Hyundai Santa Fe 2013 Review

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory & delivery charges): $45,990
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): Metallic Paint $595
Crash rating: TBA
Fuel: Diesel
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 7.3
CO2 emissions (g/km): 192
Also consider: Ford Territory (from $39,990); Holden Captiva7 (from $38,490); Kia Sorento (from $36,490); Mazda CX-9 (from $44,425)

Sometimes the most unlikely cars attract the most attention. The motoring.com.au crew gets to sample some weird and wonderful machinery and, for the most part, it goes largely unnoticed by the general public… Then there's the new Hyundai Santa Fe...

In short, I can’t remember the last time I had so many people stop and ask me about a car I’ve driven over a weekend. Usually you need to be piloting an Italian supercar or an extravagant German coupe before you’re requisitioned with “Can I have a look, mate?”

But stopping the Santa Fe in shopping centre carparks, service stations and even at the traffic lights inquisitive mums and dads seemed eager to get an opinion from the man at the wheel. Wanting to know how it feels, how it drives and how much it cost. And, perhaps oddly, how big the wheels were.

So, here it is…

The new Santa Fe marks a welcome departure from Hyundai’s Fluidic Sculpture design theme. The model is shaped to what Hyundai calls its Storm Edge design theme -- one aimed particularly at the North American market. For mine, it’s a vast improvement -- the styling suits the car’s proportions; it’s modern, and inside feels contemporary without challenging convention.

The inside is also immensely practical and very well equipped. The mid-spec Elite model on test offered the same level of accommodation found across the range, its first and second rows comfortably accommodating adults. The third row, however, is best left to kids whose age range is still in single digits.

Equipment levels are impressive with an electro-chromatic mirror, dual-zone climate control, Bluetooth telephony and audio streaming, satellite navigation, power windows and mirrors, a reversing camera and acoustic rear park assist, keyless entry and push-button start and cruise control among the standard inclusions.

Auto headlamps and wipers also arrive as standard, as does electric driver’s seat adjustment, one-touch blinkers and Hyundai’s new ‘Flex Steer’ adjustable steering system.

The Flex Steer system is a bit of a novelty, and in truth the car would have drawn just as much praise if its electrically-assisted steering was set in ‘Sport’ mode. ‘Comfort’ and ‘Normal’ are also offered, but, unlike the firmer option, are too soft at freeway speeds. Here, the Santa Fe tends to track over discrepancies in the road surface. The steering also feels over-assisted in all scenarios bar parking.

The car’s ride quality is otherwise unperturbed by shoddy roads. The suspension offers enough compliance to soak up most craters and crevasses, and on dirt roads is equally composed. The balance between ride and handling is oriented towards the latter, though this is not unexpected in the segment. It also helps bring a level of confidence to the Santa Fe’s cornering -- it's a significant improvement over the predecessor.

Santa Fe uses the same R Series turbo-diesel found in later previous-gen models. The four-cylinder unit uses common-rail injection and variable geometry turbocharging technology. Its 2199cc displacement outputs 145kW at 3800rpm and 436Nm at 1800-2500rpm. There’s a whisker of lag getting away from a standstill, or if you really give it a kick in the guts overtaking, but it’s soon made up for once the turbo comes on song.

Married to a decisive and smooth shifting six-speed automatic, the Santa Fe never has to ‘think’ its next cog swap. It’s always ready to go and not once during our test did it have to second-guess a gear change.

The traverse mounted arrangement primarily drives the front wheels with the rear utilised on an 'as-needed' basis. A centre diff lock is offered (standard) for slippery situations while hill descent control takes cares of tricky runs down precipitous grades.

Our week of urban-centric driving saw Santa Fe return an average fuel consumption figure of 7.9L/100km against a claimed figure of 7.3L/100km.

Boot space is generous (at 537 litres) and I really appreciated the fold flat third row and underfloor stowage for the retractable cargo blind. Oh, and rear row air conditioning is a definite plus.

Safety equipment is thorough. Santa Fe offers stability and traction control, antilock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution and brake assist, downhill brake control, hill start assist, auto hold brake facility (as part of the electronic park brake system), driver and front passenger airbags, side and curtain airbags and a driver’s kneebag. Top-tether and ISOFIX child seat preparation is offered in the centre (second) row while all seating positions receive a three-point seatbelt and anti-whiplash head restraints.

The new Santa Fe is yet to be tested by EuroNCAP or ANCAP safety bodies, but we’re confident it will achieve a five-star rating.

Finally, for my friend on Beach Road, the Santa Fe Elite is fitted with 18-inch alloy wheels shod with 235/60 profile rubber.

If I had to mention a few minor quibbles with the new Santa Fe it would be these: the rising waistline restricts rearward vision (thankfully there’s a reversing camera as standard); turbo lag is still an issue, albeit minor; and the infotainment system was not without its gremlins.

On publication Hyundai Australia told us the issues could pertain to the fact my synced mobile phone (iPhone 4) has too many contacts in its directory, but I’d dare say there may be more to it. The HVAC display -- which is supposed to interrupt the top of the display screen when prompted -- failed to initiate and, randomly, the phone would disconnect itself entirely from the system mid-stream (music), or mid-call (phone).

Hyundai Australia assures us we’ll get an answer on this issue soon… Watch this space -- we will add it as a footnote ASAP...

Barring that, the Santa Fe was a genuine surprise package and a refined, quiet SUV. Being as economical and spacious as it is you’ve got to say it’s one of the best in its class for value.

Stop Press, November 8, 2012: Hyundai has informed motoring.com.au that their southern region engineers pulled apart the test vehicle's audio system and found one of the connections loose. The system may not have been installed correctly or the wire came loose at some point during a previous test, but since fixing this connection the problem has not reoccurred. The engineers are confident that the loose wire was the root cause of the problem.

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