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M MOTORING Hyundai Sante Fe
149
THE HYUNDAI SANTE FE
A well equipped, good value, totally practical and economical 7 seater
I tried to open the door of a test car in the car park the other day but couldn’t.
Then I realised I was trying to get into the wrong car. It was a different make,
but the same colour and looked nearon exactly the same as the car we had on
test at the time. You’ll be pleased to hear that I’ve since been to Spec Savers,
but average cars tend to look so much alike these days that the only way you
can find your car in a busy car park is by using the remote control on the key
fob to get the indicators to flash.
That’s unlikely to happen if you own a modern
day Hyundai, a car that is increasingly
becoming a talking point at present due to
the attraction of their distinctive looks. Add to
that loads of standard electrical equipment,
0% finance, and a 5 year unlimited mileage
warranty that includes five years roadside
assistance and five years of annual vehicle
health checks, and you’ll soon see why
there are so many more Hyundai’s on our
roads today. Our car had a good premium
sound system (10 speakers and amp), ‘Flex-
Steer’ – allowing you to adjust steering feel
between normal, comfort and Sport, rear
parking sensors, rear view parking camera
with built in parking guidance, stereo radio/
cd/MP3 player, touch screen Sat Nav, and
two electronic handbrakes (one for temporary
stopping) as standard equipment. Add to that
the benefits of four-wheel-drive, hill start
assist control, downhill assist braking, trailer
stability assist etc etc, and you soon start to
recognise the value equation.
Range topper
Ours was the top of the range Sante Fe
Premium with all wheel drive, 7 seats (two
occasional folding flat to the rear when not
in use) and powered by a 2.2 Turbo diesel.
Hence for our £32,375 the only ‘extra’ on
the car was pearl metallic paint at £545. A
stop-start option would have been useful
for the traffic jam laden London though. No
one sniffs at £32k , but add another twenty
grand to the price tag for the same from
some of the competition then it all makes
sense. Part of the reason for the price gap
over competitors is that Hyundai are still on a
brand mission not being an established name
in this segment…….yet.
The competition should be rightly sweating
though – we for one, didn’t expect this car to
leave such a strong impression on us whilst on
test, but it proved a star in the making. It was
so comfortable for driver and passenger alike,
and instantly user friendly to the driver– and
this didn’t come from the odd doodle around
town, but over 800 miles of all-purpose driving
bar a visit to see Rambo in exile. It was also
a doddle to park, mainly due to its height, an
excellent turning circle, and good four-corner
predictability along with a driver parking aid
system that was easy to read, always helping
you to achieve that rewarding inch perfect
alignment between the white lines in the
supermarket car park. Even Doris liked it.
On the move
Long distance ride comfort and refinement
are good, and the low speed torque
advantage of the 2.2 turbo diesel gives useful
overtaking pick-up on those long 50 and 60
mph straights. We averaged between 42 – 44
mpg throughout which isn’t bad for a vehicle
of this size, weight and performance. Cabin
space and comfort are such that none of the
family will have reason to complain, meaning
you can drive in peace whilst others play on
tablets and Ipods.
We British car buyers are renowned for
buying ‘fit for purpose’. Apparently we are
not emotional nor even particularly patriotic
car buyers; we buy the car that represents
best value for money and does exactly the
job we want it to do better than anything
else we can get on the market for the same
money. Do you see where we are going with
this?.....the Hyundai dealer showrooms are
proving increasingly attractive.
Hyundai Sante Fe
Premium
Top speed: 118 mph
Acceleration: 0-62mph 10.1 sec
Cylinders: 4cyl DOHC
Displacement: 2199 cc
CO2 emissions: 178g/km
MPG combined: 41.5