Hyundai Santa Fe v Mazda CX-9 v Toyota Kluger 2017 Comparison

There has been a Pavlovian need within the hallowed halls here at the motoring.com.au HQ to pitch the Mazda CX-9, our car of the year for 2016, against almost anything in the market capable of giving it a run for its money. In this instalment we looked for competitors in the same ballpark for price, equipment, functional packaging and (hopefully) decent driving dynamics.

Those criteria defined our selection process: find the sweet spot – or soft spot, more precisely – in the large SUV segment and circle those wagons. Thus the process left out the Toyota Prado and Ford Everest on the hard side of the spectrum, plus the five-seat only Subaru Outback and all the old-timers (Mitsubishi Pajero), slow sellers and oddities (no names, but you know what we mean, right?).

Why are we comparing them?
All three of the vehicles selected for this comparison are variants positioned near the summit of each respective range, offering high-grade equipment and packaging just this side of the Luxury Car Tax threshold. So buyers in the market for a well-equipped family SUV (and requiring seven seats) would be well served by any of these vehicles – the CX-9, Hyundai Santa Fe and Toyota Kluger.

Between them, these three have sold nearly 25,000 units since the start of 2017. Which is more than the total sales of the large passenger car segment combined. These sorts of SUVs aren't the 'next big thing', they're the current big thing.

Who will they appeal to?
Got three children? You might like the idea of a 'Siberia' seat to exile the troublesome one on occasion. Alternatively, if all your youngsters are little angels all the time, placing a couple of them in the hindmost seats provides room for aunts/uncles, grandparents, or cousins for the odd extended-family outing.

Even if you never need to cart seven people around, buying an SUV with three rows of seats may pay dividends in resale value when it comes time to trade up.

This trio on test are all easy to drive, perform well enough to handle overtaking on country roads, even when loaded, and they'll tow two tonnes of caravan or a ski boat on its trailer.

How much do they cost?
In this company, the Santa Fe was the most affordable, at $57,090 (plus on-road costs). Metallic paint added $695. The Kluger was little more expensive, its price of $57,550 inflated to $58,100 (plus on-road costs) – also by a metallic paint option. At $62,790 (plus on-road costs), the CX-9 was easily the most expensive, and – once again – its Soul Red Crystal paint ($300) added to the price. Floor mats also raised the price of the CX-9 to $63,427 (plus on-road costs), as tested.

Being the only diesel, and still the least expensive to buy, the Santa Fe represented excellent value. Its five-year warranty (with unlimited kilometres), longer service intervals (12 months, 15,000km) and lower fuel consumption promise lower running costs to go with the purchase price. And its seven airbags, rear cross-traffic alert, autonomous emergency braking and a host of comfort features matched or even outstripped the CX-9 inclusions – for a significantly lower purchase price.

The Mazda was a closer competitor to the Santa Fe than the Kluger was, the Toyota lacking significant safety and comfort features.

What do they do well?
All the cars tested rode comfortably and were driveable in varying degrees. Engine output was suitable for cruising, overtaking and – within reason – towing.

Major instruments were easy to read and all three featured push-to-start buttons and an indicator stalk on the right of the steering column. Access to the third row seating was available by means of a one-handed operation to fold the second-row seats.

The Santa Fe handled big bumps better than the other two cars, but rode a bit firmer over smaller irregularities. It followed every imperfection in the road. Steering feel was best of the three, and the suspension was very well set up, with no torque steer evident during the test.

There wasn't much turbo lag from the Hyundai’s diesel, which was quite refined for the type.

Dash design and centre fascia were more stylish than the Kluger's, but trailed the look and feel of the CX-9's. Front seats were slightly better at supporting and holding the passenger in place than the CX-9's, and the Santa Fe's were altogether better than the Kluger's for the same reason.

Only the Santa Fe's second-row seating locked into place when folded down. Plus it was the only seating with a triple-split fold facility. And there were some other laudable niceties in the Santa Fe, such as the clips to hold the seatbelts in place when the second and third-row seats are folded flat. For third-row seat occupants, there were two additional vents either side.

Santa Fe is easily the most affordable vehicle to own, its diesel engine using less fuel in combined-cycle testing, and the service intervals matching the CX-9's 12-month period, but bettering the Mazda's 10,000km distance with 15,000km.

The CX-9 was quiet overall, but the turbocharged petrol four-cylinder couldn't match the naturally-aspirated V6 of the Kluger for ultimate noise suppression. It was effortless to drive however, with torque available lower in the rev range than the Kluger's V6. Ride in the CX-9 was comfortable – somewhere between the Kluger and Santa Fe for body control. The Mazda’s steering was lighter than the Santa Fe's.

Very softly-cushioned front seats in the Mazda were nicely shaped, but not as well bolstered as the Santa Fe's. The seats in the third row were the comfiest of the lot and the CX-9 was the most spacious for adults in the third row, while leaving room for luggage behind. For third row occupants it was also the easiest to enter and leave. Cleverly, the dome light for the Mazda's boot was located in the tailgate and shone down from behind when the tailgate was in the raised position.

The Kluger was exceptionally quiet on the open road. The engine was virtually inaudible when cruising, but sounded muscular with the throttle wide open.

What could they do better?
There were no USB ports in the second row of the Santa Fe, nor was there split-zone climate control in the second row. The vents were in the B pillars, which is probably neither a plus nor a minus, but it's different. Headroom was at a premium in the third row, and there was the least room for luggage with the third-row seat raised.

There was not enough clearance for adults 180cm tall to walk under the raised tailgate of the Mazda, whereas both the Hyundai and the Toyota did leave that amount of vertical space for six-footers. The space-saver spare was stowed under a lift-up floor in the boot, rather than the full-size spares with matching alloys under the boots of the other two vehicles. Lastly, the CX-9 did not offer adjustable vents for the third-row occupants.

The Toyota's V6 wasn't as effortless as expected, demanding a few revs for optimal acceleration. Nor was the automatic transmission as smooth as its counterparts in the CX-9 and Santa Fe.

Despite being the lightest of the three, the Kluger's steering provided some feedback while cornering, but on-centre the Toyota meandered. Brake pedal feel was not in the same league as the other two cars', but the Kluger would stop softly without issue.

The ride quality was soft, but underdamped. It was slow to react to larger impacts, like speed humps, and then overreacted on the rebound.

A gated shift détente for the auto transmission and a foot-operated parking brake – rather than the electric switch in the centre console for the Santa Fe and CX-9 – detracted from the Kluger's driving position.

The front seats in the Kluger were wide and flat, offering little in the way of lateral support. In harder cornering, the occupants slid all over the place unbraced by side bolstering.

Dash and centre fascia design was not as stylish as the other two cars', and the quality of materials and general finish also lagged.

Third-row accommodation in the Kluger was the least suitable for adults. The headroom was the worst, ditto the knee room, and the seat squabs were for short people only. But the Kluger did make up for that with very generous luggage space behind the third row.

Pull cords on the rear of the third-row seats looked and felt old-hat, in contrast with the hand grips of the other two cars, and the powered tailgate was slow to lift or close. The dome light was located in the side of the boot, which can be blinding in the dark.

There were some rattles and flapping noises heard from the driver's seat and the suspension was noisy when absorbing bumps and potholes. And the twang from the rear of the Kluger when the brakes were released (using the parking brake) was unseemly.

Which wins, and why?
The first contestant to be shown the door in this comparison was the Kluger. We expected it to be more competitive, since it's actually a fresher design than the Santa Fe. But Hyundai has kept the Santa Fe competitive through constant updating (funny, didn't the Japanese invent that concept?). The Kluger was not roomy where it counted, comfort and the equipment list were both lacking and its two rivals in this comparison were both better to drive.

So the decision was between the Santa Fe and the CX-9. As already noted, the Mazda was our car of the year in 2016, but the Santa Fe put up a surprisingly strong showing here. If you do lots of short trips, or spend a lot more time on the open road – when fuel consumption won't be a factor – and being able to seat seven comfortably AND transporting the odd cubic metre of inanimate stuff at the same time is absolutely paramount, the CX-9 is a very strong package which is quiet and pleasant to drive.

But considering the ride/handling balance, the comfort and also the convenience features fitted as standard, plus the lower price, the built-in safety and the ownership experience (warranty and service intervals) – well it's just impossible to look past the Hyundai. At nearly $6000 less, the Santa Fe is the clear winner.

2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Highlander pricing and specifications:
Price: $57,785 (as tested, plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 147kW/440Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.8L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 205g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star (ANCAP, 2012)

2017 Mazda CX-9 GT pricing and specifications:
Price: $63,427 (as tested, plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 170kW/420Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.8L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 206g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star (ANCAP, 2016)

2017 Toyota Kluger GXL pricing and specifications:
Price: $58,100 (as tested, plus on-road costs)
Engine: 3.5-litre V6 petrol
Output: 218kW/350Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 9.5L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 221g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star (ANCAP, 2014)