Hyundai Santa Fe Review
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Hyundai Santa Fe Tested March 2006
Rating
Quick Summary
Recommended. It's good to drive, it looks good and it's now available with the option of seven seats.
Road Test
This Santa Fe is a very different prospect to the car it replaces, having grown considerably in both size and price. Hyundai goes so far as to claim that it's now competing in the next segment up - and the optional seven seat practicality certainly wins it the right for consideration against more prestigious rivals.
Lexus-like design isn't particularly original, but the Santa Fe looks good and projects a solid, classy air. Inside the transformation over the old model is even more striking, with a cabin trimmed with quality materials and a well designed dashboard. There's also an integrated stereo in place of the previous aftermarket item. Our only real complaint is with the terrible plastic-wood trim.
It's good on the road, too - thanks to a driving position that's comfortable over longer journeys and decent rear seat space. The optional seven seat layout (which also includes self-levelling rear suspension) is likely to be popular among those with young families, combining SUV ruggedness with near-MPV practicality. The third row works well, collapsing easily into the boot floor and offering an impressive amount of space (although young kids will have difficulty seeing out of the high windows.) Boot space is reasonable with the rearmost seats collapsed, but tight with them upright.
The petrol engine has been dropped, which leaves only the 2.2 litre CRDI turbodiesel. The diesel was upgraded to 194 bhp in 2010 and gives very decent performance along with a combined fuel consumption figure of 41.5 with the manual transmission. It can also be specified with a smooth-shifting five-speed automatic gearbox which suits it well. Ride and handling are impressively composed, with refinement only marred by excessive wind noise from the top of the doors and windscreen at motorway cruising speeds.
It might lack the badge appeal of its upmarket rivals - but in terms of design and dynamics, the Santa Fe runs them impressively close.
Next: ratings and breakdown
We like:
1. Handsome styling
2. Painless driving experience
3. Brilliant third-row seats
We don't like:
1. Starts-with-a-2 pricetag
2. Horrendous fake wood trim.
3. Loud diesel engine
Sum up:
Most fun: 2.7 V6 CDX
Most sensible: 2.2 CRDT GSI 7-seat
Worst: 2.2 CRDT CDX-plus 5-seat
