It’s a pity they forget to make them memorable
Seven seats, four-wheel drive and endless family-friendliness: the Santa Fe has everything except charisma. By Chris Chilton
‘Remember that big SUV we hired in America a couple of years ago,’ I told my partner when I heard we’d be running a Santa Fe. ‘It’s the new version of that.’
Except it isn’t. The US road-trip rental was actually a Kia Sorento. Oops. But that’s frequently been the trouble with Korean cars. The engineering is solid, the value for money unquestionable. But they’re often as memorable as muzak.
Or at least they were. The Kia Soul, Hyundai i30N and Kia Stinger have all shown they can do substance and style as well as long warranties. That confidence carries over to this new fourth-generation Santa Fe, a jumbo-jeep with a starting price not far off £35,000.
Aimed at cars like the Skoda Kodiaq, Nissan X-Trail, Peugeot 5008 and the Santa Fe’s own cousin, the Kia Sorento, the Hyundai looks expensive at first glance. You’ll pay around £26k to get into a basic Kodiaq or 5008, but the leanest Santa Fe will set you back £33,425.
Dig deeper into the spec and it’s easy to explain the difference. The entry-level 5008 and Kodiaq come with puny engines, little kit and endless options lists.
That’s not the Hyundai way. There are only three Santa Fe trims (SE, Premium and Premium SE), only one engine (a 2.2-litre diesel), and they all come with seven seats.
The toys includes adaptive cruise, auto braking and lane departure warning. Premium adds leather, a bigger touchscreen, heated front and rear seats, keyless entry and premium hi-fi, while our Premium SE tops that with a panoramic roof, cornering lights, a head-up display and 360º parking cameras.
In fact there are only two options available on the Premium SE. The first is your choice of paint should you not fancy the standard Horizon Red pearl finish. The second is a full four-wheel-drive transmission in place of the standard front-drive.
The middle row slides back and forth and the final row folds neatly under the floor when not in use. You can also fold one section of each of the two back rows down to create a long loadbay and still have seating for three, which means I’ll be able to take my kids surfing without having to fork out for a new set of Kia-specific feet for my Thule roof bars and board carrier. Did I say Kia? Only kidding. But the Santa Fe has six months to convince us it’s worth making the effort to remember.
Rivals come with puny engines and endless options lists, but that’s not the Hyundai way