Hyundai Santa Fe (06 on) - Review

Review by Simon Harris on
Last Updated: 23 November 2009
The Santa Fe is one of the best cars in the Hyundai line-up and a great 4x4. It has a versatile seven-seat option, a good quality interior, comfortable ride and a cracking diesel engine. It stacks up well alongside the competition too and there are few cars that can match it on space, equipment and value for money. Alternatives like the Toyota RAV4 and, Honda CR-V are smaller (and not available with seven seats), while similar sized models like the Volkswagen Touareg are far more expensive. Some of the interior plastics could be better and it can feel a little soft in corners, but as family transport goes, it makes plenty of sense. It was significantly revised in late 2009 with a more powerful yet economical engine, an upgraded cabin and exterior styling tweaks. However, it remains as good value as ever.
4 out of 5

Other Hyundai reviews

3.5 out of 5

Running costs

The diesel is the only sensible choice, with the manual offering an average of nearly 39mpg in official tests (42mpg from the newer CRDi engine). Spending the extra on a seven seat model (which also adds self-levelling rear suspension) should be a safe investment when it comes to sell while Hyundai servicing is good value. The five-year warranty is not limited by mileage constraints so gives good peace of mind should anything go wrong.

* based on most recent data

Estimated fuel cost for 10,000 miles per year

Unleaded

£2,360 - £2,360 *

Diesel

£1,563 - £1,885 *

The estimated fuel cost figure is a guide to how much this model will cost to fuel each year, so you can compare between cars. It's calculated by using the model's average mpg (calculated from both town centre and motorway driving) and the average fuel price. It's based on the following cost-per-litre: petrol 135p and diesel 141p. Prices are updated daily.

Summary Running Costs

Servicing period

12 months or 10,000 miles. Revised 2.2 CRDi models are 20,000 miles.

Warranty

Five years/unlimited miles.

Road tax (12 months)

£215.00 - £460.00

Vehicle excise duty (VED) varies according to the CO2 emissions and the fuel type of the vehicle. For cars registered after March 1st 2001 VED or road tax is based on the car's CO2 emissions. For cars registered before March 1st 2001 it is based on engine size.

Full running costs data

3.5 out of 5

Green credentials

  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
    176
  • J
  • K
  • L
    252
  • M

CO2 emission figure (g/km)

Fuel economy rating

The arrows indicate the best and worst CO2 bands for this model.

Emissions summary

The Santa Fe performs adequately on the eco front. The diesel engine is the main seller and emits 191g/km of CO2 - not bad for a vehicle of this size and weight. Economy is acceptable too with 39mpg available. The newer 2.2 CRDi engine from 2009 is even cleaner, it averages 42mpg with the manual gearbox and emits 176g/km of CO2.

Find the exact engine and CO2