Hyundai’s Santa Fe flagship is an intriguing car all round
There’s good reason why this Hyundai Sata Fe may remind you of grandma’s Passat. See, it makes no secret of its affinity to the Hyundai Pony. But what the hell’s a Hyundai Pony, you may well ask? Google it! Or the short answer is simpler. The stillborn 1974 Hyundai Pony Coupe Concept was a sexy coupe scuppered by a bad economy before it even got to the starting gate.
Anyway, back to the story. Penned by Italdesign’s Giorgetto Giugiaro, the original prototype was crushed, but the car was recreated in 2023. To celebrate Hyundai’s heritage. And inspire modern Hyundai designs like the N Vision 74 concept car, IONIQ 5 and this here new Santa Fe. So what about Grandma’s Passat then? Well, old Giorgetto drew that at Italdesign too. Go figure!
Ever heard of the Hyundai Pony?
Anyway, officially, the new Hyundai Santa Fe design is inspired by a return to the SUV’s rugged, outdoor-adventure roots in a boxy, utilitarian aesthetic inspired by classic retro designs. Prioritising interior space with a long wheelbase and a wide tailgate for practical loading, it has great, fan-like 20-alloy inch alloys and also toasts latest Hyundai cues like H-design on the head and taillight elements.
Those distinctive H-shape LEDs harmonize with the frontal treatment to reinterpret the Hyundai emblem. And immediately identify it as one. And a boxy one at it. Enough to earn it the 2025 Women’s Worldwide Car of the Year award. Now they’ve got style those girls and they recognise something inspired by a literal design god. Still, the quirky Santa Fe splits opinion on its looks. Some of us love it. Others not so much.
Cutting to the chase then, the family-friendly, tech-savvy and sustainable three-row seven-seater Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid is a big car. Far from the humble original that’s been around as long as Hyundai has in SA, this latest 4.8 meter long, 1.9 m wide and 1.77 m tall Santa Fe rides on a 2.8 m wheelbase with 177 mm clearance.
Santa Fe is petrol-electric hybrid
A petrol-electric hybrid, it has a feisty 132 kW 265 Nm 1.6-litre turbo petrol four-pot coupled to a 44 kW 264 Nm electric motor driving all four wheels via a 6-speed auto box. Total system output is a smooth, responsive and pretty impressive 175 kW and 367 Nm. Powered by a 1.49 kWh lithium-ion polymer traction battery.
The electric motor has a triple purpose. As a motor it boosts the petrol unit in acceleration and can drive the car on its own at lower speeds. And then it charges the traction battery by working as a generator. Regen harvesting levels can be controlled via steering wheel paddles, all while keeping fuel consumption at a quite attainable 7.5 litres per hundred in spite of Santa Fe’s generous proportions.
Which of course make for a cavernous and luxurious cabin. Comfortable and sophisticated, H-Tex faux leather spreads across the ergonomic height adjustable front to the second and third row seats.
Hyundai says Santa Fe has a cabin to explore
Easy to run via a fair combination of knobs and buttons, touch, the multifunction steering and voice, the neat digital instrument cluster is backed by the large central 12.3-inch Bluetooth, CarPlay and Auto rich touchscreen entertainment display with dual handset charging pads, Bose premium audio and all the expected bells and whistles. Hyundai call it breathtaking. A cabin to Explore…
Safety includes six airbags and upper and lower ISOFIX points in both the second and third rows, central door locks and automatic safety locking. It’s very well stacked. Add Smart Sense packed with everything from a 360-view monitor to forward and junction collision and lane-follow assistants to driver attention, blind spot collision and view and rear-occupant warnings too. A bit overbearing at times but all good.
A big car with huge presence, you don’t miss the new Hyundai Santa Fe on the road. It’s similar to drive with grand performance, zest and go. Particularly considering that its principal power source is just a sixteen hundred. Which makes those performance figures down below all the more impressive.
A hell of a lot of car for R1.25-million.
Also exceptionally backed with 900 Hyundai’s legendary seven-year 200,000 km drivetrain warranty and a very good service plan through Hyundais over 110 dealerships across South Africa, quality and luxury never come cheap. But it’s still a hell of a lot of car for R1.25-million.
Overall, there’s nothing bad about it. And besides what some may think of its styling, nothing overly spectacular, either. The long and short of it is that that beyond the latest Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Elite AWD’s inherent quirkiness, it’s just a good, basic car that makes quite the statement. And it’s a pretty worthy flagship at all of that. – Michele Lupini
Images & testing: Giordano Lupini
ROAD TESTED: Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Elite AWD
Engine: 132 kW 265 Nm 1.6-litre turbo petrol
Motor: 44kW 264 Nm electric
System output: 175 kW 367 Nm
Battery: 1.49 kWh lithium-ion polymer battery
Drive: 6-speed automatic AWD
TESTED:
0-60 km/h: 3.55 sec
0-100 km/h: 7.92sec
0-120 km/h: 10.75 sec
0-160 km/h: 18.78 sec
400m: 15.6 sec @ 146 km/h
80-120 km/h: 5.27 sec
120-160 km/h: 8.03 sec
CLAIMED:
VMax: 190 km/h
Fuel: 7.5 l/100 km
CO2: 166 g/km
Range: 900 km
Warranty/Service: Up to 7y 200K/6y 90K km
LIST PRICE: R1.25M
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