Hiace, Sprinter or Starex: Which Minibus to Book for 13 People

Count the people first, then the suitcases

A mistake that only shows up at boarding: the group is counted by heads, and the luggage isn’t counted at all. Thirteen people with carry-on bags ride comfortably in a Hiace. The same thirteen with large suitcases from the airport won’t fit: with luggage like that, a Hiace takes up to 9 people, otherwise bags end up in the aisle and on laps.

That’s why, when meeting a flight at the airport, we always double-check the luggage: a group with backpacks after a conference is one thing, a family with suitcases for two weeks is another. The same goes for weddings with props, sports teams with equipment and trips with tents.

A simple rule: if every passenger has a large suitcase, subtract about four seats from the capacity — in our Hiace, up to 9 people out of 13 travel with large suitcases.

• Up to 8 people — minivan class, a Starex or H-1.
• 9 to 13 people — a minibus, most often a Toyota Hiace.
• 14 people or more — a 16–19 seat Sprinter or two smaller vehicles.
• A large suitcase each — a 13-seat Hiace takes up to 9 people.

Toyota Hiace: 13 seats and the most familiar vehicle in Almaty

It’s no accident that the Hiace has become the de facto standard minibus in Kazakhstan. It is built for daily use, any repair shop can fix it, and parts are in stock rather than ordered from Europe. For a carrier that means predictability: the vehicle spends less time in the shop and so cancels bookings less often.

For passengers, other things matter more: thirteen seats in an air-conditioned cabin, a luggage area behind the last row, a power door and a proper aisle between the seats. The cabin isn’t designed for walking upright — an adult moves around bent over — but that hardly matters on a trip, because everyone is seated.

The Hiace is more compact than the Sprinter, and in the mountains that shows. It turns around in a residential courtyard, parks outside a restaurant, climbs the switchbacks to Medeu and handles dirt roads where a long vehicle already scrapes its underbody. Our minibus rental with driver is built on this class too.

• 13 seats, air conditioning, luggage space behind the last row.
• Parts and service are easy to find in Kazakhstan, so the vehicle is rarely off the road.
• Its size lets it work in tight courtyards, on switchbacks and on dirt roads.
• You sit in the cabin, not stand: there is no walking upright.

Mercedes Sprinter: 16–19 seats and a high roof

The Sprinter is the next step up in capacity. Passenger versions usually have 16–19 seats, many bodies have a high roof you can stand up straight under, and tourist versions sometimes have a separate luggage compartment. For a group traveling far with luggage, that is a real advantage.

The downside is size. A long Sprinter is less at home in tight courtyards, on narrow mountain roads and when turning around at viewpoints. It is heavier, uses more fuel, and maintenance and parts cost more than for Japanese minibuses. In the end, you see that in the rental price.

The conclusion is simple: look for a Sprinter when there really are more than thirteen people, or when cabin height is essential — for example, when the trip includes elderly passengers who would find it hard to move around bent over. In other cases, paying extra for the class doesn’t pay off.

• Usually 16–19 seats, often a high roof and a separate luggage compartment.
• Bigger and heavier: harder going on switchbacks, in courtyards and on dirt roads.
• Costlier to maintain and to fuel, which shows in the rental price.
• Worth it when the group is larger than 13 or cabin height matters.

Hyundai Starex and H-1: 7–11 seats, car-like comfort

The Starex and H-1 are closer to a large minivan than to a minibus: 7–11 seats, car-like seating, a softer ride, easier parking. For a group of six to eight, it is more comfortable than a Hiace, because it feels closer to a regular car and less like a work vehicle.

The limitations are clear too. The luggage space behind the last row is small: eight people’s suitcases won’t fit there, so some of the luggage rides in the cabin. On long routes such as a trip to the Kolsai Lakes, a full load is more tiring than in a minibus with a proper aisle.

One more detail that matters in practice: this is the class of vehicle rental companies hand out without a driver, since versions with up to 8 passenger seats fit within a category B license. An 11-seat Starex and a 13-seat minibus already require subcategory D1, and that is another story.

• 7 to 11 seats; seating and handling closer to a car.
• Little room for luggage — the main limitation of this class.
• Good for a group of 6–8 and short trips around the city.
• The only one of the three classes often rented out without a driver.

Mountain roads: Where the vehicle class matters most

In Almaty, almost any interesting trip ends with a climb. Medeu and Shymbulak mean 15–25 kilometers of switchbacks, the road to Kolsai is three hundred kilometers with a mountain section, and Charyn Canyon is 215 kilometers of highway plus the last few kilometers on a steppe dirt road.

On roads like these, size starts working against the vehicle. A mid-size minibus gets through where a long body needs a three-point turn, and it carries twice as many people as a minivan. That’s why most Almaty carriers’ fleets are made up of Hiaces, and on the mountain climbs — to Medeu, Turgen or up Big Almaty Gorge — they are what you see most often.

A separate note on fuel consumption. When you hire with a driver, you don’t pay for fuel separately — it is already in the trip price — but on long routes the vehicle’s fuel economy affects the carrier’s final price. How this is calculated is explained in detail in our article on what goes into the rental price.

What to choose for your situation

Below is a short cheat sheet for common scenarios. If yours isn’t on the list, tell us how many people are going and where — we’ll say plainly whether our vehicle fits; prices and rates for every format are on a separate page.

• Meeting guests at the airport, up to 9 people with large suitcases — a 13-seat minibus.
• A group of 6–8 on a weekend out of town — a Starex-class minivan.
• Wedding guest transfers in batches of 12–13 between two points — a minibus by the hour.
• A conference or outing for 25 employees — two minibus runs or a larger vehicle from another carrier.
• A trip into the mountains on dirt roads — a mid-size minibus, not a long body.

What we have and where our limit is

We have one vehicle — a 13-seat Toyota Hiace — and it always comes with a driver. We don’t have a Sprinter, don’t rent out minivans and don’t hand over a vehicle without a driver, so the comparison above is written to help you choose, even if the choice goes against us.

You can see what our vehicle looks like inside and out in the gallery of real photos: these are pictures of our Hiace, not catalog images from the internet. It is worth checking: with some carriers, the cabin in the ad and the cabin that shows up are not always the same.

If there are 20 of you, one vehicle can’t take everyone at once. The usual solution is two runs of one vehicle 40–60 minutes apart; if everyone needs to leave at the same time, we look for a partner minibus for your date. We discuss both options at the booking stage, not on the day of the trip.

• Our fleet — one 13-seat Toyota Hiace, with a driver only.
• Up to 13 passengers — one vehicle; 14–26 — two back-to-back runs or a partner minibus for your date.
• More than 26 people calls for a full-size bus, which we don’t have.