Hyundai Santa Fe

The launch of Hyundai’s brand new, third generation Santa Fe took us to Shelley Point on the West Coast peninsula. Immediately the striking new styling of the brand new Santa Fe stood out from the rather rugged and harsh surrounding of the low shrub’s and dry terrain. Hyundai’s Fluidic Sculpture appealed to everyone who came into contact with the car and soon there was a collection of locals surrounding the shiny new vehicle, animated in their enthusiastic excitement, asking all sorts of questions I could not answer as it was as new to me as it was to them. Besides the fantastic job that Hyundai’s new head of design, Peter Schreyer, has done on the Santa Fe, the interior build quality and style takes this new product offering from Hyundai to a new all time high. We took the Santa Fe out onto the dry soft dusty sands of Cape Columbine and straddled some rough terrain. I had the all wheel drive Santa Fe Elite derivative and it performed perfectly. There is a two-wheel drive version, which I tested on the open road and found it to be exceptionally comfortable and very well powered. Hyundai have really done their homework on the new Santa Fe and the combination of powerful yet economical diesel engines, complex integrated safety features and state of the art luxury elements make this model a world class contender. Add to all that the five year or 150 000 km manufacturer’s warranty, a 5 year or 150 000 km roadside assistance, plus a 5 year or 90 000 km service contract, and you have a real winner.