During the Holy Week, it seemed like the entirety of the Philippines had either gone abroad or out of town. Most streets within the city were eerily empty. That’s exactly why we thought it would be the best time to bring the Hyundai Stargazer around PH roads to see if this futuristic-looking spaceship can shake the segment up a little bit. Here are our thoughts on the vehicle split into several segments.

That Design Is Astounding

We loved this extraterrestrial design language on the Hyundai Staria, and we’re more than happy to see it here too. There is no doubt that the Hyundai Stargazer is a neck breaker, especially on PH streets. That front light bar is truly a sight to behold – coming into its own especially at night.

Since its chinky appearance looks like it has compromised the road-illuminating capabilities here, a beefy pair of LED headlamps reside on both corners of the grille. Overall, it’s an attractive front fascia.

The vehicle sits handsomely on 16-inch two-tone alloy wheels.

Meanwhile, the rear design reminds us of a fractal origami-style aesthetic. It’s sharp, modern, and exudes sleek sophistication. It does enough for the Hyundai Stargazer to stand out among other PH market MPVs, but doesn’t look gaudy in the slightest. At least, not for us.

The Cabin Is A Nice Place To Be In

Moving to the inside, the Stargazer presents a clean interior that presents everything nicely. It’s clear that this was engineered with both everyday practicality and longevity in mind. While the colors are mostly varying shades of black and grey, this is enough variety to keep the interior looking interesting and premium. There aren’t a lot of piano black plastics here which we very much prefer.

Some of these are even concealed storage cubbies for you to put more things in.

The 8-inch Touchscreen display at the center is compatible with Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto. It’s bright, responsive, and actually feels like a modern-day consumer tablet strapped into the cluster. That’s already far superior to the head units found in some bestselling models within this segment. Since it’s wireless, then you can leave your smartphone on the Qi wireless charging pad as you drive along. Save for the occasional glitches associated with wireless Auto/CarPlay, we have no complaints on this end whatsoever.

The same can be said about the digital gauge cluster, which isn’t necessarily a high-tech display but is adequate for the job.

Some may complain that they’ve installed knobs instead of screens for the A/C controls. While we understand, the symmetry of each circle feels very in tune with the interior’s overall design language of rounded shapes. As we said earlier, there is elegance in simplicity.

At night, these blue cupholder illuminations give off a radiant glow that’s not often associated with the segment. We’re impressed to even receive any type of ambient lighting in the Stargazer, but the deep blue that this brings into the cabin is undeniably calming.

Rear Occupants Get Special Treatment

Traffic in the PH may be excruciating as it is, but spending time in the Hyundai Stargazer isn’t a tough ordeal. Rear passengers are spoiled with amenities such as folding tables for snacks, paperwork, or whatever you may need to put on it. It made our friends feel like they were on a flight rather than seated in an MPV.

There’s also a generous helping of space, considering that both front and rear passengers are in the 5’8-5’9 range. We’re absolutely confident that much taller passengers won’t find much difficulty fitting into the second-row seats of the Stargazer. Two USB ports and a small storage cubby lie behind the center console.

Passengers in the third row aren’t limited to children and amputees either. While there’s obviously less space here than the row before it, we found ourselves comfortable in these seats during an extended drive. There are also cupholders and storage compartments on either side, as well as a 12V power outlet for charging.

Don’t need the extra seats? Fold it down for some sweet, sweet storage space.

While the lack of a vanity mirror may be a bit shocking, the Stargazer is still an awesome place to be in.

It’s Actually Fun To Drive

Normally, buying an MPV means that you either don’t care about driving dynamics or have made the necessary sacrifices in pursuit of people-carrying utility. So imagine our surprise when we found that the PH model Hyundai Stargazer came installed with a dedicated Drive Mode button.

The difference between each Drive Mode selection is quite drastic. Sure, it doesn’t have adaptive suspension like a top-shelf performance car would, but the throttle definitely comes to life in Sport mode. It brings all 115PS of the 1.5-liter SmartStream engine to life. Maybe we just didn’t expect much (if anything) out of an MPV that this was able to put a smile on our faces. One thing’s for sure: you won’t have any issues overtaking here, since the powertrain and IVT work together in close harmony.

Safety Is A Priority

Another all-important consideration on PH roads, the Hyundai Stargazer comes equipped with an advanced safety suite. That consists of six airbags, a rear-view monitor, and an onboard Tire Pressure Monitoring System.

In addition to that, this also carries the Hyundai SmartSense Technology Suite. That includes features such as Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, Lane Follow Assist, High Beam Assist, Rear-Cross Traffic Collision Avoidance Assist, and plenty of others. There were admittedly some times when one or two of these features felt a bit obtrusive, but that’s only our stance as experienced drivers who have a better grasp of the vehicle’s exact dimensions.

For new or beginner drivers, this safety suite spoonfeeds you to ensure that you don’t get into accidents and help make life easier in general.

Hyundai Stargazer Price PH

The Stargazer starts off at a price of PHP 1.068M, while this range-topping GLS Premium IVT model will set you back PHP 1.288M. Check out more details here!