Hyundai Santa Fe

One of the Korean automaker’s well-known models, the new Hyundai Santa Fe, upgraded and launched in Malaysia.

Locally-assembled (CKD - Kedah), the C-segment SUV (crossover SUV) is in its fourth-generation underpinning two powertrain choices (turbo-hybrid, turbodiesel). 

Available via Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors (HSDM) are three variants (Hybrid Plus - MYR 195,888, Hybrid Max - MYR 215,888, Diesel Max - MYR 209,888).

Prices (OTR, w/o insurance) include a standard warranty (five years/300,000 KM warranty). Early bird discount (first 100 units - MYR 10,000).

Four exterior colours (Phantom Black, Creamy White Pearl, Magnetic Grey, Stormy Sea).

The new Santa Fe gets a sloping-multi-tiered dashboard build, linked to a high-rising-wide centre console (Shift-By-Wire - button gear-selector).

Outfitted with soft-/hard-touch panels, it sees a single-tone (Black) colour scheme with contrasting trimmings (Silver - dash, centre console, steering wheel, door cards).

Filling-in the space are floating central display (infotainment), driver display (instrument cluster) and angular air-conditioning vents.

Inclusively, the layout is simple and straight-forward with accessibilities purposefully-arranged (driver-centric, passenger-oriented).

Installed is a 4.25-Inch TFT LCD with RHEOSTAT Supervision Cluster (Hybrid Plus) and a 12.3-Inch TFT LCD with RHEOSTAT fully-digital instrument cluster (Hybrid Max, Diesel Max).

Variant-specific, the interior sees fabric (Hybrid Plus) and leather (Hybrid Max, Diesel Max) upholsteries in a single-tone (Black) colour scheme.

The first-row gets electric-powered (driver/passenger - multi-way) seats (driver-memory, heating/ventilation, lumbar - Hybrid Max). 

The second-row gets a manually-operated (40:20:40 - split-fold-slide) three-seater, and the third-row gets a manually-operated (50:50 - split-fold) two-seater bench.

Included are armrests (first-row - centre console, second-row - centre seat fold-out, third-row - integrated side panels), and mood lamp (Hybrid Max, Diesel Max).

The seven-seater (seating configuration - 2-3-2) offers generous cabin space, providing ample interior mobility for the first-, second-, and third-row occupants.

Sufficient head-, shoulder-, and leg-room.

Numerous storage spaces. E.g., glove box, passenger dash compartment, partitioned/caverned centre console compartments, and seat back/side door pockets.

Mounted is a three-spoke steering wheel, wrapped in leather (Black) with contrast trimmings (Silver).

Features are multi-switches (Bluetooth, media, vehicle settings), column adjustments (tilt, telescopic), and paddle shifters. 

Drive is aided by an Electric Power Steering (EPS) system.

Provided are six cup holders (two - first-row, second-row, third-row) and four bottle holders (two - side doors).

Equipped are five USB ports (two - first-row/second-row, one - third-row), two 12 V sockets (first-row, boot), and one wireless charger (Hybrid Max).

Accessing the boot’s Smart Power Tailgate feature (remote/key fob, sensor - Hybrid Max, Diesel Max), opens up to a load capacity of 634-Litres (seats up) and 2,396-Litres (seats down).

The new Santa Fe stands at 4,785 MM long, 1,900 MM wide, 1,685 MM tall, and with a wheelbase spanning 2,765 MM.

Solidly-sporty and elegantly-robust, it exudes a roundly-sculpted exterior, heightened by clean-cut and sharply-sleek contours.

The front-end sees a moulded-bonnet, muscular quarter panels, Hyundai’s geometric-inlay grille (Black-Chrome), and a vented (Black - corners, lower-centre) bumper.

Accentuations are body claddings (Black - bumper, fenders, side sills, side mirror arms), body trimmings (Aluminium - bumper/window surrounds, lower doors), under-guard (Aluminium), and roof rails (Aluminium - Hybrid Max, Diesel Max).

Sleek and sportily-bulbous, it continues the circular design with a mildly-shaped silhouette and smoothly-lined creases.

The rear-end sees a straight-cut roofline, a roof-edge spoiler (Black-body-colour), muscular quarter panels, a tapered tailgate, and a covered bumper (hidden exhaust).

Accentuations are body cladding (Black - bumper, fenders, side sills), body trimmings (Aluminium - bumper/window surrounds, lower doors), under-guard (Aluminium), and roof rails (Aluminium - Hybrid Max, Diesel Max).

Slit-like (DRLs) and rectangular (main), the headlamps are in a split-housing design (top-bonnet-integrated - DRLs, lower-grille-integrated - main). 

Installed are Bi-function LED units. Features are T-shaped LED Daytime Running Lights (DRL), automatic On/Off, High Beam Assist (HBA), and sequential turn signals.

Full-width, the tail lamps are housed in a two-section design. Inward-arrow and wrapped-around corners with centre-linking light strip.

Fitted are LED units with sequential turn signals. Paired to the setup are full-width strip-like fog lamps and a high-mounted stop light (spoiler-integrated).

The two-tone (Black-body-colour) side mirrors are electric-powered (auto-fold, adjust), with turn signals, anti-glare (Electronic Chromic Mirror - ECM), and blind-spot indicators (Blind-Spot Collision Warning - BCW - Hybrid Max, Diesel Max).

Fitted are ventilated (front - 432 MM, rear - 406 MM) disc brakes. Drive is aided by an Electronic Parking Brake (EPB) with Auto Brake Hold system.

Variant Hybrid Plus rides on a set of 17-Inch dual-tone (Black-Silver) alloy rims, wrapped in 235/65 R17 (front, rear) tyres. 

Variant Hybrid Max cruises on a set of 19-Inch dual-tone (Black-Silver) alloy rims, wrapped in 235/55 R19 (front, rear) tyres.

Variant Diesel Max sports a set of 20-Inch dual-tone (Black-Silver) alloy rims, wrapped in 255/45 R20 (front, rear) tyres.

The new Santa Fe is installed with the Hyundai SmartSense suite of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). 

Variant Hybrid Plus gets Conventional Cruise Control (CCC), Safe Exit Warning (SEW), and Rear Occupant Alert (ROA).

Variants Hybrid Max and Diesel Max upgrade with Smart Cruise Control (SCC) with Stop/Go, Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA) with Vehicle/Pedestrian/Cyclist Detection, Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist with Junction Turning (FCA-JT), Lane Keeping Assist (LKA), Lane Following Assist (LFA), Driver Attention Warning (DAW), Leading Vehicle Departure Alert (LVDA), High Beam Assist (HBA), Blind-Spot Collision Warning (BCW), Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist (BCA), Rear Cross Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (RCCA), Rear Occupant Alert (ROA) with Motion Sensor, and Surround-View Monitor (360-degree).

Other standard systems include, Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brake-Force Distribution (EBD), Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Brake Assist System (BAS), Multi Collision Brake (MCB), Hill-Start Assist Control (HAC), Downhill Brake Control (DBC), Emergency Stop Signal (ESS), and Electronic Parking Brake (EPB) with Auto Brake Hold.

Passive safety includes six airbags (driver-passenger, front side, front-rear curtain), seat belts (reminders, pre-tensioners, anchors), ISOFIX (one - first-row-passenger, two - second-row-outer), parking sensors (four - front, rear), parking cameras (reverse with dynamic parking guide - Hybrid Plus, 360-degree - Hybrid Max, Diesel Max), anti-glare rear-view mirrors (exterior/interior - Electronic Chromic Mirror - ECM), Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), impact beams, door ajar warning, power child-lock, and anti-theft system (security alarm, immobiliser).

Four drive modes at the driver’s disposal (ECO, NORMAL, SPORT, SMART). 

Variant Diesel Max adds on Terrain Mode (SNOW, MUD, SAND - Hyundai’s HTRAC 4WD system).

Installed is an 8.0-Inch central touchscreen display supporting MP3 playback, AUX-in, USB, Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto (wireless), navigation (Waze/Google Map) and voice recognition.

Entertainment is channelled via a setup of four speakers and two tweeters. 

The new Santa Fe comes with two powertrain options (turbo-hybrid, turbo-diesel). 

Variants Hybrid Plus and Hybrid Max fuses the turbo-hybrid setup (Gamma-II T-GDi Hybrid), featuring a 1.6-Litre inline four-cylinder 16-valve turbocharged petrol engine (180 HP, 265 NM) and a front-mounted electric motor (44.2 KW, 85 NM). 

Total system output reads at 230 HP and 350 NM.

Variant Diesel Max nestles the turbo-diesel setup (CRDi), featuring a 2.2-Litre inline four-cylinder 16-valve common-rail direct-injection turbocharged diesel engine (202 HP, 440 NM).

Variants Hybrid Plus and Hybrid Max churn with a six-speed automatic standard transmission.

Variant Diesel Max works with an eight-speed automatic dual-clutch transmission (DCT).

Variant Hybrid Plus and Hybrid Max transmit power to the front wheels, via a Two-Wheel Drive (2WD) system.  

Variant Diesel Max transmits power to all four wheels, via Hyundai’s HTRAC Four-Wheel Drive (4WD) system.

0 to 100 KM/H acceleration is done in 8.9 seconds (Hybrid Plus, Hybrid Max) and 9.2 seconds (Diesel Max). Top speed is 180 KM/H (Hybrid Plus, Hybrid Max, Diesel Max).

The new Santa Fe features these conveniences.

E.g., Smart Keyless Entry (engine Start/Stop button, remote engine start), powered-tailgate (remote/key fob, sensor - Hybrid Max, Diesel Max), dual-zone automatic climate control (rear air vents) system, electronic-powered (driver/passenger - multi-way) seats (driver-memory, heating/ventilation, lumbar - Hybrid Max), steering wheel (multi-function, column adjustments, paddle shifters, EPS), Electronic Parking Brake (EPB) with Auto Brake Hold, interior illumination (reading/boot/mood lights), parking sensors (four - front, rear), parking cameras (dynamic parking guide - reverse, 360-degree), anti-glare rear-view mirrors (exterior/interior - Electronic Chromic Mirror - ECM), blind-spot indicators (Blind-Spot Collision Warning - BCW), automatic headlamps (On/Off, high beam), automatic wipers (rain-sensing, intermittent), a wireless charger (Hybrid Max), and Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS).

Installed is a dual-zone automatic climate control (rear air vents) system.

A suitable daily-driver, the ride comfortability feels flexible and firm at the same time, providing great power with agile handling.

Suspension fitted is a setup of Macpherson strut (front) and multi-link (rear). Inside and out, performance- and comfort-wise, the ride quality is satisfactory.

Good sound insulation with the NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) aspects accounted for. The cabin is well-designed, enhancing the in-car ambience.

Overall, the cabin is able to suppress unwanted noises well and make them barely noticeable, even when cruising through bumpy asphalts or at high speeds. 

The new Hyundai Santa Fe is built with a robustly-sporty appeal, offering appearance, space and practicality.

Elegant and sharply-sculpted, its exterior is well-designed with angular lines donating to a powerful overall character. 

Inside and out, the quality of the equipment installed is impressive with clean and minimalistic detailing.

Ultimately, the new Santa Fe bargains more than just good looks, as it also offers plenty of other amenities at the price it comes with.