Hyundai Santa Fe joins the Elite of SUVs
HYUNDAI South Africa has endowed its Santa Fe with a mid-life tweak, including revised styling and the addition of a standard navigation system along with a number of convenience and safety upgrades.
As part of the update the Korean brand’s large luxury SUV, on sale here since January 2013, acquires a Smart Cruise Control system that maintains a safe following distance in traffic, automatically decreasing the speed or accelerating to a pre-set cruise in line with traffic conditions.
Also new is a Blind Spot Detection system that lights up a visual alert on the relevant exterior mirror if you change lanes into the path of an unsighted car. RearCross Traffic Alert (RCTA) reduces the risk of collision with approaching traffic when reversing out of narrow areas with low visibility.
A handy new feature is a Smart Power Tailgate that opens and closes at the push of a button. If your hands are full of shopping or luggage, a clever hands-free function opens the tailgate automatically when you approach the vehicle (as long as you have the key on you), without you having to swipe your foot under the bumper.
The two models are a five-seater twowheel drive and a seven-seater all-wheel drive, both in high-specification Elite trim.
Space in Hyundai’s updated SUV now becomes even roomier for second-row passengers as the sliding seats get an extra 15mm of travel.
The facelift comprises restyled front and rear lights, along with a redesign for the grille and the tailpipes.
Mechanically the Santa Fe is unchanged and both derivatives are powered as before by a 2.2-litre turbodiesel with outputs of 145kW and 436Nm, coupled to a six-speed automatic transmission with normal, sport and eco modes.
This is a smooth and gutsy powerplant that had no problem shifting this big SUV around when I drove it at the media launch. It cruises effortlessly and is surprisingly economical too, with the computer reading around 7.8 litres per 100km on the mostly open-road driving we did.
The factory-fitted touchscreen navigation system was also notably user-friendly and intuitive to use.
PRICES Santa Fe 2.2 2WD 5-seater Elite – R659 900 Santa Fe 2.2 4WD 7-seater Elite – R699 900 Includes five-year/150 000km warranty and fiveyear/90 000km service plan.