SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Many of the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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This is a launch report. In other words, it's simply a new model announcement. The driving experience was limited to a short drive over a preselected course. We can therefore not tell you what it will be like to live with over an extended period, how economical it is, or how reliable it will be. A very brief first impression is all we can give you until such time as we get a test unit for trial. Thank you for understanding.

Noticeable changes: Hyundai Santa Fe for 2021

More than

Posted: May 1, 2021

The numbers
Prices: Executive @ R769 500, Elite @ R869 500
Engine: 2151 cc, four-cylinder, 16-valve, common rail direct injection diesel with electronically controlled VGT
Power: 148 kW at 3800 rpm
Torque: 440 Nm between1750 and 2750 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 9.0/9.2 seconds
Top speed: 205 km/h
Claimed combined cycle fuel consumption: 7.9 l/100 km
Tank: 67 litres
Luggage: 332 – 1032 – 2041 litres
Turning circle: 11.4 metres
Towing mass, unbraked and braked: 750, 2500 kg
Standard tyre sizes: 235/60R18 (Executive), 235/55R19 (Elite)
Spare: Full size alloy wheels on both
Warranty: 5 years/150 000 km plus additional 2 years/50 000 km on powertrain
Roadside: 7 years/150 000 km
Service plan: 6 years/90 000 km at annual or 15 000 km intervals


Officially just a facelift of the Gen-4 model that arrived here in 2019, the new one we saw this week is more than that.

First, it’s built on a new platform although wheelbase remains the same. It’s marginally longer, wider and taller. Appearance-wise, “T-shaped" LED lights merge into a new and wider "cascading" grille. The rear has also been revised, with an LED strip running across its width. Wider wheel arches can accommodate optional 20-inch wheels.

There’s also a redesigned centre stack with push-button gear selector consisting of four big squares marked R, N, D and P. The transmission is still Hyundai’s in-house A8LR1 wet clutch DCT that works well and required no further changes. Should you want to do some manual shifting, there are paddles.

A new drive mode selector offers Eco, Sport and Comfort modes to which the awd Elite adds terrain control. It also has a 10.25-inch touchscreen, now upgraded to include Android Auto and CarPlay, while the driver works with a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster.

Then there’s the engine. Called Smartstream and nominally still 2.2-litres, it displaces 41 cc less than the old one, features an aluminium block rather than the older R II, 2199 cc, engine’s iron lump and is therefore 19 kg lighter. Hyundai switched back to a timing belt rather than a timing chain, compression ratio is 16.0:1, fuel pressure increased to 2,200 bar and valve gear changes help to reduce friction; all to reduce fuel usage. The SACCFEI, or Stanley Anderson (National Sales and Operations director) Company Car Fuel Economy Index is 6.8 l/100 km. See whether you can do better.

The local model range has been reduced from three to two; Executive FWD and Elite AWD, with Elite gaining some special features. These include heated front seats and steering wheel, larger alloy wheels (19”, with 20” optional), electrical seat adjusters, rear window curtains, panoramic sunroof and “Hey Mom, you’ve forgotten the kid!" alarm. It’s naturally a few kilograms heavier, so it accelerates to 100 km/h two-tenths of a second slower.

Standard safety kit covers most of the bases: ABS brakes with EBD, ESP, VSM, DBC and HAC; six airbags; automatic locking; safe exit assistance that keeps the rear doors locked if a passing vehicle is detected; rear cross traffic warning; smart key entry and starting; auto-defogging windscreen with rain sensor and de-icer; self-levelling headlights and a reversing camera that now includes rearview monitoring (Is the trailer still attached?).

We could tell you more, but these new Santa Fe models pack more kit per vehicle than most other seven-seaters – a point worth bearing in mind if someone points out that Brand F’s alternative looks slightly cheaper.

But whattabout the colours? You can have Lagoon Blue with options of White Cream, Typhoon Silver, Phantom Black, Taiga Brown and Magnetic Force.

The relatively short familiarisation run through North Coast countryside was all on asphalt although Deon the PR guy assured anyone interested, that he could show them a nice stretch of gravel close to the vehicle swapping point.

The run we did have was sufficient to show that the cars are spacious, comfortable, accelerate and handle well and the gearbox does all that’s advertised. And informal monitoring of trip computers showed that Stanley is probably about right. We look forward to putting a test vehicle through its paces.

Information gathered at a manufacturer-sponsored launch event

See our review of the 4x2 Executive



What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads or goat tracks as well. As a result, my test cars do occasionally get dirty. It's all part of the reviewing process.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.

If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles.  And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

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