BY BRIAN BYRNE
WHEN Hyundai introduced their latest Santa Fe, heads looked up. And nearly everyone said: Defender.
What Hyundai describe themselves as a ‘radical’ transformation of their flagship SUV, from the curves and flowing lines the model has had over the recent of its five generations, is now all straight lines and boxy shape. A lot of it — the latest Santa Fe is big, longer, has more inside space, and is an unmistakeable presence whether you find it on the road or parked outside your neighbour’s house.
It’s arguable that Hyundai took their cue from the Land Rover Defender rolled out in 2019. Given the length of time it takes to develop a completely new car model, it is equally arguable that the Korean behemoth carmaker’s design studio people were already on this road. Whichever, Hyundai have made it very much their own. Slab sides, half-hexagonal wheel arches, and massive 20-inch wheels dominate the profile view while, up front, the very individual H-shaped running lights punch out the car’s identity as it comes up in the rear-view mirror.
The rear, and very large, tailgate is an exceptionally clean design, looking all the bigger because the rectangular tail lights are set low in the style. My review car’s white with black contrasts made it a standout in my cul de sac.
Inside is a meld of big seats and dashboard, in a big space that makes this seven-seater a seriously able transporter for a family in its mature teenaged stage. Room for legs, knees, and heads is generous both in the middle and rear seats spaces. The occupants will be travelling in some comfort too, because the quality and finish is up to any premium brand standard you might like to compare with. Both of those rows flip flat too, to offer a very large cargo capacity on occasions that this may be needed.
The driving instrumentation and the infotainment screen are merged cleanly in one element. The former includes the Hyundai-familiar large circles that double as screens for cameras which show the blind spots on whichever side you indicate to turn. An uncluttered digital style gives both speed and RPM, between them a choice of the information you prefer. The head-up display means you rarely bother to even look at these.
Below the infotainment screen are proper knobs for heat or cool, and a mix of very usable haptic and real buttons to manage climate details. With the transmission selector on the steering column, there are two phone charging spaces on the centre console.
I don’t like subjecting my phone to the heating involved with such systems, but I’m sure the dual setup will be popular during family travel.
There’s just one powertrain available on the Irish market, a plug-in hybrid based on a 1.6 direct-injection turbo petrol and electric motor, between them pumping 265hp. A six-speed automatic manages getting the best out of the combination, and a 9.1s potential sprint to 100km/h is plenty pokey for this big car. More to the point here, over some 550km of very mixed driving environments, I averaged 6.4L/100km. For me, that’s a level of efficiency in a big car (yep, I do keep saying that, don’t I?) that makes valid the decision by Hyundai not to offer a diesel.
All the usual driver assist features, including the now-mandatory and intensely annoying speed and attention beeping which, by universal assent, are more distracting than useful.
My tip: make the relevant settings screen the favourite on the steering wheel ‘star’ button, and then it only takes three taps on the screen to silence them each time you start the car.
Over that aforementioned driving, more than 400km was done in a single day, a return trip from my home to the west. Much more than I would generally do even on a continental holiday trip.
It was a day that proved one particular thing to me: this latest Santa Fe is one of the best big cars I have driven in a long time.
