The 'soft-roader' has become a popular choice as a family wagon, so much so that many focus more on on-road behaviour than mud plugging ability, reflecting the most likely end user of their cars. This trend has been on the rise for around ten years now and most manufacturers are now on their second bite of the cherry in the class. Hyundai's outgoing Santa Fe was a functional but flawed offering, leaning a little too far towards old school off roader manners for our liking, though it sold well across Europe.
The moment you see the new car you know it is going to be better; less awkward and quirky, the exterior styling is bang up to date and much akin to similar cars such as the
Nissan Murano or Lexus RX. Indeed, remove the badging and most people would be unable to tell you what make the car was; if the Lexus RX did look like this, there wouldn't be many complaints. The Hyundai Santa Fe is a big car, but it carries its bulk well. It has the usual SUV traits such as roof bars and big alloys to complement the Tonka-toy ride height.
Inside the new Santa Fe is a somewhat less successful execution of contemporary design, with some rather naff faux wood/plastic trim in questionable colour. It's not obvious why designers would think that this is nice to touch or look at; it isn't either and usually a swathe of brushed aluminium is much more pleasing on the eye. Elsewhere the choice of plastics and moulding around the cabin could do with some improvement but it isn't bad overall.
The principal feature of the cabin is the fact that there is now the option of three rows of seats (for £1,000 more than the five-seat version) offering no less than seven pews, something no rival short of a Land Rover Discovery offers. The third row of seats is only really useful for children, but that is probably half the point. When not in use they fold flush to the boot floor allowing for a generous load space; indeed the second row folds flat as well giving an exceedingly generous total area.
A third row of seats does come at the expense of space in the front two rows in terms of legroom, but this is only an issue if moving several tall occupants. Four adults travelled in the car during its week with us and there were no complaints. The seats themselves are comfortable and leather trimmed and the cabin features the usual array of cubbies and storage for oddments, as well as drinks holders, and several 12-volt power supplies are usefully placed in the cabin and boot.
The whole thing is certainly well screwed together and fits well. The dash is well laid out in terms of dials and gauges, backlit in a tasteful blue, and the switchgear is equally well thought out and easy to locate and use. Several controls are located on the steering wheel for convenience, also back lit in blue. The cabin actually looks much better in the dark than it does in daylight.
Occupants benefit from dual-zone climate control and a decent stereo to ease their journey as the miles while by. Something they are likely to do for some time thanks to the Santa Fe's refined and unruffled cruising potential, a 35mpg fuel economy at a lope and a generous 75-litre fuel tank.
At the heart of the package lies Hyundai's 2.2-litre four-cylinder common rail turbodiesel, in this guise offering 148bhp and a substantial 247lb.ft of torque between 1800 and 2500rpm. In practice the torque curve feels flatter than that with the wave only beginning to subside above 3500rpm. Our test car was fitted with an automatic transmission that did an admirable job of smoothing gear changes and judging shift points.
Performance is impressive for a car weighing in not far shy of 1900kg with 0-62mph in a claimed 11.6 seconds and a maximum of 111mph. The engine's real forte however, is refinement. It's quiet and fuss free in all but the furthest upper reaches of the rev range, where you'd seldom go in practice. Economy is also good with an average of 28mpg during our week; admirable considering the energy sapping auto 'box and substantial kerb weight.
The Sante Fe drives well too. The four-wheel drive system only engages the rear wheels when it detects slip so for the most part the Santa Fe is effectively a very large front-wheel drive. Yes, it does eventually understeer, but driven with consideration for its size and bulk it can actually be quite fun, with plenty of grip and well contained body roll. The down side of this is that the ride could be a little better; the suspension never really settles, which is a shame given the other dynamic capabilities.
Ultimate off-road capability will be limited by the lack of a low transfer ratio gearbox and ground clearance, but in the main vehicles such as this are faced with nothing more arduous than the school run, worst case towing a horsebox or boat up a slippery incline - something the Santa Fe should handle with ease.
Ill-judged interior trim and overly busy ride aside it really is hard to find any other real negatives about the Hyundai Santa Fe. The fact it is priced in typically aggressive Hyundai fashion, with a benchmark warranty, makes it a very hard package to beat indeed. Hyundai's rise continues unabated in the niche sectors. If it produced similar offerings in the mass-market classes the competition would be worried.
This is, all things considered, the best car Hyundai makes, or has made, period. The Santa Fe offers comparable abilities to the majority of rivals, indeed some functionality beyond many due to the extra seats, but sustains its pricing (£23,000 for the car we tested) and warranty advantages. Brows are no doubt furrowing throughout the product management of Hyundai's rivals. The Santa Fe is another warning shot across their bows, and a big one at that.
Hyundai Santa Fe UK range overview
- Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2 CRTD GSI man : £22,020
- Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2 CRTD GSI auto : £23,020
- Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2 CRTD CDX man : £23,820
- Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2 CRTD CDX auto : £24,820
- Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2 CRTD CDX+ man : £25,020
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Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2 CRTD CDX+ auto : £26,020
- Hyundai Santa Fe 2.7 V6 CDX auto : £24,840
- Hyundai Santa Fe 2.7 V6 CDX+,auto : £26,040
The prices above are for the seven-seat versions. All models may be specified in five-seat configuration for a reduction of £1,000.
