HYUNDAI SANTA FE
Are you seeing what we’re seeing? A 2004 Discovery, that masterpiece of sheer-sided Geoff Upex design and unstoppable off-road adventurism? Yeah, there’s some of that here, a body shaped with minimalist style ethos but maximalist space efficiency. The Hyundai Santa Fe is a family SUV, about as big as you could possibly want for British streets and car parks. It’s got seven seats with cargo space beyond that, and it’s a solid tow car.
But actually it’s a slightly different proposition from an old Land Rover. It’s only optionally 4WD, and doesn’t have a low ratio transmission or diff locks. For most people it’s better off without that weight and complication.
While it looks big enough to block out the sun, it’s actually a useful 120mm shorter than today’s Discovery. But the silhouette, as boxy as a box of Lego, encloses a cathedral of space. With a bit of compromise by sliding the first two rows of seats, seven grownups can fit, and their seven airline cabin bags behind. They all get vents and lights and USBs and cupholders, so no one draws the short straw.
Undermining any residual badge snobbery around Hyundai, this generation Santa Fe has really rather beautiful and nicely crafted cabin furniture, too. The squared off blocky themes of the outside carry on in here. The main dash is a nicely trimmed horizontal pavement, and the centre console is mostly oblongs. But the double-width screen setup forsakes the linear rule. It’s curved towards the driver. It works with all the pleasing logic we’ve come to expect from the Koreans, and there are plenty of extra physical switches for stuff you grab fast: hi-fi, climate, parking cameras, drive mode.
The transmission selector is a big stalk, freeing up even more space in the centre console for storage. It’s a double deck item like you’d find on an EV. As well as a glovebox ahead of the passenger, there’s a small lidded compartment that’s an ultraviolet steriliser. Not for your hands, it works only with the lid shut. How did we ever live without it? Can’t they do me an espresso machine instead?
The front centre armrest lid does a double flip, so it can be used by the people in the front or middle rows. All around the cabin are airbags, USBs, charging mats, vents, lights, speakers and cupholders. No one’s going to feel second class.
No surprise that in its 2024 incarnation the Santa Fe is diesel free and all-electrified. All powertrains centre on a four-cylinder 1.6 petrol with a hybrid motor that is sandwich
