SOMEONE at Hyundai must have thought, “What if we took an 8-bit computer drawing of a sport utility vehicle (SUV), in all its pixelated glory, and brought it to life?”

That explains the design of the new Santa Fe, a car so boxy that in photos it looks the same size as a small apartment block. In reality, it is big enough for three rows of seats but isn’t as massive as, say, a Land Rover Defender, a car so huge it warps space and time.

At the back, the Hyundai is so upright and rectangular that it makes a fridge look like a lingerie model, although the upshot of that is plenty of headroom for the third-row inmates.

For the record, it’s a smidgen over 4.8 m long and exactly 1.9 m wide, giving it roughly the same footprint as a Mercedes-Benz E-Class. In any case, the Santa Fe is hauled along by what must seem like a tiny engine: an efficient 1.6-litre turbo hybrid powertrain.

In a car this size that sounds like asking a small terrier to pull a shopping trolley, yet the setup works surprisingly well. The stopwatch says the big Hyundai gallops to 100 kmh in 9.6 seconds, but on the road it feels brisker than that, probably because you can feel the hybrid system’s electric motor shoving it along, making the car feel like it’s gulped down a shot of Red Bull.

Of course, the real idea behind the hybrid tech is to make the car sip rather than gulp. In our traffic, you can expect a good 900 km from a tank, which is laudable for a big seven-seater. Also laudable is how the air-con runs on electricity, which means the Santa Fe stays frosty inside even when the hybrid system sends the engine to sleep.

A hefty SUV is never going to feel zippy, but the Santa Fe is surprisingly manageable on the road. It’s easy to see out of, and it has more cameras than a prison compound, so you can always keep an eye out for looming walls or kerbs when trying to park it.

The multi-link suspension does a decent job of preventing your spine from being rearranged over bumps, though there is some suspension noise, as if the car is constantly muttering to itself about road conditions.

Despite that, it’s a genuinely nice car to be in. In fact, the airy interior is what happens when Korean designers decide to out-posh the Germans, with soft Nappa leather everywhere and dual sunroofs for ambience, digital screens to make things feel modern, along with a bank of switches to make everything easy to operate.

But the real party trick is the space. That box-on-wheels styling means the third row can actually accommodate humans rather than just unfortunate pets or particularly annoying relatives. With five seats up, the boot can accommodate a generous 628 litres of stuff. In two-seat mode it’s practically a van, with 1,949 litres of cargo space.

If you want your Santa Fe extra nice, the S$20,000 Calligraphy pack adds frills such as a pair of wireless charging pads, which is the tech equivalent of having two sinks in your master bathroom. There’s even a UV-C sterilisation compartment that promises to murder any germs lurking on your small belongings.

In Calligraphy spec it also wears enough moody black trim to make a Gothic teenager envious. The wheels and roof rails are black, the grille is dark chrome, and handholds on the C-pillars let you haul yourself up the side of the car with ease.

That said, the Hyundai is a fundamentally strong package even in base trim, and even if it costs S$262,999 with Certificate of Entitlement. That might sound like a hefty sum, but SUVs from Germany cost more than S$300,000 yet offer fewer seats. The Skoda Kodiaq is cheaper, but it’s not as roomy in the very back and doesn’t have the same hybrid tech.

Besides, the Santa Fe’s appeal is down to more than mere versatility. While it’s more practical than a Swiss Army knife, what matters is that it has character. It feels like a car that designers really had fun with as they came up with something to make other SUVs look generic, and it’s a welcome reminder that sometimes, style comes in a box.

Technical Specifications
Hyundai Santa Fe Turbo Hybrid Calligraphy
Engine: 1,598 cc four-cylinder turbo
Power: 180 hp at 5,500 rpm
Torque: 265 Nm from 1,600 to 3,500 rpm
Motor power/torque: 65 hp/264 Nm
System power: 215 hp at 5,600 rpm
System torque: 367 Nm from 1,000 to 4,100 rpm
Gearbox: 6-speed automatic
0 to 100 km/h: 9.6 seconds
Top speed: 180 kmh
Fuel efficiency: 6.9 L/100 km
Agent: Komoco Motors
Price: S$282,999 with Certificate Of Entitlement
Available: Now

Source: [The Business Times] © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.