Hyundai Santa Fe Review (2021-2023)

What is the Hyundai Santa Fe?

The Hyundai Santa Fe has been the Korean brand’s flagship SUV since 2000 and in the UK it’s the biggest Hyundai SUV you can get. If you're familiar with the old Hyundai Santa Fe's styling, you might be forgiven for wondering what’s new with this model, which was launched in 2021. If you look carefully, however, you’ll see that there are new headlight designs and a bolder, wider front grille, new alloy wheel designs and a reflective strip at the rear that connects the two rear light clusters. Underneath the skin, however, it’s a completely new car. The most notable result of that is that the old car’s 2.2-litre diesel engine is now joined by some petrol-electric hybrid options. There’s a choice of either a 'self-charging' hybrid – also known as a full hybrid – with 228bhp, or a plug-in hybrid with 261bhp. Both use a 1.6-litre turbo four-cylinder petrol engine mated to a six-speed automatic transmission, while the diesel features an eight-speed twin-clutch unit. There is no manual gearbox option.

How practical is it?

Whichever way you look at it, the Santa Fe is a big car. In fact, it’s around 20 centimetres longer than a Land Rover Discovery Sport, and that’s significant because it means that it’s even more spacious, especially for those sitting in the third-row seats. For starters, access is straightforward as the second row bench tilts and slides forward at the touch of a button, leaving a decent gap to climb through. Once sitting, taller adults will still feel a bit cramped on anything other than shorter journeys, but for most there will be little to grumble about. Neat touches for those sitting in the back include cupholders and individual ventilation controls.

There’s even better news for those in the second row, because somehow Hyundai’s engineers have managed to free up an extra 34mm of legroom. The Santa Fe is a wide car, too, so you can fit three adults across the bench without them having to rub shoulders with their fellow passengers.

With the third row seats in place the Hyundai’s boot is small, with just enough space for a couple of squashy bags or a pushchair. However, fold them into the boot floor and you’ll free-up a very useful 571 litres of carrying capacity, while lowering the second row as well liberates a van-like 1,649 litres. Better still, the standard powered tailgate has a wide opening, plus the boot floor is totally flat and there loads of useful hooks and load securing points.

There’s a pair of comfortable, electrically adjustable front seats, with a redesigned centre console that swoops through the front of the cabin. The infotainment system is touch-controlled, but there are also a lot more shortcut buttons than is the fashion with many other cars. This is a good thing, as it means you can cycle through many of the car’s functions without getting distracted by fiddly touchscreens.

One thing to bear in mind is that the petrol-electric hybrid models can’t tow as much as the diesel, with the maximum braked limit falling from 2,500kg to 1,650kg.

What's it like to drive

You’re unlikely to be grinning from ear-to-ear with a pulse rate running into the hundreds after a drive in the Santa Fe, but then that’s not why people buy large SUVs. Drivers of these cars usually prioritise comfort and refinement, and want to arrive at their destination as stress-free as possible, and in this respect the Hyundai is happy to oblige.

You sit high-up with a great view out, while the light controls and standard automatic transmission make it a doddle to drive. The soft suspension does a good job of soaking up bumps, while provided you don’t work the engines hard, the noise levels stay low, the Santa Fe doing a passable impression of a four-wheeled library.

Yet the steering is accurate, there’s surprisingly little body roll and a decent amount of grip, meaning the Santa Fe always feels safe and predictable. All versions apart from the entry-level hybrid get four-wheel drive, so you can throw confidence-inspiring all-weather traction into the mix as well.

Despite its promising 227bhp power output and claimed 0-62mph time of 9.1 seconds, the hybrid Santa Fe feels brisk rather than quick. Worse still, work the 1.6-litre unit hard and it sounds harsh and strained, so it’s best to take it easy and try to make the most of the electric motor’s muscular boost of low-speed energy.

The plug-in model has the added benefit of being able to travel a claimed 36 miles in quiet and zero-emissions EV mode, although performance from the 90bhp motor is leisurely. That said, it’s fine around town, where it’s easily capable of keeping up with the flow of traffic. When combined with the turbocharged 1.6-litre petrol engine it develops 261bhp, but the extra weight of the large battery pack means it doesn’t feel a lot faster than the hybrid (its official 0-62mpg time is only a little quicker at 8.8 seconds).

While the 2.2-litre CRDi diesel is a bit old tech compared to its hybrid siblings, it actually suits the character of the Santa Fe well. There’s some diesel grumble at low speeds, but the rest of the time it’s a muscular and refined performer, while its eight-speed twin-clutch gearbox delivers smoother and swifter shifts than the six-speed automatic in the hybrid cars.

Technology, equipment & infotainment

In terms of trim levels, there are only two options: Premium and Ultimate. Both are pretty lavishly equipped. Even Premium models get electric seats for the driver and passenger, heated seats front and rear, a heated steering wheel, dual-zone climate control, a high-end Krell sound system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a hands-free electric boot lid, a rear-view camera and adaptive cruise control.

Ultimate models add a head-up display, a full 12.3-inch digital driver’s display, a 360-degree parking camera, blind spot view monitor, a panoramic sunroof and a cruise control system that will also help keep you centred in your lane on a motorway. In fact, it’s probably easier to list what kit the Santa Fe doesn’t have.

The downside of this high spec is pricing; even the most basic Santa Fe is a smidgen over £40,000 when new, while you can find an entry-level Skoda Kodiaq from less than £26,000. Having said that, if you want your Kodiaq to match the exhaustive list of gadgets, equipment and technology that you get in the Santa Fe, you pretty much have to spend about the same amount of money.

Hyundai Santa Fe running costs

Fuel economy in the Santa Fe is impressive in all models. Depending on which wheel size, and whether you go for four-wheel drive or two-wheel drive, you should be able to get somewhere between 38mpg and 44mpg out of the full hybrid. The diesel’s figures are very similar, too.

Theoretically, the plug-in model can average 173mpg, but you’d need to be able to regularly charge up the battery back and run extensively on electric power only to get close to this figure in the real world.

If you are running your Santa Fe as a company car, the plug-in hybrid makes the most sense. Its electric-only range of 36 miles puts it in the 12% benefit-in-kind company car tax bracket, along with most other PHEVs. By contrast, the two-wheel drive hybrid model emits 152g/km of CO2, putting it in the 34% bracket, with the four-wheel drive’s 168g/km CO2 putting it into the 36% category.

VED for the first year of ownership is free if you’ve gone for the plug-in hybrid, but you’ll have to find £545 for the VED on the self-charging hybrid Santa Fe. Worse still, because all Santa Fes cost more than £40,000, you will get hit with an extra £480 annual tax bill for five years after that. You’ll suffer an even greater assault on your wallet with the diesel, which attracts an eye-watering £945 first year VED rate, although this is at least factored into the list price. Still combined fuel economy of 41.5mpg isn’t bad for such a big old bus, while the 177g/km CO2 emissions mean it falls in the 37% company car tax bracket, which is only 1% more than the more expensive hybrid.

You can set up a prepaid plan for servicing when you buy a Santa Fe, but the costs for this will vary depending on how much you use your car. Servicing intervals are every year or 10,000 miles, whichever comes sooner.

Hyundai Santa Fe reliability

Hyundai backs up its cars with an impressive warranty. It lasts for five years and has no limit on mileage, which is more generous than the warranties you’ll get with most of its mainstream rivals. Do be aware, though, that some parts – including clutches, drive belts, the radio and the air-conditioning system – may have shorter cover than other parts.

However, Hyundai owners do seem to be a largely satisfied lot; the brand often outperforms its German, French and Japanese rivals in independent customer satisfaction surveys. In fact, it came out on top overall in the most recent Auto Express Driver Power survey.

The latest Santa Fe is too new to have any meaningful information on its reliability at the time of writing, but the signs, based on the wider company performance, are very positive.