Hyundai Santa Fe Estate 2001-2005

The Santa Fe is a spacious and well equipped 4x4 that is a vehicle that can be used as a family workhorse. It can easily seat five adults, fit all of their luggage and it comes with plenty of safety features and equipment as standard. Don’t expect it to be a true off-roader though as it lacks both diff lock and a low-ratio gearbox, but it should be able to tackle the odd dirt track and field every now and then.

Pros and Cons:

• Spacious interior
  Plenty of kit as standard
  Reliability at its best

• Sloppy gear changes
  Over the top styling

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Exterior and Interior

The Santa Fe is a good looking car that looks more like a normal car than a 4x4, all be it with larger wheels and better ground clearance! Certainly the newer generation of Hyundai’s are looking more stylish and the Santa Fe continues this them.

Inside the Santa Fe is a very spacious family workhorse that can easily carry five adults. The back seats have plenty of head and leg room which is unusual for 4x4’s in this price bracket. The style of the interior looks good, however, the quality of the materials and the finish throughout doesn’t match up to its rivals such as the Land Rover Freelander and this unfortunately lets the Santa Fe down. The boot is huge too being able to swallow a months worth of shopping or five adults luggage as well as their camping kit.

It does come with plenty of equipment and safety kit as standard, however, if you would like more then the GSI and CDX trim levels add more equipment.

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Engines

There are only three engines available in the Santa Fe with one diesel and two petrol options. The petrol’s include a 145bhp 2.4-litre and a 170bhp 2.7-litre V6, whilst the diesel is an 111bhp 2.0 turbo diesel.

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Performance and Economy

The entry level 2.4-litre petrol isn’t powerful enough for a car of this size and when pushed is excessively noisy. The 2.7-litre V6 is better going from 0-60mph in 11 seconds and it makes a lovely growl as you accelerate. The diesel engine is the slowest of the engines taking 14.4 seconds to get to 60mph, but it does return the best fuel efficiency of 39mpg, this is compared to the V6’s 24mpg. It also has more low down pull which comes in more useful when the Santa Fe is fully loaded. When you come to insure them the diesel is the cheapest here to falling into group 11 with the 2.4 in group 12 and the 2.7 in group 13.

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What it's like to Drive

The Santa Fe is fairly comfortable with supple suspension. It is not as good as the Freelander as it wallows in the corners and the steering feels light and imprecise. Off-road is pretty much the same story with it only being suitable for short stints off the beaten track. Although it comes with four-wheel-drive it doesn’t have diff lock or a low range gearbox and these are needed for serious off-roading.

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Faults and Repairs

The Santa Fe has faired well over the years with the only serious repair issues being with the clutch on the manual which can be juddery, but this should have been fixed in 2003. Other than that just check the body work and the undercarriage for any damage that may have been caused from any off-roading and the electrics to make sure they all work accordingly. As for servicing costs it will work out slightly more costly than most of its rivals (other than any Land Rovers), but at least you are unlikely to be paying for any repair bills.

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