Named after a city in the state of New Mexico, USA, the Hyundai Santa Fe is a mid-size crossover SUV, and was released in 2000. It was the Korean marquee’s very first attempt at making an SUV from the ground up. Currently in its third generation since launch, the Hyundai Santa Fe is one of the most recognizable and successful vehicles in its segment.
The 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe has become a common sight on the roads in the Middle East, and with good reason - It’s fairly handsome, well-equipped, safe, quite comfortable, and a decent family car in general. However, its rivals aren’t resting on their laurels and competition is tough from the likes of the Toyota RAV4, Nissan X-Trail, Honda CR-V, and Mitsubishi Outlander.
Exterior
The exterior design of the Hyundai Santa Fe is in line with many modern Hyundai passenger cars. This urbane crossover has just the right amount of sharp features, smooth contours, and flowing lines to keep things interesting. The front end features stylish projector headlights along with a triple-slotted hexagonal grille.
The bumper gets a faux skid plate, large opening for the air dam, and fancy inserts for the fog lights and LED DRLs. The Santa Fe’s sides uses copious amount of black plastic body cladding, nice 19-inch alloy wheels, and a steeply-rising window line. The rear fascia gets a rooftop spoiler, steeply-raked rear window, LED taillamps, and a twin-exhaust setup with a rear diffuser.
The Hyundai Santa Fe bears dimensions of 4.690 meters in length, 1.880 meters in width, 1.690 meters in height, and has a wheelbase of 2.700 meters. When compared to some of its other 5-seat rivals, the Santa Fe’s 585-liter boot capacity is quite respectable.
Interior
The design of the interior in the Hyundai Santa Fe comes across as a very busy place, especially at the front. The dash area is a mishmash of various contour lines, quirky angles, and several different textures all crammed into an area that’s directly in your line of sight. This approach is definitely not in keeping with the brand’s more contemporary theme found in their other cars.
The material quality and robustness of the build aren’t of concern, and this interior should hold up well. The seats too offer enough comfort, adjustments, and cushioning even on longer journeys. The Santa Fe is also packed with features such as leather upholstery and steering wheel, dual-zone climate control, heated & cooled front seats, panoramic sunroof, power-adjustable front seats with memory setting, power tailgate, cruise control, remote keyless entry & go, electronic handbrake, an 8-inch touch infotainment display with navigation, and a 10-speaker premium sound system.
The safety gadgets include 6 airbags, ABS with EBD and braking assist, electronic stability program, ISOFIX anchor points, hill assist function, all-round parking sensors with surround camera system, and a tire pressure monitor.
Engine and performance
The Hyundai Santa Fe comes equipped with either a 2.4-liter four-cylinder, or a more powerful Lambda 3.3-liter V6. The six-cylinder produces 265 HP and 320 Nm of torque, while the former makes do with 174 HP and 225 Nm of torque. Both engines employ a 6-speed torque converter unit, and can direct the power to the front or all four corners (on the AWD variants).
The V6-equipped all-wheel-drive variant of the Santa Fe can hit 100 km/h in 8.5 seconds, while top speed is 190 km/h. Fuel consumption figures range from 8.7-9.8L/100 km depending on the drivetrain option.
Verdict
Depending on the trim level and drivetrain option, prices for the 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe range between AED 86,900 to AED 141,900. Meanwhile, insurance premiums range between AED 1,955 to AED 3,193.
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