SA Road Tests

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Transformed: 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Executive 4x2

Far from shabby

Posted: June 8, 2021

The numbers
Price: R769 500
Engine: 2151 cc, four-cylinder, 16-valve, common rail direct injection diesel with electronically controlled VGT
Power: 148 kW between 3400 and 3800 rpm
Torque: 440 Nm between 1750 and 2750 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 9.0 seconds
Top speed: 205 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 7.9 l/100 km
Tank: 67 litres
Luggage: 332 – 1032 – 2041 litres
Turning circle: 11.4 metres
Ground clearance: 176 mm
Towing mass, unbraked and braked: 750, 2500 kg
Standard tyre size: 235/60R18
Spare: Full size alloy, under body
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


Interesting cars, like interesting people, usually have at least one quirk; an oddness, if you will. That of Hyundai’s flagship family mover, Santa Fe, is its gearshift. Or lack thereof. There’s no stick or lever, not even a wand on the steering column; your left hand feels lost and alone.  

In its place are four rectangular buttons marked R, N, D and P. Push to pick. The idea isn’t that new; Alfa Romeo’s 4C had the same and Renault’s KWID a.m.t. uses a dial on the dashboard.

You do eventually get used to using your left hand only to help with steering or for flicking the downshift paddle behind the wheel. And you could find yourself doing that quite often because this Santa Fe is one fine ole hooligan car once you’re out beyond city limits and the prying beams of Officer Aggro’s radar. It’s no N-car or WRC i20, mind, but fun nevertheless.

It’s also solid and comfortable thanks to stronger and more rigid construction and a redesigned front suspension subframe that improves front collision safety along with ride and handling characteristics.

This updated and more upmarket model is built on Hyundai-Kia’s new, N3 platform shared with Sorento, Sonata and Tucson among others. That, of course, is quite meaningless until we mention that there’s more second-row legroom and a bigger boot than the old one had. And while we’re “pushing buttons”, it’s worth mentioning that second-row seats are separately adjustable for legroom and backrest angles. The only drawback is that the individually deployable third row chairs are truly only suited to the young, small and athletic. Grampy would disown anyone who tried to force him into there.

This extra size, along with a lighter, uprated engine and new wet clutch, eight-speed DCT, make for more enticing experiences and (claimed) better fuel economy. Stanley Anderson, Hyundai’s operations and sales director for South Africa, boasted that he averages 6.8 litres per hundred km in his Santa Fe office car. We, on the other hand, managed ‘only’ 7.9 during our week with this 4x2 test vehicle. That’s still far from shabby for a 2.2-litre SUV weighing 1745 kg naked and developing 148 kW with 440 Newton metres. It also matches Hyundai’s own claim based on the new and more stringent official test regime. Times change, hey?

But a family SUV is about more than fuel consumption or boot space so, apart from a boatload of safety kit, both models (Executive and Elite) offer: pushbutton starting, alloy wheels, leather upholstery with electrical adjusters for the driver’s chair, remote opening and closing for the rear hatch, self-levelling automatic LED headlights, LED front and rear fog lamps, reversing camera with guidelines and McPherson strut front suspension with multilink at the rear. Let’s not forget electric kiddie locks on the back doors, rain-sensing wipers, anti-fog and quick defrosting for both screens, filtered automatic air conditioning, 8” touchscreen audio and pretty much everything else that a buyer could want.

Going the whole way for the Elite version adds all-wheel drive, heated and ventilated front seats with electrical adjustment for the passenger, a sunroof, rear seat alarm should you leave something behind when locking up, cross traffic alert (CTA) and automatic locking of rear doors if the car is stopped and CTA detects a vehicle in the danger zone.

Storage spaces, cup holders, USB ports and 12-volt sockets are plentiful. The car is well-built, fit and finish is good and doors close with a decent “thunk.” Hyundai’s march upmarket is under way.

Test unit from Hyundai SA press fleet

The 2021 launch report is here



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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