USED Hyundai Santa Fe 4x4 (06 - 12)

My car

First 4x4 test drive ever. Pleasantly surprised to find it was quite car like to drive but in the end fails to completely hide big fat wheels and tall body. Unfair to expect it to of course, but compared to family cars there is a bit of bounce and roll particularly if your sat in the back going on. Generally comfortable, the diesel engine and auto box work very well together and the diesel engine is impressively refined with only the occasional mystery slap and clatter making itself heard. Wind noise not really evident any more so than a regular car. Visibility and parking is so much better than I would have expected for a vehicle of this size, no harder than a family sized car (Mondeo etc.). Performance is also plenty good enough for family transport and recent interior revisions improve outlook from the driving seat. 5 year warranty attractive. The Achilles heal with this vehicle for us was the lack of steering wheel reach adjustment. We couldn't get legs and arms comfortable at the same time which rules this one out for long range driving. This is a great shame and a glaring omission in a market where even 4x4 and car sizes a class or two smaller come with this as standard these days. To sum up it's a vehicle for those who feel they must have 4x4 some of the time, the space but still want a reasonable drive. It delivers on this very well, just make sure you can get a comfy driving position.

My car

Time for an update. I have now had my Sante Fe for 20 months and have now covered 53,000 miles. So far after just two services and a set of front tyres ( still the orriginal on the back ), all is going well. A couple of issues early on, but dealt with promptly under warranty. So many people have been surprised by the car and amazed that I have kept a car this long having previously changed several BMW's after 12-18 months. But I love the car, it does what it says on the tin, has all the toys I need and averages 35 mpg and better on a long run. Cannot wait to see the next generation later this year !!!!!!!

I will certainly be looking to Hyundai for my next car.

My car

I bought the Limited Edition Santa Fe a short while ago. I read every review going and was pleased to see that generally they were all about right. Pro's... Comfortable ride, quiet engine, nice high position, quite pokey when you need to put your foot down, easy and relaxing to drive, bags of space, effective climate control, 3rd row of seats very useable upto about 5'10" passengers, lots of useful storage areas. massive boot space, lovely styling, looks rugged enough until you get inside. Con's... Plasticky dashboard, awful stereo, no RDS, it drove me mad having to retune every 20 mins on the motorway, slid around in the shiny leather seats a bit. Only has 5 gears so on the motorway I constantly felt I wanted to change up a gear. Indicator stalks felt as durable as a pencil, fuel economy is lower than stated, very difficult to get to the stated 38.7 mpg and I drive like my grandad. Absolutely no way I could average over 40mpg. But in all fairness this is still pretty good for a big car. Overall, I liked it but have decided to sell it due to it feeling a little low in quality inside, but pound for pound against it's competitors, it's a real bargain, and a very practical car.

My car

This is my 3rd Hyundai, I've had 2 Tucsons and now I've moved up to a Santa Fe. Both Tucsons were very good but I just needed more space. I've had my Santa fe just over a month now and I'm very pleased with it, mpg is approx 38-40 and I'm getting approx 600 miles between fill ups. I've been reading a few complaints regarding the dealers... I use E.S. Jones in Deeside North Wales and can't fault them, sales, service and parts are all excellent, hence I keep going back to replace my car. Would I buy another..... yes most definately.