Value for money is the Hyundai creed. Its mid-size Santa Fe 4WD wagon is no exception, offering V6 power for the price of some rivals' fours.
Value for money
Pricing
The V6 is available in two models, the $33,990 GL and the $36,990 GLS, both four-speed automatics. A 2.0 litre four-cylinder/manual is also available at $29,990.
Warranty
Five years/130,000 km; the longest on the market.
Standard features
Airconditioning, a CD player, cruise control (V6), power windows and mirrors, remote central locking, alloy wheels and a driver's airbag are included.
GLS additions include two rear discs, ABS with electronic brake force distribution and a passenger airbag.
Retained value
The Santa Fe has only been on the market since late 2000, so resale values are still settling. However it is competitive with the class leading Honda CR-V after 12 months, at 74 per cent according to Glass's Guide.
Design and function
Ergonomics
The driver sits high in a generously padded seat with height/tilt adjusters but inadequate side bolstering. Tall drivers will use all of the front seat travel.
Vision is clear around the car, and the dash has simple, clear controls for audio and ventilation, variable intermittent wipers, a gear indicator in the centre of the instrument panel, and cruise control switches on the height-adjustable wheel.
Innovation
Hyundai's five-year/130,000 km warranty is an industry first - the average is three-years/100,000 km.
Safety
The Santa Fe scored an impressive four stars out of five in US crash tests, but the lack of a lap/sash belt in the centre of the back seat is a major safety compromise.
Security
Remote central locking, an engine immobiliser and an alarm are standard.
Comfort
The driver's seat is well padded and quite luxurious, so comfort is fine.
Space and practicality
There's plenty of up-front storage, including a two-tiered central bin, a tray under the passenger seat and a sunglasses holder.
Two tall adults will be very comfortable in the spacious back seat. It will carry three, and has seven backrest angle adjustments, but there's no lap/sash belt in the centre. Three head restraints are fitted, plus three child restraint anchors just behind the seat where they don't compromise load carrying.
The load area is spacious by class standards. There's around 900 mm of floor with the back seat in use, or 1.6 metres extended with the 60/40 split-fold feature. In this mode, the front of the floor is not quite flat, but you can still use all of the front seat travel.
The tailgate is hinged at the roof, but you can also open the window. A cargo net, power socket, load cover and several underfloor bins are provided, but the spare needs to be extracted from underneath the car.
Build and finish quality
If you didn't know the Santa Fe was Korean, you would pick it as Japanese.
On the road
Fuel efficiency
Open road consumption is a relatively frugal 9.6 litres/100 km. However around town the automatic works the engine hard to compensate for a lack of torque, so you'll get 15-17 litres/100 km, which is thirsty.
Performance
The 2.7 litre V6 has 20-30 per cent more power (132 kW) and around 50 per cent more torque (247 Nm) than its four-cylinder rivals, (the 150 kW Ford Escape/Mazda Tribute 3.0 V6 is the class leader) but performance under 3000 rpm is weak.
The GLS is also heavy and the automatic's gearing is lazy, so the 2.7 takes a while to get it mobile from rest.
On the highway the V6 cruises smoothly, with an easy, loping gait, pulling only 2300 rpm at 100 km/h.
The automatic shifts smartly and fluidly - a good thing, because it frequently resorts to third and second, especially around town. Manual mode is useful to hold third on country hills, or the lower gears in more challenging terrain.
On a moderately steep bush track the 2.7's lack of pulling power under 3000 means that first is often required - unusual for a V6, but necessary in the Santa Fe because its second gear ratio is too high.
If you want to tow a reasonably heavy load the Santa Fe will also struggle.
Once the 2.7 is spinning in the top half of its rev range, you get the full benefit of the extra two cylinders, characterised by snappy responsiveness and rapid overtaking ability.
Ride
Ride comfort is excellent. Road shock is properly isolated, and compliance is good at all speeds, deteriorating slightly on very rough roads.
Handling and steering
The Santa Fe's dynamics are less agile and responsive than the lighter four-cylinder wagons, and it exhibits more body roll when cornering, but it is well balanced by four-wheel-drive standards.
The four-wheel-drive system uses a viscous centre differential and limited slip rear unit; the standard 60/40 front-rear split on dry bitumen can be varied if slippage occurs at the front.
On dirt or in wet conditions, this constant four-wheel-drive system, like that used by Subaru, provides exceptionally high levels of traction. When necessary, drive is seamlessly reapportioned to the grippier end.
No low range, and its lack of grunt, limit the Santa Fe's ability in extreme conditions but it has quite high ground clearance, short front and rear overhangs and a modicum of protection under the engine, so it will go places some rivals won't.
The steering is sharper and more communicative than the big 4WD wagons, but less so than the RAV4 and Forester.
Braking
The brakes are adequate, but need a firm push to start seriously reining in the Santa Fe. The ABS is not particularly well calibrated for loose dirt surfaces.
Smoothness and quietness
The engine is smooth, but induction noise is higher than average. Road-generated noise is minimal. The wind whistled a bit around the driver's door on the test car.
Summary
Hyundai's Santa Fe is competitive in the mid-size four-wheel-drive class for reasons other than price, however this is still its main attraction. It is, however, far from being the stereotypical cheap, tinny, Korean car.
The writer of this report does not necessarily represent the views of the NRMA and this report is provided for you as an alternative to our own NRMA car reviews.
