New Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2 CRDi AT 4WD Review: A Rung Above

Ride, handling and driving dynamics

It’s easy to find the perfect driving position in the Santa Fe, thanks to its flexible driver’s seat and the tilt-telescopic steering wheel. The seat height is moderate – neither too high up nor too low. Visibility all round is very good. Internal RVM offers a good view of what’s behind despite car’s length. The reverse parking camera helps parking in tight corners, while also offering a closer view of things not visible via the RVMs, like rocks immediately behind the car in a field.

The Santa Fe, despite its size is quite a maneuverable car, and slipping it in and out of tight spaces isn’t much of a problem. Steering, which is light and smooth at slow speeds makes things easier within the city. The ‘Flexi Steering’ on the Santa Fe offers three modes to choose from – Normal, Comfort and Sport, allowing varying levels of stiffness, with the Sport being the stiffest. However, even with all its low speed convenience, and weighting up with increase in speed, Santa Fe’s steering remains devoid of feedback and connected feel from the road. It’s quite insulated from the road, which may be a good thing for a smooth and refined feel for some, but doesn’t work too well for an involving, spirited drive around the bends

 The suspension of the Santa Fe has been tuned on the European lines – slightly on the stiffer side, but very well damped to offer a delightful combo of great ride quality and reassuring firmness around bends. Not only is the suspension tuned well to filter out the uneven surfaces effortlessly, the NVH levels are exceptional too. At low revs, the Santa Fe provides an exceptionally silent and well insulated cabin.

We drove the Santa Fe on a variety of surfaces and were delighted to see that the vehicle managed to deal with small to large irregularities at varying speeds with commendable poise. No thuds filtering in, no jarring noises – the Santa Fe offers one of the most balanced rides you can get in a big SUV.

Loaded with its army of supervisory electronics and active safety equipment the Santa Fe also offers a very reliable set of wheels around bends. Traction Control, Electronic Stability Control, ABS with EBD and brake assist work well for good control and poise. On our way back from Arithiraplli – a scenic waterfall some 60km from Cochi, we pushed the car a fair bit through the winding hilly roads. The Santa Fe, riding on its McPherson struts up front and multi link independent suspension at the rear, and rolling on 235/60/R18 ‘Nexen Roadian 581’ tyres came across as nicely poised and sure-footed for a big SUV. We were a little skeptical about the lesser known tyre brand initially, but they delivered good performance in dry conditions, with hardly any squeals and loads of grip.

Sure, the steering is devoid of the involving communication of, say, the Ford Ecosport but the car held its line without shade of drama or doubt. You can comfortably expect a fair bit of body roll from a vehicle this size and weight, but the Santa Fe, even after being a big SUV exhibited appreciable body behavior around bends. There is a bit of body roll to be experienced, but you can carry fairly good speeds around corners with this one without having to worry about any surprises.

Braking on the Santa Fe was strong and reassuring. We did feel the weight of the car coming into play when we tested the big machine for hard braking at speed. It did pitch a bit, but did not lose its line or exhibit any loss of balance. The brakes are powerful and offer good stopping power, though a bit more progressive feel and feedback would be welcome.

The Santa Fe, in spite of boasting an on demand 4WD acts as a 2WD in normal road conditions. On experiencing traction loss at front wheels, drive can be transferred to the rear wheels. The AWD gear on the Santa Fe is an on-demand, intelligent system which reacts to the traction available on wheels. The torque split between the front and rear axles can vary from 100:0 in normal conditions to 50:50 in situations where front wheels are not getting any traction.

For situations where a bit more serious 4×4 gear is required, the Santa Fe also features a 4×4 Lock facility. Once you press the 4×4 lock button placed on the rightmost corner of dashboard, the torque split is fixed to 50:50. This arrangement, however, works only for speeds below 40kmph, beyond which the system releases itself from the 4×4 lock mode.

All of this makes the Santa Fe a mild off-roader which has the capability of accessing areas which a normal 2WD car would not be able to reach. We witnessed the Santa Fe clear some reasonably big obstacles on our way to a river for a photo op. That said, the Santa Fe is not a hardcore mud-plugger and discretion should be observed before venturing out into tough terrains with this machine.

Overall, the Santa Fe presents itself as a fantastically well sprung SUV with great ability to flatten rough surfaces, and enough firmness to carry good speed through bends. With its vague steering, it may not be a whole load of fun to attack the corners, but it offers a very safe and reassuring set of wheels with well controlled body roll for a big SUV.

 Next page for verdict>>>