How new Santa Fé plug-in puts it up to posh brigade

Published on 10 July, 2021

Overview

A well-meaning friend emphasised the point that a car review should focus primarily on one thing: could you live with it every day?

In the case of this week’s review motor it is not so much a matter of living with it; rather it is a matter of one being able to live in it. 

The Hyundai Santa Fé is enormously roomy, even allowing for the fact that it is supposed to be a 7-seater SUV (which just happens to be a plug-in hybrid tested this week).

But do not get carried away, it has a drawback or two which I will get to in a minute.

In the meantime there are lots of things to be positive about. And roominess is as good a place as any to begin.

Hyundai have, to their credit, created space that is, mostly, useable and practical as opposed to some vehicles I have driven that allocate disproportionate amounts to boot space and not enough to rear passengers, for example.

And within that space is a glorious cabin with the sort of surroundings and inclusions reminiscent of more lavish areas of upmarket air travel. 

Indeed, such is the extent and level of posh-ish layout and instrumentation I was forced to wonder why one should pay excess for the privilege of driving conventionally acknowledged executive brands. Yes, I was that taken with the entire inside of the car. 

I was glad of its deep comfort and ease of drive on an early-morning trip to the fair town of Castlebar.

That said, I have to highlight the fact that my long journey both ways could be described as an unfair test for a plug-in hybrid.

After all, the genre’s central point of differentiation is that you re-charge the larger battery frequently to avail of lower-cost electric motoring (no engine power used) for anywhere between 30kms and 50kms driving.

That was out of the question in this case given the stricture of an appointment and the (relatively speaking) minimum impact of stopping for an hour or so to partially replenish.

Which, forgive me, begs the question if all the intended good of plug-in frequency is negated by the burden of having to carry the heavier battery around, albeit in normal hybrid mode?

Suffice to say at 8.5litres/100km overall (without the help of even a second electric charge) the 1.6-litre petrol engine would have to yield to a diesel on consumption over such a lengthy course. 

I give the figures not as a criticism but to make the point that you need to be sure to pick the power mode that truly suits your requirements.

If you are able to avail of home or nearby on-street charging and do not embark on epic journeys too often, the plug-in makes a strong case. If not, well really you need to do the sums and be sure you can live with them.

Such thoughts permeated stretches of my drive to and from the West but the overwhelming sentiment was one, despite the nature of the power source, of driving contentment at the wheel, and in the leather seats, of a remarkably improved motor. I could certainly live with that part of the package.

The engine, despite its size, performed well and kept quiet proving just how far petrol power-plants have come over the past while.

For such a large SUV – it looks a lot better now too – the transition from open roads to negotiating city streets made few demands, though it is not recommended to have to, as I did, nervously squeeze into a narrow parking slot too often. Is it me or are people just parking and walking off without bothering to check they have encroached to such an extent they have made an adjoining slot virtually redundant?

Thank god for the Santa Fé’s around-view monitor and cameras that worked to make sure I fitted in. Cars have to stop growing or parking spaces have to be enlarged. Simple as that.

And so to my main criticism. It had to do with how awkward I found getting the third row of seats into an upright position. I know there are remote means of doing so but I am afraid I failed to acquire the knack sufficiently. I know such seats are mostly used on an occasional basis (they are small enough) but still I would have liked a slicker operation.

So would that make a difference in terms of being able to live with it? I do not think so but it did annoy me for a while.

I have left the best bit until last. I know the car I was driving would set you back €50,000+ but such was the level of equipment on board that even I, the parsimonious one, could reason with the figures especially when compared with the more established upmarket names that cost thousands more.

Yes, I could live with the Santa Fé.