Active Stocks
Thu Mar 28 2024 15:59:33
  1. Tata Steel share price
  2. 155.90 2.00%
  1. ICICI Bank share price
  2. 1,095.75 1.08%
  1. HDFC Bank share price
  2. 1,448.20 0.52%
  1. ITC share price
  2. 428.55 0.13%
  1. Power Grid Corporation Of India share price
  2. 277.05 2.21%
Business News/ News / Business Of Life/  Hyundai’s Santa Fe | Stylish, but pricey
BackBack

Hyundai’s Santa Fe | Stylish, but pricey

Hyundai's Santa Fe is an eye-catcher, packed with features, but is it worth the hefty price tag?

The Santa Fe has a conventional tailgatePremium
The Santa Fe has a conventional tailgate

NEW DELHI :

photoThe number of people buzzing around the Hyundai Santa Fe at the 12th Auto Expo 2014 held earlier this month was indicative of the interest in the company’s flagship product in India. It has taken its time coming because Hyundai wanted to localize it a lot more to keep down the cost. Despite that, the Santa Fe carries quite a hefty price tag. Prices start at 25.08 lakh for the two-wheel drive manual, while the two-wheel drive automatic costs 25.89 lakh and the four-wheel drive automatic version caps the range at 27.89 lakh (all prices, ex-showroom, Delhi). Can these prices justify themselves?

There is no doubt that the Santa Fe’s design is an eye-catcher. It may not be a big beefy SUV but it’s sophisticated, stylish, with quite a bit of attitude. There’s a large, hexagonal grille up front with a healthy dose of chrome. The swept-back xenon lamps, cornering fog lights and skid plate, all connect in a geometrical pattern that give the front a smart look. The Santa Fe holds your attention around the side as well with its swept-up look, bold character lines and 18-inch alloys. The rear has a conventional tailgate with smart LED lamps and a cut that arcs across.

The exterior is only a hint of the kind of equipment the Santa Fe has on offer. It’s a generous list with all the variants getting leather seats, steering controls, a six-speaker touch audio system with Bluetooth and aux-in connectivity, cooled glove compartment, dual front airbags, ABS with EBD (brake systems that prevent skidding), rear-view cameras, Flex Steer system (it offers three different steering settings), xenon head lamps, LED rear lamps, cornering fog lamps, dual-zone climate control, air-conditioner vents for all three rows, push-button start and cruise control. However, advanced systems such as electronic stability control, hill-start assist and downhill brake control will only be available in the top-end, four-wheel drive variant.

Open the doors and you are greeted by a plush interior. The two-tone beige and brown cabin with splashes of glossy plastic and chrome give it a rich look. It betters the likes of the Toyota Fortuner and Honda CR-V by a large margin. The quality is impressive. The cabin is hugely practical too, with tonnes of cubbyholes for storage and little conveniences like the boot release on the door pad, tilted bottle holders in the door and a button to flip the centre row in the third compartment, highlighting the attention to detail. There are three rows of seats and the centre row has a slide and recline function. There’s a great deal of versatility too, with the rear seats folding flat and the centre getting a 40:20:40 split. The driver gets a 12-way powered seat but I think this could have been compromised to offer height-adjust to the passenger—this is missing. With the seat being low it’s difficult for shorter passengers to get good visibility ahead. Also, none of the variants has a sunroof.

While the looks and interiors are all new, under the hood is the old familiar 2.2 litre CRDi that offers 194 bhp. Driving around the roads of Kerala, we were once again impressed by this quiet, responsive engine. There’s always a surge of power when you press the throttle and overtaking on highways is easy. The six-speed gearbox is pretty responsive too but has a tendency to upshift quite quickly, so on a twisty, windy road, it’s best to shift to manual mode.

And except for some tyre noise at high speeds, it’s a well-insulated cabin.

Hyundai has introduced its Flex Steer system in the Santa Fe, which weighs up the steering progressively. In Comfort mode, it’s light and easy, making it best for city use. Normal gives it a slightly better feel; it’s really Sport mode that gives the best responses, and is the version you’d want to use on highways or winding sections.

But despite this, there is still an inconsistency to the steering that doesn’t allow you to feel entirely confident. Combined with the body roll, the Santa Fe isn’t an enthusiast’s drive. It’s not a car that likes to be hustled, it’s more comfortable being driven in a relaxed manner. What it’s really good at is cruising. Sitting on a highway at higher speeds, it feels stable and planted.

The back seat is spacious and with a flatter floorboard, a third passenger can fit in comfortably too. Though the superb road surfaces of Kerala are really not the best for judging ride quality, we were able to discern that it deals with bumps and potholes well in the city but does bounce around a fair bit at higher speeds. On the whole, it still offers a comfortable back-seat experience.

The Santa Fe is feature-packed but at its price, it puts itself more in the league of the BMW X1 and Audi Q3 than the Toyota Fortuner, Mahindra SsangYong Rexton and Honda CR-V. It comes across as overpriced and so, despite it being a hugely capable Hyundai and the best one yet, it’s going to have to contend with the lure of those premium badges.

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More Less
Published: 25 Feb 2014, 06:44 PM IST
Next Story footLogo
Recommended For You
Switch to the Mint app for fast and personalized news - Get App