Auto Express – August 07, 2019

52 7August2019 http://www.autoexpress.co.uk

OURCARS LivingwithaHyundaiSantaFe

THIRD REPORTLove them or loathe them, there’snostopping the rise of the SUV

Hyundai Santa Fe

I’LLadmittobeingatadconflictedby
ourHyundaiSantaFe.Ononehand,I
reallylikeit.Thedarkbluebrutehasmerged
intofamilylifewithsofewoftheusual
nigglesandhiccupsthatcomebundledup
withanewcarthatIfindmyselfgoingto
extralengthstotryandlocatesomething
tocomplainabout.It’sthekindofguyIam.
Ontheotherhand,ittroublesme.Not
reallyforreasonsinherentintheSantaFe
itself,butmoreasaresultofwhatitstands
forandthewaySUVssuchasitaretaking
over.Theincredibleriseinpopularityof
carslikethisoverthelastdecadeandmore
showstheyarewhatthepeople,oratleast
significantnumbersofthem,want.
ThecontentsoftheSUV’spluscolumnare
wellknownandobvious.Yougetthosetough,
chunkylooks,plustheextrapeaceofmind
duetobigbumpersandajacked-upride
heightthatnotonlykeeptheexpensivebits
clearofkerbsandspeedhumps,butalso
makesentries,exits,loadingandunloading
significantlyeasier.Youcouldevendrivethe
caroffroadifyouwant,withareasonable
expectationofnotgettingstuck.
TheminuscolumnfortheSUVcontains
thefactthattheyareveryrarelyasenjoyable
todriveasanequivalentlysized,andpriced,

caroftheconventionalhatchback,estate

orsaloonvariety.Theyalsotendtobeless

economical–althoughthemarginisn’tas

greatasitoncewas–andincreasingly,

there’sthefactthatabsolutelyeverybody

elseseemstohaveboughtone.

TheSocietyofMotorManufacturersand

Traderstellsusthat136,000‘dualpurpose

vehicles’(aclasspredominantlycomprised

ofSUVs)weresoldintheUKin2008,and

502,000weresoldin2018.That’sa267per

centincrease,thekindofnumberthatkeeps

salesmanagersinchampagneandlobsters.

ThisSantaFeisaseven-seatdieselSUV,

4,770mminlengthandalmostbang-ontwo

tonnes,soit’sattheupperendofthesize

scale.It’sgota197bhpengine,soalthoughit

can’tre-writethephysicsrulebookandstill

takes9.3secondstodothe0-62mphsprint,

440Nmoftorquefrom1,750rpmmakesit

feelstrongenoughwhenaccelerating.

Despitethatmuscleandthesmooth-

shiftingeight-speedautomaticgearbox,

it’sdoingnearly41mpgonaverage,largely

withoutengagingtheEcomodethatshifts

the4x4system’storquebiastowards

front-wheeldrive.Remarkably,thatfuel

economyisonlyjustbelowthe42.8mpg

theSantaFemanagesontheofficialWLTP

“The incredible rise in popularity of cars

likethis shows theyare what people want”

Running costs

40.9mpg (ontest)

£95 fill-up/£465 or 37%tax

Practicality

Boot(seats up/down)

547/1,625 litres

combinedcycle,whereitalsorecords

CO 2 emissionsof157g/km.

OnetaskwheretheSUV’sextraheight

reallycomesintoitsownisfittingchild

carseats.Ifyouvaluetheintegrityofyour

spine,thinktwicebeforegoingbacktoa

lowercarwhileyourkidsarestillusing

them;theprocessisjustmoreofastruggle.

SUVsdothethingsthatmattertomost

peopleverywell,andthethingsthatthese

high-ridingmodelsdon’tdowelljustdon’t

mattertothemajorityofbuyers.There’s

therub,therecipeforsuccess.Maybethose

whomoanabouttheSUVboomshould

learntolovethem.I’mtryingmybest.

SteveWalker

[email protected]