Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid

Overview

HYUNDAI’S Santa Fe large segment SUV has been available for a couple of years now attracting reasonable sales considering the polarising bread van appearance and high standard of competition.

The base model Santa Fe all-wheel drive hybrid (tested) goes for a not insignificant $60,650 plus on-road costs, and is up against a few direct competitors in Toyota’s Kluger from $62,410 + ORC and the Kia Sorento S from $59,630 + ORC.

A swag of Chinese alternatives is also available across HEV and PHEV powertrains at similar or less money.

Power comes from Hyundai’s ubiquitous 1.6-litre four-cylinder SmartStream direct injected and turbocharged petrol engine and (44.2kW) electric motor hybrid driveline offering 172kW and 367Nm of total system output. Battery storage is listed at 1.49kWh.

The combination drives the wheels via a conventional six-speed automatic transmission with torque vectoring via what Hyundai calls eMotion Drive optimising grip/traction.

Now in its sixth generation, Santa Fe has plenty of appeal with the seven-seat base model tested a good choice for family of five especially if they need plenty of cargo space (up to 1949 litres) and don’t require the third row.

Further boosting practicality are fold flat second and third row seats.

The generously proportioned petrol/electric all-wheel drive Santa Fe base model driven is replete with front, side and rear parking sensors plus a 360-degree camera system, rain-sensing wipers, rear occupant alert, adaptive cruise control, and much more.

Upholstery is a serviceable cloth material, and the front seats are heated.

The dash is dominated by a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and 12.3-inch multimedia array with media system highlights including DAB+ digital radio reception, wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Bluetooth connectivity.

Dual-zone climate control with dedicated third row fan control is operated using a 6.6-inch touch display, the driver’s seat has power adjustment, keyless entry is included with push-button start, and all four windows have auto up/down.

The vehicle functions can be accessed via Hyundai’s Bluelink smartphone app which enables over-the-air updates for major vehicle systems. Also standard is a single wireless phone charger.

Hyundai Bluelink connected car services is complimentary for five years.

Exterior highlights include 20-inch alloy wheels, LED taillights, and ‘Hyper silver’ grille finish. Cladding is black plastic while the grille is a silver tone.

Standard safety equipment is generous across the new Santa Fe range, including 10 airbags and a comprehensive list of Hyundai’s SmartSense active safety technologies.

These include forward collision avoidance with junction turning and crossing features, lane change and keeping functions, driver steering assist and auto evasive steering assist, blind-spot view and collision avoidance, safe exit assist, speed limit assist, driver attention warning, high beam assist, adaptive cruise control, rear cross-traffic alert, and rear occupant reminder.

Four ISOFIX and five top-tether child seat mounts are included.

The Hyundai Santa Fe is backed by a conditional seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty and eight-year/160,000km high voltage battery warranty.

Driving Impressions

Styling appreciation is a subjective thing and, in our case, we are not fans of the boxy Santa Fe particularly the rear treatment that seems to slope up and out from the bumper, exacerbated by low tail-lights that are a further jarring note in our opinion.

The use of H branded lights front and rear is a little bit twee we think and the wheel design could do with revision (Ed: we know that a revision is on its way soon).

It’s not all bad as the square front has a purposeful, commercial vehicle vibe and Hyundai has dressed up the body with sundry hardware such as roof rails and subtle wheel arch trims to lift its appearance.

Hopefully the next Santa Fe addresses the bread van looks of this one and also hopefully it doesn’t follow Kia down the path of polarising (some would say ugly) car design.

We’d like to see a rethink of the drive by wire gear selector that clutters the right side of the steering wheel and the heavily screen based menu controls are at times annoying, potentially distracting.

On test we only experienced about half a dozen Bluetooth dropouts.

We like the big comfy seats in the front, less so the middle and rear pews which are of necessity smaller, but they fold flat into the floor which is a bonus.

Other aspects of the stylish interior are first rate – the varied fascia material and colours, uncluttered horizontal planes and the two wireless phone chargers stand out. Though wide, the screens aren’t too big, and a smattering of analogue buttons access often used functions.

We couldn’t care less about gimmicks like the UV steriliser or the ambient mood lighting, but the bi-directional console lid and gesture tailgate are handy.

Being the base model dictates cloth upholstery which is OK by us as it’s easy to clean, comfortable to sit on, means you don’t get burnt on hot days and looks pretty good into the bargain.

The dual-zone climate control is efficient across all three rows and the Bose audio is a cracker.

As expected, the car’s ADAS was intrusive and distracting and a pain to turn off at each restart.

The auto high beam had a mind of its own, the driver distraction monitor was just that and the active lane keeping a continual source of annoyance… among other things.

It makes you wonder how much longer do we have to deal with overbearing and over sensitive, potentially dangerous alleged ADAS?

Though we are possibly diesel dinosaurs when it comes to utes and SUVs, the petrol-electric hybrid Santa Fe is a decent alternative if you don’t require a 3500kg towing capacity as it maxes out at 2000kg.

The feel from behind the wheel is similar to a turbodiesel but smoother as the Santa Fe’s driveline kicks out plenty of torque from low in the rev range with the added benefit of spinning out to higher revs than an oiler.

Though portly at two tonnes, the Santa Fe hybrid delivers decent performance across the spectrum of driving environments, tootling happily around town using little or no fuel, spinning up to highway speed in a blink and cruising at high speed with minimal intrusion by way of NVH.

Acceleration off the mark is quick and with both power sources working in unison, the Santa Fe may accurately be described as fleet footed.

Dynamically, the strut/multi-link suspension does a capable job of stabilising the weighty Santa Fe eliciting tidy, relatively flat cornering, supple bump absorption without deflection and responsive steering (for a family wagon). The premium tyres offer excellent grip and braking is strong.

In our pothole strewn suburb, the Santa Fe proved to be a handy tool dodging endless divots or occasionally soaking them up.

Though purportedly capable of off-road driving, we would suggest that be restricted to dirt roads in the Santa Fe at which it is a good thing.

It has three mode regenerative brakes that function as one pedal driving for much of the time saving fuel into the bargain.

Sipping cheaper 91 RON fuel is a bonus (as it’s about 50 cents a litre less than diesel at the time of writing) and during our stint with the Santa Fe we averaged about 6.5 litres per 100km giving a potential 1000km range from the 67-litre tank.

We like the Santa Fe from a driver’s seat perspective as it goes well, has decent dynamics for a porky family carryall, is relatively frugal and offers oodles of room – and you don’t have to plug it in for a measly 100km or less electric driving.

It’s a great get-in-and-go proposition, easily passing the Sydney to Dubbo non-stop test. A shame, then, it won’t win a beauty prize anytime soon.