Hyundai Santa Fe Test: Pt 4

Now the Santy is shod with Pirelli all-terrains, sports a nudge bar and has a UHF radio it’s ready for offroading. So far it’s been all over the sand at Robe/Beachport, into the snow in the High Country and all around the Victorian Little Desert. Offroad touring performance is sufficiently important to warrant its own feature outside these monthly updates, but let’s just say the vehicle has led lowranger convoys into 4WD areas and hasn’t yet been embarrassed.

After a sand trip the wheel alignment was knocked slightly out, so the steering wheel was offcentre when the car was tracking straight. This happens occasionally, and nothing was damaged, but a side effect was disabling the stability control. This is because the computer monitors the car’s wheel speeds and direction, as well as the angle of the steering wheel. It noticed the wheel was turned yet the car was tracking fine, and it just couldn’t work out what was going on so it disabled itself. A simple wheel alignment and all was well. We also tore a wheelarch trim on the sand, which is not uncommon for vehicles these days.

After 12 weeks and 12,000km we can report on the fuel consumption trends. The Santy’s ADR81/01 combined figure is 8.2L/100km, and we have averaged 8.8L/100km when in commute/town mode. I spent a week driving as economically as I could on my daily commute and managed what the computer reported at 6.6L/100km, but when the numbers were crunched was actually 7.39, so the trip computer seems to under-report. I tried manually shifting the auto transmission to get even better economy, but there’s no point as the computer makes pretty much the right calls and there’s no room to shift up earlier than it would anyway. Sometimes I think it could hang on to the torque converter a bit longer in fifth, but generally it does well. There’s no sports mode, just auto and manual shift, but there is a second-gear start option, handy in super-slippery conditions.

With fuel prices rising it’s worth looking at the other options for a family vehicle. The new Astra diesel auto wagon returns 7.1/100, which means it’ll cost about $150 more per 10,000km to run. But that’s not a fair comparison as the Astra is smaller. The new Peugeot 407 Touring, a larger vehicle returns 8.5L/100km, which is actually worse than the Santy. But when we averaged the figures for big diesel cars like the 407, BMW 530d and VW Passat the result was 7.5/100, or 0.7L/100 better than the Santy. That means around $100 extra fuel per 10,000km. Not a lot for the convenience of 7 seats, towing ability and of course offroad performance. Servicing costs are similar too.

Fuel consumption is nudging up slightly as all up the accessories fitted add some kilos, and slightly spoil the Santy’s slippery shape. Still, we’re able to return around 9/100 in commute/suburban mode.

On the accessories front the Pirellis continue to grip anything they’re asked to very nicely indeed, no complaints there, but they are noisier than you’d expect at suburban speeds. A good point is no signs of tyre damage like tread block rips, although we’ve not yet been through harsh outback roads. I must admit to reservations about the 235/65/17 size, being concerned about the rim being too large and not being able to safely air down. However, in practice it hasn’t been a problem, although I’d still go the 16-inch rim if there was an option.

The ECB nudgebar is still firmly attached and looking good. We were planning to fit a set of big driving lights (240mm diameter) but there isn’t enough room on the bar, so we’re looking at smaller options. The GME UHF is just doing what it’s designed to, keeping us in touch with the world. Being able to swap antennas is great, so we have one ideal for the hilly high country and another for the flat plains.

This Month