Santa Fe has reached its second generation and, after giving it a look, you realize
that Hyundai has made huge progress in terms of design and, in what the inside is concerned,
the jump is even bigger.
This new model seems like it is three generations better than the old one,
but unfortunately, the very good feeling this car gives you at first sight is impaired
by the way it understands how to communicate with you as a driver.
At the first visual contact, the new Santa Fe impresses by a coherent, well proportioned and imposing, muscular design.
The interior greets you with a very pleasant atmosphere, with comfortable seats and leather trim.
A big plus is the possibility of adjusting the rear seat backrest, so you can
comfortably sleep during some longer trips. In addition, the seat can slide back and forth for about 10 cm.
In a few average SUVs I found so much comfort. Santa Fe is very close to what Nissan Murano
has to offer in terms of ergonomics and comfort. And Murano is excellent at these chapters,
even though it is not a very popular car.
The rear seats can be folded inclusive from the trunk, through some buttons that operates some levers.
The trunk is also impressive: 585 liters. Its functionality is remarkable.
There is a stand where you can store the toneau cover, and the polystyrene organizer is very roomy and useful.
Beyond these important practical issues, the new Santa Fe scores good in what the multimedia is concerned.
It has navigation, audio system with six loudspeakers and subwoofer,
Bluetooth connectivity - all you need.
The multimedia system buttons also remind us of Nissan and Infiniti cars, as well as the trip computer.
Although it shows a certain lack of originality, the similarities are not so
obvious but only for an experienced eye and do not bother at all.
An interesting small detail is that Santa Fe has a special button that increases the clock display for a few seconds.
Unfortunately, the multimedia screen is too bright. Although it has three modes of light intensity,
even the darkest one is still too strong, especially at night.
The new Santa Fe has a 2.2 liter turbo diesel engine of 197 PS/HP, quite refined and quiet,
decently highlighted by a 6-gear automatic transmission. It reaches 100 km/h in 10.1 seconds.
The off road performances are not spectacular, but neither inferior to those of rivals.
For the 4x4 the only manual adjustment is the one that locks the central differential.
It can offer a minimum help if you are stuck in the snow or mud.
What really holds back the new Santa Fe is the steering system. It is too artificial!
And you get the impression that the wheels turns right of left after too much time from the
moment you turned the steering wheel one way or another.
Santa Fe is one of the most unpleasant SUVs that I have driven - strictly from the steering point of view.
Of course that in long trips without too many cornering, you can overlook this aspect,
but even so, the steering remains disappointing.
Not even the rear suspension is great. Although it is independent, it has lack of refinement
and works on the principle of stimulus-response. It does not properly filter the tarmac.
Without these two obvious minuses, Santa Fe could have made a step forward,
where Hyundai intends to get, in the premium segment. But until then it seems like there is a long way to go...
Having a price of around 42,000 Euros including VAT for the tested version,
Santa Fe is a complex modern SUV, but with minuses that do not honor Hyundai’s claims and aspirations.