Overall rating:

Hyundai's new Santa Fe is more expensive, but better equipped, better built, better to drive and better to look at. Enough justification for the price hike? Well, combined with the more efficient 2.2-litre diesel engine and five-year warranty, there's certainly a lot to like about the new large SUV.

Key Facts

Model tested: Hyundai Santa Fe Premium AWD Automatic
Pricing: £31,895
Engine: 2.2-litre, turbocharged four-cylinder diesel
Transmission: six-speed automatic, four-wheel drive
Body style: five-door SUV
Rivals: Chevrolet Captiva, Honda CR-V, Nissan X-Trail
CO₂ emissions: 159g/km
Economy: 41.5mpg
Top speed: 118mph
0-62mph: 10.2 seconds
Power: 197hp at 3,800rpm
Torque: 436Nm at 1,800rpm

In the Metal:

Parked next to the old car the new Hyundai Santa Fe looks like it's come from a different decade, and instead of buying one on price alone its sharp looks mean it is a car Mr Jones could be proud to show off. This third generation model is the latest iteration of the firm's 'Storm Edge' design principles and features sharp lines more reminiscent of the smaller ix35 than anything else. It's also 40mm longer, 5mm wider and 45mm lower than the previous car.

It's the same inside; gone are the shiny plastics and mismatched blue instrument screens, replaced instead with decent quality materials and integrated design details. The indicator stalk is even on the 'correct' side and the load space is larger than before, with the option to fold the middle row of seats with one boot-mounted lever. As before the rearmost seats aren't completely adult-sized, but then for this money you'll be hard pushed to find another rival with the full complement of chairs.

Driving it:

The 2.2-litre diesel engine is not only more efficient than before, but more refined too. In fact, in a bid to keep the noise down, the engineers have made the side windows from a thicker glass than before as well. There's still a distant rattle from the engine at low speeds, but it soon calms down as you accelerate and it's easy to find yourself driving faster than you might have expected if you don't pay attention to the speedometer.

Accelerate through a bend and you'll notice some body roll, but it's not noticeably any worse than its rivals in this department. It's the same story for the steering, which isn't especially sharp or talkative, but all of this makes for a comfortable, relaxed and composed motorway cruiser. Don't expect it to be a back-road ball of fire (after all, physics will eventually overtake engineering expertise in this department) and you'll be pleasantly surprised by its dynamic abilities.

The automatic gearbox even shifts smoothly and quickly, and we're pleased to note the new car has an electronic parking brake rather than the old fashioned and awkward foot-operated job in the old model. Sitting high the view out is pretty good, though the sharply rising window line to the rear can make reversing tricky - thankfully it comes with a reversing camera as standard in Premium specification.

What you get for your Money:

The biggest news here is insurance; while the old Santa Fe sat in group 29, the new car sits 10 positions lower in group 19. That's all down to help from Thatcham, especially in low-speed collisions where damage can result in large repair bills. The Santa Fe also comes with the firm's Five Year Triplecare warranty package, transferrable between owners, so not only will running costs be low but residuals relatively high as well.

It does cost £3,255 more than the previous Premium Auto 4WD model, but this new car is 11.6 per cent more fuel efficient, cheaper to insure and packed with more kit - the result is actually a long term saving.

Worth Noting

The Santa Fe features UK-specific dynamic tuning, using uprated dampers compared to the European version, and as such is the only market to get bespoke settings. Regardless, it's not overly stiff; most of the time the overlying feeling from the Santa Fe is one of comfort and only the sharpest and most abrupt of surface changes highlight a slight tendency for crashes or bangs to make their way into the cabin.

Summary

If you bought a previous generation Hyundai Santa Fe you did so because it was great value and incredibly worthy. It wasn't exciting to look at, far less so to drive and it never possessed an image worth shouting about. But with the new version the tables have been turned; here's a seven-seat SUV that looks good, drives well and continues to offer incredible value for money. And in doing so it wholeheartedly justifies any premium in its price.