Santa Fe leaves rivals trailing
SUV buyers aren’t exactly short of options nowadays. Whatever size you want, whether you want a proper off-roader or a crossover, or if you want a practical people carrier or something more coupe-like, manufacturers have a model for you. It’s certainly a crowded market.
So the all-new Hyundai Santa Fe has a job on its hands, cutting through all the noise and myriad of choices. This latest fourthgeneration of the Korean firm’s family SUV certainly has plenty of competition but it’s building on solid foundations as the previous version has consistently sold around 4,000 units a year over its five-year life.
The new car is the latest step up the constant ladder of improvement that is the history of the Santa Fe. The exterior design is bolder and more striking being longer and wider, and having a longer wheelbase and shorter overhangs which help to give it a look of a chunky, high-riding, sporty estate on steroids.
The front is dominated by a cascading grille which is flanked by two sets of lights and underlined by air intakes. There are changes to the side profile too as the shoulder line crease no longer rises up towards the rear which enables the fitment of larger rear windows – research showed that customers wanted more light in the rear and this new design addresses this.
Hyundai is keeping things simple when it comes to the engine options: there’s just the one. The 2.2-litre turbo-diesel unit, carried over from the previous generation, complies with the new Euro 6C emissions standards – which means owners won’t have to worry about the new regulations on clean air zone – and produces 194bhp.
A plug-in hybrid will join the range late next year. We know from the previous Santa Fe that this existing turbo-diesel engine is powerful and refined and while the 0 to 60mph time is 9.1 seconds, we know from past experience that there’s plenty of pull, even for a large car such as the Santa Fe.
There’s also a brand new eight-speed automatic gearbox. It’s a smooth-shifting unit but eight gears are perhaps too many for regular driving. In an attempt to engage the highest possible – and therefore most efficient – gear, it can sometime feel in a hurry to change gear only to shift again if you lift off the throttle.
However, thankfully it’s not a nervous feeling and doesn’t lead