Hyundai Santa Fe (2011-2019)

Hyundai Santa Fe is one of the high-end products that are offered by the leading car maker in India. Like most of its cars, even Santa Fe is focussed on giving the Indian consumers comfort as well as convenience. Amongst all the other changes, the highlights of the new Santa Fe include a super vision cluster and a shift indicator, which aims at enhancing the fuel economy. The rear view camera display is the 3.5” LCD monitor that is built in the electro chromic rear view mirror, to help the driver park and reverse conveniently. The engine start/stop button, cruise control, proximity key, and USB, Auxiliary and MP3 ports give the Hyundai SUV quite a lot of “flash and flesh.”

The exteriors are bestowed with projection headlamps along with rear combination lamps, uber cool side repeaters and twin exhausts. When we look at the interiors, we see tad bit of premium quality with improved interiors in terms of colour, seat variation and the 10-way power adjustable driver’s seat.
Coming to the engine, there is full-time 4WD system with 2.2 CRDi engine. The 2WD MT version delivers a power of 197 PS at 3800 rpm whereas the torque produced by the car is 42.9 kgm between 1800-2500 rpm. On the other hand, the 2WD AT has 6-speed H-matic automatic transmission, ESP, advanced airbag technology and disc brakes, which together win quite a few points for Santa Fe.

On the outside, there is a little change with Hyundai adding a touch of simplicity and class to the SUV. The Hyundai Santa Fe pictures will agree when we say that the design is a mix of suaveness and at the same time, it looks sporty as well. The front gets projection headlamps, which give one a clearer vision and the sharp design adds to the face of Hyundai Santa Fe. At the rear end, there are horizontally-aligned combination lamps and side repeaters, which are placed on the side view mirror. The new SUV also gets heated outside mirrors that have internally-built thermal wires, which remove frost and fog, thereby giving the driver a clearer view of the road.

The chrome front grille is smooth and twin exhausts are accentuated. The looks are further enhanced by the rear spoiler with high-powered LED integrated on the mount, roof rails that add height, R18 alloy wheels that add to the looks and Silica Tires that provide more comfort for the passengers.

Hyundai India is known for the convenience that it offers to the customers and all credit goes to their great understanding of the ‘great Indian consumers.’ The price of Hyundai Santa Fe in India has found the SUV a position among the premium cars in India, owing to which the interiors of the SUV have been done with a lot of care. The centre fascia is neat and tidy with all buttons, and controls within the comfortable reach of the driver.

For the comfort of passengers, the SUV by Hyundai comes with a variety of seating options, which allows one to make space for luggage, and enjoy the lavish space when the entire family decides to go on a holiday. The driver’s seat is adjustable in 10 ways for added convenience.
Audio controls are mounted on the steering and there is a 6-disc, in-dash CD changer, which makes the drive pleasant. The dual zone fully automatic air conditioner gives all passengers ease and comfort even during the hottest of days.

The engine in new Santa Fe has a displacement of 2,199 cc, which delivers power of 197 PS at the peak of 3800 rpm. The Automatic 4WD version delivers a torque of 44.5 kgm whereas the MT 2WD and 4WD produce 42.9 kgm between 1,800-2,500 rpm.

The Peizo injectors allow precise fuel injection, which helps the SUV give better mileage and the electronic control improves the acceleration while reducing emissions. It also gives the car a boost of power. The transmissions are silky smooth whereas the full-time 4WD system gives the driver optimum handling. Organ-type accelerator pedal, and the front and rear suspension keep both the driver and the passengers comfortable, with the former serving to the driver and the latter to everyone in the car.

The figures for Santa Fe mileage make this car a reasonable deal in this segment. The vehicle delivers a mileage of 11.3 kmpl in the city and about 14.7 kmpl on the highways with its 2.2-litre diesel engine. The CRDi with Piezo injectors makes the engine advanced, thereby helping the car deliver better mileage as well as performance.

The Electronic Stability Program in the Hyundai Santa Fe detects as soon as the vehicle begins to lose traction. The system helps the car respond with appropriate brake force and adjust the torque to give the SUV stability. There are EBD, ABS and TCS as well to give more stability to the car.
For the safety of passengers, the vehicle comes fitted with airbag technology including airbags at the sides as well as curtain airbags. Disc brakes, rollover sensor, automatic headrest on the driver’s seat and safety power windows provide for the additional safety and support for the passengers and the driver.

The SUV might look simple but performance wise, the vehicle is quite good. With little turbo lag when it is below 1,500 rpm, Hyundai Santa Fe SUV can do 0-100 kmph in just 10 seconds. The cruising sixth gear makes the car very good for highway driving and the engine adds to the comfort. The AT versions of the car work smoothly and the systems respond very well under various circumstances.
The handling is like other Hyundai Cars with light steering, and quite a lot of features that maintain the balance of the vehicle and the control of the driver on the car.

In terms of looks, the car is quite simple but in terms of performance, it’s very good. There is no breakthrough exemplary ride here but Hyundai has done well in terms of safety and handling. The Indian consumers would be happy with it because it has lots of equipment, decent and comfortable interiors as well as respectable performance. The driving experience undoubtedly is effortless and impressive.

Ranging in the price segment, Hyundai Santa Fe competes with Toyota Fortuner which is the segment leader. The others whom Hyundai Santa Fe is competing with are the Chevrolet Captiva, Ford Endeavor, Nissan Xtrail and Mitsubishi Outlander. All of these are currently struggling in the segment but each of them has the competitive edge. The competition for Hyundai Santa Fe is more of survival before it becomes a race to be at the top.