Hyundai Santa Fe vs Land Rover Discovery Sport vs Ssangyong Rexton
With £40k to spend on a seven-seat SUV that can pull your caravan, you aren’t limited to Land Rover...
Buying and owning
Costs, equipment, reliability, safety and security
Before and after discounts, the Santa Fe is the priciest to buy and the Rexton the cheapest. However, while both should have held on to a reasonable 43% of their original value after three years, the more desirable Discovery Sport should be worth an impressive 55%.
That’s the main reason why it will be the cheapest to own for a cash buyer over three years, undercutting the Rexton by £5000 and the Santa Fe by nearly £7000. What’s more, the Rexton is the priciest to service, by about £400, while its fuel economy during our test was a disappointing 27.0mpg; the Discovery Sport managed 32.9mpg and the Santa Fe 35.7mpg.
As for monthly costs on a PCP finance deal with a £4000 deposit and an annual limit of 10,000 miles, the Discovery Sport is the cheapest, at £470. The Rexton comes in at £557, while the Santa Fe is an eyebrow-raising £706.
What of company car drivers? Well, each car here is in the top (37%) benefit-in-kind tax bracket, so it’s the Rexton that will cost the least and the Santa Fe the most. Remember, though, that the Discovery Sport and Santa Fe are available with front-wheel drive should you value cheaper tax over extra traction on slippery surfaces.
If you’re leasing, the Discovery Sport once again proves to be the cheapest option, but this time it’s the Rexton that’s the priciest.
As you’d expect for the money, the Santa Fe comes so ram-packed with kit that the only options you can add are metallic paint and burgundy leather, should you want to relive the 1970s. Still, you wouldn’t call the Rexton or Discovery Sport stingily equipped.
Euro NCAP is yet to appraise the Rexton for safety, but it gets lane departure warning and automatic emergency braking. The Santa Fe and Discovery both got a five-star rating, but the former was tested under newer, tougher rules. Plus, it gets blindspot monitoring and lane-keeping assistance; these are £375 and £350 options respectively on the Discovery Sport and you have to upgrade to Ultimate trim to get them on the Rexton.
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