Sunday Drive: Hyundai Santa Fe Limited

Sunday, 10 January 2021

Big grilles, like the one on refreshed Hyundai's Santa Fe, are the new normal, so you better get used to it. But peek behind the Santa Fe's big grille and there is a lot new under there.

HYUNDAI SANTA FE LIMITED
Base price: $89,990
Powertrain and economy: 2.2-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder, 148kW/440Nm, 8-speed dual clutch transmission, AWD, combined economy 6.1L/100km, CO2 159g/km (source: RightCar).
Vital statistics: 4785mm long, 1900mm wide, 1710mm high, 2765mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 571 litres, 20-inch alloy wheels.

We spent Christmas with the Hyundai Santa Fe Limited, so some seasonally-appropriate graffiti seemed suitably relevant.

Safety: Not tested yet (pre-facelift model 5 stars).
At a glance: Big and bold, the refreshed Santa Fe takes its comfort and luxury to new levels. Some may find that grille challenging though…

Love it or hate it, there is no getting away from the big chrome grille.

Who should consider it: Families and anyone wanting close-to-Euro levels of comfort and quality in a large SUV.

Hyundai doesn’t mess around when it refreshes a vehicle and the recently “facelifted” Santa Fe is a perfect example of that.

High quality and impressive luxury – the Santa Fe’s interior is a very nice place to spend time in.

While it certainly has a new, very bold face, things go much further than just skin deep, with a new interior and even an all-new platform sitting under the Korean manufacturer’s popular large SUV.

ON THE OUTSIDE

That big, bold face certainly is the dominant feature of the new Santa Fe and it is a rather polarising affair, easily falling into a ‘love it or hate it’ spectrum.

You can’t see them under the floor mat, but the Santa Fe does indeed have seven seats. And plenty of load space with them down.

**READ MORE:

* First Drive Review: Hyundai Santa Fe

* Road Test Review: Kia Sorento Premium

* Hyundai's Santa Fe is even newer than it looks

The engine carries over from the previous model, but is a smooth and refined operator, now hooked up to a wet clutch DCT.

* New Santa Fe most hi-tech SUV on the market, says Hyundai

Personally, I love it, but then I also think those weird goldfish with the bulging eyes are quite endearing too. But even if you hate it you sure can’t say it isn’t boldly distinctive and instantly recognisable, with its aggressive split lights and all that chrome.

The Santa Fe gets a refreshed rear end with a non-reflectorised red strip now connecting the taillights.

Personally I have more of an issue with the slightly fussy alloy wheel design than the big face, but at least you can stick some less ornate aftermarket ones if they really irk you. The grille could be a deal-breaker…

Other external changes are less bold, with a subtly redesigned rear leaving you thinking that maybe this is just a facelift after all.

ON THE INSIDE

Inside, however, things a very different, with a comprehensively updated and remarkably high-quality interior that proves Hyundai has not only leapfrogged the Japanese manufacturers in terms of interior quality, but is now bothering the Europeans.

Okay, so the Santa Fe Limited diesel we test here does cost a fraction under $90k, so arguably should have a great interior at the very least, but even by those cost standards the Santa Fe’s interior is a home run.

It may not be the most adventurous (that is reserved for its underpinnings-sharing relation the Kia Sorento and its fantastically sci-fi interior), but its spacious, airy lounge-like ambience is perfectly suited to the big, comfortable cruiser that it is.

The superbly comfortable leather seats are heated and ventilated, while the climate control system is brilliantly strong, much like the systems in Australian cars always used to be.

On the infotainment side, Hyundai continues its strong run with an excellent touchscreen system that has had its functionality enhanced with a revolutionary system called “buttons”, inspired by a similar system in the Nexo FCEV.

That’s right, Hyundai doesn’t hold with this “do everything on a touchscreen” nonsense, and the Santa Fe’s interior is, if not exactly awash with buttons, at least refreshingly well-equipped with the ones that make the most sense.

A brilliant digital dash is standard in the Limited and while it has the incredibly useful feature that pops up a small camera feed from the mirror when you indicate, they are a little too small and awkwardly located to be too much use.

Still, the level of technology and luxury packed into the Santa Fe is deeply impressive, easily justifying the asking price.

UNDER THE BONNET

Sadly, like its close Kia relation, the Santa Fe Limited still relies on diesel for its main motivation, using the same – admittedly excellent – refreshed 2.2-litre turbo diesel four-cylinder engine for motivation.

While it actually felt wildly out of place in the futuristic Sorento, it does feel more natural in the more conservative surroundings inside the Santa Fe and is a wonderfully strong engine that works exceptionally well with Hyundai’s new 8-speed wet clutch DCT (petrol models get conventional autos – a 6-speeder for the 2.5 and an 8-speeder for the V6).

While it is suitably smooth, refined and powerful, the upcoming petrol hybrid would probably still be our pick, but we wil see.

ON THE ROAD

While it has a new face and familiar body, the Santa Fe actually sits on an all-new platform that also underpins the Sonata, so it is rather unsurprisingly car-like.

This particular Santa Fe Limited was something of a conundrum on the open road though. While it was brilliantly composed and surprisingly agile for something so big, the ride on this particular example was unexpected firm and slightly brittle at open road speeds, something we didn’t experience during the launch late last year.

This one was also fitted with roof racks which increased wind noise in the cabin. Not massively, but it was noticeable. Nothing the excellent audio system couldn’t effortlessly drown out though…

Handling wise, the Santa Fe is exactly what it should be – surprisingly agile even though it leans towards comfort (inconsistent ride aside), with excellently-controlled body roll and a fantastically predictable nature.

VERDICT

Overall the new/facelifted (delete whatever you consider appropriate) Santa Fe is a fairly superb vehicle, with that slightly brittle open road ride being the only real niggle.

During my road test of the Kia Sorento I said that the new Santa Fe would have to be exceptionally good to be the top dog this time. Well, guess what – it is.

But then the Sorento Premium is still extremely good and a hefty $13,000 cheaper…