Hyundai Santa Fe: 2018 carsales Car of the Year Highly Commended

The Hyundai Santa Fe has taken out a Highly Commended award in the 2018 carsales Car of the Year.

A winner of multiple comparisons, besting some of the best large SUVs Europe and Japan have to offer, the Hyundai Santa Fe Highlander CRDi has received little but praise since its local release in July 2018.

But the Santa Fe couldn't quite muster the points to take out the overall carsales Car of the Year 2018 title. The big seven-seater was narrowly edged out by the Volvo XC40 – not because the judges deemed the Hyundai inferior, but primarily because the RedBook data for the Santa Fe did not rank the big SUV quite as highly.

The flagship Hyundai Santa Fe Highlander CRDi lost points to the XC40 on its value for money calculations.

But while others on the judging panel certainly agreed, and praised the Santa Fe for its commendable ride/handling combination, others weren’t so enamoured with the big SUV’s dynamics.

"It's terrific, but it's big, heavy, a bit ponderous..." noted Bruce Newton.

"Has a tendency to fall over and head-shake a bit because it's so tall. Feels like suspension tune is a bit sharp. The steering is just too heavy in its weight," he stated.

The Hyundai Santa Fe Highlander CRDi – with its vaunted Aussie chassis tune – is very safe and quite driveable by the standards of its rivals in the large SUV segment. But as everyone noted, the meaty steering feel won't suit every buyer.

Read more:
• Volvo XC40: carsales Car Of The Year 2018
• Volvo XC60: carsales Car Of The Year 2018 Highly Commended
• Finding the 2018 carsales Car Of The Year 2018 - The full story
• carsales Car Of The Year 2018 - The nuts and bolts

On the plus side, the Santa Fe drew praise for its generous second-row space and because it "sets a new standard for Hyundai cabin design and materials,” said Paul Gover.

On that last point, the Santa Fe certainly does impress with its overall cabin quality and design. As we noted in our comparison with our 2016 Car of the Year winner, the Mazda CX-9, the latest Santa Fe has almost closed the gap to its Japanese rivals in terms of fit, finish and overall roominess.

Hyundai's designers have also created a relaxing ambience with practical, easy-to-use controls and instruments in a stylish framework complemented by seats shaped for comfort and support.

So while the Santa Fe didn't achieve the ultimate goal, winning Car of the Year, its flexibility, comfort and refinement saw it place first runner up. A very credible performance.