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The exciting world of Santa Fe
By Moses Akaigwe (igwemos@sunnewsonline)
Friday, November 21, 2008
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Santa Fe
Photo:Sun News Publishing |
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By way of comparison, the current model of Hyundai Santa
Fe is larger, better equipped, and features more new transmissions
than its predecessor.
Also now available in both five and seven seats, Hyundai have
pinned their hopes on the new Santa Fe to elevate them as
a manufacturer of quality, desirable vehicles at a competitive
price, and they succeeded, considering the endless interest
shown on it at Hyundai Motors Nigeria showrooms across the
country.
In practice, the diesel engine is as quick and certainly as
economical as the petrol engine; either of them is fantastic
- it is so refined and very quiet, but only the petrol powerplant
(2.7 litre) is sold in Nigeria by Hyundai Nigeria. .
Speedwise the Santa Fe does not set the world alight, but
it is well paced and quite capable in normal driving conditions.
The optional five-speed automatic gearbox is well mated to
the engine and rarely missed a beat. You can manually change
gear in a ‘Tiptronic fashion’, knock the lever
over to manual mode and simply push it forward or back to
change gear (no need to lift off).
You would be pleasantly surprised by the Hyundai Santa Fe;
it has very good road manners. A Santa Fe ride can be compliant,
soaking up the worst of road surfaces and potholes. Even off-road,
albeit on rough farm tracks, the Hyundai is quite capable
of absorbing quite severe impacts.
Unlike the previous Santa Fe, it now features a torque on
demand four-wheel drive system, similar to that in its smaller
sibling the Tucson. In normal conditions, only the front wheels
are driven. Electronic sensors monitor road and driving conditions
and automatically engage all-wheel drive when required, to
gain the best possible traction and maintain vehicle stability,
working in conjunction with the vehicle’s other active
safety systems, including ESP (electronic stability programme),
ABS with EBD and TCR (traction control).
When conditions demand, four-wheel drive can be engaged simply
by pushing the 4WD button on the front console. This locks
all four wheels into permanent drive for better performance
when travelling off-road or on low-grip road surfaces.
Overall the Santa Fe is enjoyable to drive with little compromise,
we were very impressed.
All round visibility is good and access to the front and middle
row seats is good. The sill height is lower than some four
wheel drives, so the Santa Fe should be a good choice for
those of you with mobility problems.
You can buy the Santa Fe with either five or seven seats depending
on your needs. However, the five-seater is what you can have
through the marketer in Nigeria. Access to the third row of
seats is via the middle row/rear doors. Head room is surprisingly
good. The two rear most passengers have full seat belts, plus
a 12v socket for games, etc.
One problem you will face with seven passengers is that you
are not going to be able to fit seven passenger’s worth
of luggage on board (although that is the case with most 7-seaters)
.This may well be the reason Hyundai Nigeria is concentrating
on the five-saeter.
The two further most rear seats lift out of the floor with
the minimum fuss and return to give you a flush rear load
space. The central row of seats also fold pretty much flat
to give you 2,213 litres of luggage space.
The top model is equipped with rain-sensitive wipers, auto-dimming
rear view mirror and automatic cruise control as standard.
Bigger and better, both inside and out, the current Santa
Fe SUV has contributed to making the Hyundai brand the highest
selling Korean brand in Nigeria, even though large chunk of
the credit belongs to the Accents and the Elantras.
Unlike the previous model, Santa Fe now features a torque
on demand four-wheel drive system, similar to that in its
smaller sibling, the Tucson. In normal conditions, only the
front wheels are driven. Electronic sensors monitor road and
driving conditions and automatically engage all-wheel drive
when required, to gain the best possible traction and maintain
vehicle stability, working in conjunction with the vehicle’s
other active safety systems, including ESP (electronic stability
programme), ABS with EBD and TCR (traction control). |
