late to the party, hybrids and EVs have just started becoming popular in this land of a thousand islands and the Indonesian government shows full support towards an electric future by providing incentives to EV owners. However, infrastructures for supporting the EV lifestyle are still minimal, leading consumers to opt for more hybrids instead. Hence, Toyota made a bold but smart move by giving its best-selling MPV, the Innova, a hybrid powertrain.
For years, the Toyota Innova has been famously known and loved for its impressive reliability, rear-wheel drive configuration, ladder-on frame chassis, and diesel powertrain. Sounds familiar? Yes, the previous generation shared the same recipe as the Land Cruiser, only in a much more affordable format. No need to say that the latest iteration switching to a hybrid powertrain, monocoque chassis, and front-wheel drive does spark some fury.
That said, this third-gen Toyota Innova is actually better than ever when it comes to being a proper Asian MPV. It features a higher ground clearance and a more spacious cabin than its predecessors, thanks to the new TNGA-C platform — and many forgave the small flaws after experiencing the three-row seating with plenty of legroom in the second row.
Powertrain-wise, the Innova shares the same engine as the latest Prius, a fifth-gen M20A-FKS hybrid powertrain with a few adjustments to fit the lower quality of the local fuel. As a result, the engine produces a lower power figure than the Prius sold in the US at 184 hp. However, the Innova is also offered with a non-hybrid 2.0l naturally-aspirated four-cylinder producing 173 hp. If you fancy this kind of SUV in minivan clothing, it’ll set you back from $27,000 to $39,000.
➤ Read more: First Look: 2023 Toyota Innova – TNGA-Based Minivan in SUV Clothes
Nissan Serena
The Nissan Serena is a mid-sized proper minivan with sliding doors, a pretty niche segment in Indonesia, with only the Toyota Voxy as the sole competitor.
It’s a seven-seater minivan, offering an even more spacious interior than Toyota’s Innova Zenix at a similar price point. While some may see it as a boring soccer mom van, it’s actually very practical and offers great value; even the seats are some of the most comfortable I’ve tried in a budget MPV.
One of Serena’s party pieces is the rear dual cargo doors, where you can only open the rear window without opening the whole hatch. It also comes with touchless sliding doors, perfect for opening the doors when carrying a child or groceries. Unfortunately, its lack of ground clearance does reduce peace of mind when trying to tackle areas with badly maintained roads, which is not an uncommon occurrence in Indonesia.
It’s powered by an adequate 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine producing 148 hp and 147 lb-ft of torque sent to the front wheels through a CVT gearbox. While it’s a pretty old-school setup, a hybrid variant is expected to come soon.
Hyundai Staria
Moving to the premium segment, the Hyundai Staria starts at a mere $60,000, which may seem pretty steep for what is basically a cargo van converted into a people carrier. Still, unlike the Stargazer, this van is huge; at 206 inches long, it’s easily the largest vehicle on this list.
The exterior features bronze accents all around, and several design elements are clearly sourced from Hyundai’s EV lineup, such as the pixelated taillights. I personally think it looks a little bit tedious, especially with its high roofline and large side windows. Speaking of which, a hint that the Staria is based on a cargo van is the middle-row windows that don’t slide down like other normal MPVs.
On the upside, Staria’s interior is truly massive. The base variant is a nine-seater that can accommodate nine adults comfortably. You can also get the seven-seater version with large captain seats. But for the ultimate experience, Hyundai is also collaborating with a third-party local modification house to build the Staria Lombardi, turning the back row into a first-class-like cabin by installing a partition between the first and second rows to create a private space. The partition features smart glass with adjustable tint and a popup television — but get ready to spend upward of $100,000 for this trim.
The Staria is powered by Hyundai’s 2.2-liter CRDi inline-4 turbo-diesel, producing 175 hp and 317 lb-ft of torque, connected to an eight-speed automatic transmission. Sadly, being a massive MPV with a small engine, the fuel consumption isn’t that impressive, with a recorded 23.5 MPG.
Lexus LM / Toyota Alphard
The Lexus LM might just be the world’s most expensive minivan. At around $200,000 for the range-topper, this minivan offers pretty close to Bentley’s luxury level. It comes with a series of lavish features, such as endless legroom, super plush rear pilot seats, and a 48-inch television.
Despite being smaller than Hyundai’s Staria, the LM offers more legroom and space since it only seats four people. It’s so spacious it would laugh at the cabin space specs you’d get with any Rolls-Royces or Mercedes-Maybachs. Also, the partition separating the driver’s row to the rear passengers comes as standard.
Apart from the large TV, some highlighted features include rear seats with a body temperature sensor adjusting climate conditions based on the occupants’ preferences. It’s also equipped with an adaptive variable suspension with frequency-sensitive piston valves to provide a true riding-on-cloud feel.
That said, while the Lexus may be out of budget for most people, it has a Toyota-badged twin named the Alphard that starts at a more affordable $100,000, a clear go-to choice for Indonesian executives. You’ll get pretty much the same thing as the Lexus, except that it has seven seats, a bright interior color, and different badging.
Both the Lexus LM and Toyota Alphard are powered by a fairly adequate 2.5-litre petrol hybrid producing 250 hp and 176 lb-ft. But it’s very unlikely you would care about any of that since you’ll be driven around by a chauffeur anyway.
Last Words
It’s worth noting most of these cars are designed and built for this tropical country, with different customer tastes, climates, and road conditions than the US. It also explains why some of them offer less power than we’d usually prefer here in America and why they never got the chance to enter our market.
Still, as flawed as they might be in terms of power, they still make excellent people carriers you can use on a daily basis, with top-notch practicality and easy maintenance.
What do you think of these unique minivans from that side of the world? Would you like to see any of them offered on our shore — maybe with a different engine?
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