In this section:
- Front space
- Rear space
- Seat folding and flexibility
- Boot space
Passenger & boot space
How it copes with people and clutter
Front space
As the Hyundai Santa Fe is a large SUV, it probably won’t come as a huge surprise that taller adults will fit absolutely fine in the front. Yes, a Peugeot 5008 offers slightly more leg room, but the margins are small and the Santa Fe’s broader interior helps it to feel really airy.
There’s plenty of storage, too: the door bins are long, if fairly narrow, the glovebox is a decent size and there are two big cup-holders conveniently positioned between the front seats.
The second row, meanwhile, can be folded down electrically by pushing buttons, although you do need to haul the seats back up again manually. The second-row seats also recline and slide back and forth, which is handy because it allows you to balance leg room in the second and third rows depending on how tall your passengers are.
Boot space
With all seven seats raised, the Santa Fe has roughly the same amount of space left over for luggage as the Sorento, and more than you get in the 5008 and Discovery Sport.
When you fold those rearmost seats away into the floor, luggage capacity (below the load cover) is similar to that in the Sorento, 5008 and Highlander. Indeed, the Santa Fe swallowed an impressive 10 carry-on suitcases in our tests.
