Facelifts typically involve simple cosmetic tweaks like modifying plastic mouldings, but with the Santa Fe, Hyundai has changed the car’s direction and purpose for existence – that’s the intention at least.
The tacked-on badge on its hatch says that the Santa Fe is now a “crossover”. Definition of that term varies, but the consensus revolves around a vehicle that boasts the rugged appeal and utility of a SUV but does without the cons of high fuel consumption and tipsy handling.
But apart from the badge, new bumpers and lights, the crossover Santa Fe looks pretty much the same as the SUV one.
The real difference lies under the bonnet, where the 2.7-litre V6 has made way for a 2.4-litre inline-4. While the smaller displacement does mean slightly less power (174bhp versus 185bhp), the car benefits from a new gearbox that boasts six forward ratios instead of four. This is essentially the set-up in the new Kia Sorento, which shares the Santa Fe’s underpinnings. Hyundai claims that the car now does 10.8km/L, which is less than what Santa Fe the SUV used to do, which was a claimed 9.4km/L.
The improved fuel consumption and better cruising refinements with the tall sixth gear do go some way to back the car’s Crossover billing, but everywhere else, the Santa Fe is still the same SUV that it was conceived to be. The driving position, for example, is lofty, which is nice, but the steering wheel is only adjustable for tilt and even at its lowest setting, it’s still less car-like than most so-called “crossovers” or even the Sorento, whose steering is adjustable for tilt and reach. Kia, by the way, still refers to the Sorento as an SUV, and like Sorento the SUV, Santa Fe the Crossover doesn’t really drive like a car.
The Sorento really is the biggest obstacle for Hyundai to overcome. While any preference between the two in terms of the aesthetics will be subjective, the Santa Fe’s relative lack of kit exaggerates the $5,000 premium over the Kia. Other than offering rear air-conditioning as standard (optional on the basic Sorento EX), the Santa Fe does without goodies like digital climate control, integrated stereo with steering control and a display for the parking assistance (it just beeps when it’s near a wall).
Hyundai convincingly trounces Kia when its Tucson meets the Sportage, which is sorely long in the tooth against Hyundai’s hot new number. But in the plus-size segment with that chunky Kia cousin to beat, no wonder the Santa Fe is crossed.
Hyundai Santa Fe 2.5 (A)
ENGINE 2497cc, 16-valves, inline-4
MAX POWER 174bhp at 6000rpm
MAX TORQUE 226Nm at 3750rpm
GEARBOX 6-speed automatic with manual select
0-100KM/H 11.5 seconds
CONSUMPTION 10.8km/L (combined)
PRICE INCL. COE $87,399
