USED Hyundai Santa Fe 4x4 (06 - 12)

My car

Dealer Manual gearbox. 6k miles. Extras; single socket tow bar, boot tray. VG price from dealer that was better than the internet. Salesman good so far although a cracked boot trim was replaced under warranty that was damaged when they put the tow bar in. Also a few oil marks on upholstery.

Pros Very spacious and comfortable, even on 300+ mile trips. Diesel engine capable of pulling the car around even when fully laden or with 6 passengers and is not noticeable noise wise. Not tested the AWD system properly yet but it's sure footed in the wet. 1st and 2nd row seats have lots of leg room and are very comfortable. Drivers seat adjustable lumbar support and front seat heating are great. 3rd row seats are usable by adults on short journeys and kids for much longer. Boot really is enormous. Other storage spaces are good and there are 4x 12V power sockets. Sound quality is good and there is a dash mounted 6CD changer. Air con works well and steering wheel audio controls and cruise control are also useful.

Cons 10K service interval could be better. Fuel consumption not great (~30 mpg urban, ~36 mpg longer journeys) but I may drive it a bit too hard. Radio doesn't have RDS or an iPod / MP3 player connector which I knew before buying but still annoying. Indicator and windscreen wiper stalks other way round to normal. Could do with having slightly longer legged 1st and 2nd gears and the addition of a 6th gear.

Overall the pros outweigh the cons easily so well worth buying.

My car

I have the car for almost one year and 40K km... so far.. touching wood.. the car is super ok. Driving on the roads in eastern Europe is a real challenge, but the Santa Fe is extremely prepared for that. I have from the company, in parallel, one Mitsubishi L200 diesel 170 hp. The cars, simply can not be compared, aa horses with donkeys. Hyunday did a great job with the Santa Fe - one of the best quality/price.

Most important think - the reliability. The second thing - the car is pushing very nice - I had the chance to drive on the autobahn in Germany and felt great... anyway, when I press the gas the response of the car, put a smile on your face.

Once again, touching wood, I'd like to write same comments after few years, but, so far, so good. The car has been tested on heavy rain, heavy snow/ice conditioms... and passed easilly in the places where much expesive cars remained stuck (Touareg or XC 90)

For anyone who could live with the "badge problem" and could accept that anyone else but the germans could build cars - strongly reccommended.

PS - I'm not working for Hyundai :)

My car

have had the car from new just over a year think its the best car I have ever had or driven,THAT WAS UNTIL 2 WEEKS AGO when driving along I heard a strange sound, sounded like the gear box had just fallen out I was literally about 500yds from hyundai garage so I went in their and explained what happened They took it into their workshop and expained the air conditioning unit had seized up CAR WAS NOW OF THE ROAD 2 weeks on after I feel I have been abandoned They still have no date ,when replacement parts will be available ,presumable they need to come from Korea after a week I had a go at Hyundai UK customer services and said I have not been given any curtacy car from local dealer who dont seem that interested in my plight. they arranged for the smallest /cheapest hire car they could find to get me in their words mobile again,the fact the car is a seven seater does not register with them, they dont phone you to keep you updated .when I chase them every other day they keep quoting they have hired a car at £18 per day and thats the end of it. Needles to say the romance is over the car is I suppose still good just unfortunate it happened to me. but their idea of customer service is dreadfull from the headoffice to their local dealer.

My car

I bought this car from new and have reached 11,000 miles. I've only had one small niggle and that was the rear parking sensor which went on the blink just days after purchase. I've noticed quite a few comments regarding MPG, I do a 40 mile daily commute on a combination of 70 / 30 MPG roads and have averaged 36 MPG going by the trip computer. Still need to check this manually though but I can tell by the fequency of fill ups, it's far better than my previous car which was a 2.0 petrol Saab 95 which averaged 27MPG. The car is solid, practical and fairly cheap to run compared to many alternatives. The bad point however, as many have already stated, is the dealer. My local dealer is terrible and spare parts are few and far between. Overall I'm not dissapointed as I couldn't find a better car for similar money that can carry 7, tow a 6 berth caravan with ease and average 35+ MPG.