Model review
The Hyundai Santa Fe is a mid-size SUV that first arrived on the scene in 2001. It makes use of rugged styling, so it looks like a proper off-roader, but is more of a family SUV than anything else. It was constantly updated throughout its lifecycle, gaining new engines and refreshed styling, until, in 2007, the second generation model arrived.
This second version entered the market sporting an all-new look, with Hyundai ditching some of the rugged styling in favour of a more road-orientated design. It definitely has more presence than the car that preceded it. Again, it was updated and revised throughout the following years, receiving a facelift in 2010 and a new grille for 2011.
The third-generation iteration began production in 2012. It built upon the look of the previous one but is much more modern inside and out. Its design is sharper and, although it didn’t receive quite as many updates as its predecessor, it felt reasonably up to date with the competition. That was until 2018 when the current fourth generation model arrived – and that’s on another level.
Current model
As stated previously, the current Santa Fe came out in 2018. Hyundai has really made the car look much more upmarket than the reasonable price suggests. In terms of the exterior, it certainly stands out – and not just because it’s a pretty big SUV. It’s aggressive front facia, with its bold cascading grille and slim headlights, is one of its most notable features.
The interior is not necessarily as interesting to look at as the exterior, which is a slight disappointment. It’s a nice place to be, there’s no doubt about that – but there’s not much going on in terms of flare and character. On the other hand, all the buttons are clearly laid out and everything is easy to use. Also, it is quite stylish as the door trim flows into the upper dashboard.
Get the Sante Fe onto the open road and you’ll find it’s a very comfortable cruiser. The ride is well-judged and deals with bumps and imperfections in the road nicely. Our only gripe is that the driving experience doesn’t inspire confidence. There’s not much feel through the steering and that results in handling that comes off as slightly vague.
Value for money
New Hyundai Santa Fe models are priced from £33,450, which is about in-line with its rivals, such as the £28,015 Peugeot 5008 and £37,020 Ford Edge. Cars in this segment tend to differ quite heavily in terms of pricing, so it’s nice to see the Santa Fe sit somewhat in the middle.
Cheapest Santa Fes – on the used market – will be first generation examples with high miles on-the-clock. That being said, they go for a bargain – as little as £650. Current generation models, on the other hand, are still rather new, meaning buyers will have to fork out £27,500 at the least to get one of those.
Looks and image
The latest Santa Fe is arguably the best-looking version of the model there’s ever been. It’s sharp and striking, although not too out-there, meaning the styling shouldn’t go as far as to offend anyone. It’s aggressive too, and looks rather sporty and confident with its narrow, slanting headlights. If a hot N version is produced – which isn’t an impossible thought in the performance SUV-filled world we live in today – it’ll only good to add even more appeal in this area.
Space and practicality
This is an area where the model excels. Cabin space is very good and there’s seven seats on offer. Although the rear-most row is really only meant for children, all passengers should easily be able to get comfortable. Even taller adults – bar the third row – shouldn’t have any complaints.
With the third row folded, boot space stands at a very respectable 625 litres – compared to rivals that’s about par. Fold the second row down, however, and suddenly there’s a whopping 1,625 litres to play with, so it’s possible to use the Santa Fe as a useful load-lugger.
Engines
The Santa Fe is currently only available with one diesel engine – no petrol, hybrid (on its way) or EV powertrains are offered as of yet. It’s 197bhp 2.2-litre can be had with a manual or automatic gearbox, with power being sent through a front- or four-wheel drive system.
It’s a pretty nippy motor and, when mated to the eight-speed automatic transmission, is able to get the Santa Fe from 0-60mph in 9.3 seconds – not bad for a family SUV. We would like more options in terms of engines, but luckily, they’re on the way and should be available to the car in the not too distant future.
Running costs
For quite a large SUV, the Santa Fe manages fairly good fuel economy figures. When fitted with the manual gearbox and front-wheel-drive, it’ll achieve a claimed 47.1mpg, while emitting just 158g/km of CO2. This shouldn’t differ too much if buyers spring for the automatic gearbox and four-wheel-drive. On the whole, it’s a reasonably economic diesel engine that should be relatively cheap to run.
Things to look out for
As the latest Santa Fe only arrived in the last year, it’ll be too early to fully predict how it’ll fair reliability-wise in the long-term. We can, however, look at Hyundai’s reliability as a manufacturer – which is pretty good and currently, it’s probably the best it’s ever been. In reliability surveys, very few owners are identifying faults with their cars within the first year of ownership. With this in mind, the Santa Fe should serve buyers well.
Rivals
For this, we’ll be excluding cars in the class which are a tad too upmarket to be in direct competition with the Santa Fe – such as the BMW X5, Audi Q7 and Mercedes GLE. With those out the way, the humble Hyundai is up against the likes of the Skoda Kodiaq, Peugeot 5008, Kia Sorento and Nissan X-Trail to name a few. However, the Santa Fe does stand out from the crowd for many reasons, including its striking styling and immense practicality.
Depreciation
Again, because the new Santa Fe hasn’t been around for that long at the time of writing, it’s difficult to pinpoint how well it’ll fare here. Currently, however, relatively new Santa Fes of the fourth generation should hold their value rather well, due to it being new and in a desirable class. In addition, it’s striking looks give it quite the presence out on the road and this should add to that too.
