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GETTING HITCHED
We have been testing one of the best cars we have had this year, the new Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2 diesel with seven seats.
Like its sister company Kia, Hyundai is a fast growing company whose products are very good value for money with an incredible warranty and it is only the dyed in the wool badge snobs who would decry the merits of these fantastic machines. Why pay an extra £15,000 for a badge that is unreliable and will not do anything better than the Santa Fe ?
The SantaFe was Hyundai’s first foray into the SUV segment of the market when it was launched in 2001 and this model has proved to be very popular with the towing fraternity, judging by our new model this should continue unabated.
The Hyundai story started in 1940 when Ju-Yung Chung set up a small vehicle repair shop. The business grew successfully and rapidly and by 1946 had grown to become Hyundai Auto Service Centre.
Vehicle assembly was born out of the servicing arm of the company, with Hyundai contracting to build the Ford Cortina under licence in 1967 and production starting a year later.
Having produced the Mark II and III Cortinas into the seventies it was decided to embark on a Korean designed and built car, a project which resulted in the five door Pony hatchback. The world saw the Pony at the Turin Motor Show and production started in late 1975.
We actually owned a green Pony when we lived in the Middle East , it was fairly simple but never let us down and just kept going and going.
Cars are one facet of Hyundai, lorries and large trucks plus huge construction works are also within their compass. A good few of the hotels in were built by Hyundai. In addition they say that they are the sixth largest car manufacturer in the world.
Well enough of the background, what is the Santa Fe like to drive, we don’t really need to say more than superb, but we will.
Our model was the seven seat version, there are two seats right in the rear that with a lift of a lever fold into the floor and you then have a very spacious load bay. The two extra seats cost an extra £1025. This version will be the best seller, or in the words of the company script "make the biggest impact"
The external appearance of the new model is much altered and it looks a much more formidable machine, like virtually every other model from every manufacturer the Santa Fe has grown and it is now Kia Sorento size.
All the active and passive safety devices are incorporated together with a more rigid body shell built using extensive computer design techniques and also crash simulations.
The 2.2 litre diesel engine is a gem with very strong performance combined with a very smooth power delivery, it is quiet, starts virtually instantly and is very frugal. The five speed manual gearbox is easy to change and merits the old “knife through butter” saying.
Internally there all the bells and whistles that you will ever need, a front and rear air conditioning system, a ten speaker radio and CD player.
For the towing fraternity the new Santa Fe has a very respectable towing limit of 2,200kg (2,000kg for automatics) which will translate into a fair sized boat.
The new Santa Fe is superb, go and try one.
Techy Bit
Model: Hyundai Santa Fe CDX 7seat
Price: £24,430
Fuel Consumption: Around 38mpg (solo) low twenties towing
Kerbweight: 1,863kg
Max noseweight: 88kg
Max trailer weight (braked) 2,200kg
Max Trailer weight (unbraked) 750kg
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Like its sister company Kia, Hyundai is a fast growing company whose products are very good value for money with an incredible warranty and it is only the dyed in the wool badge snobs who would decry the merits of these fantastic machines. Why pay an extra £15,000 for a badge that is unreliable and will not do anything better than the Santa Fe ?
The SantaFe was Hyundai’s first foray into the SUV segment of the market when it was launched in 2001 and this model has proved to be very popular with the towing fraternity, judging by our new model this should continue unabated.
The Hyundai story started in 1940 when Ju-Yung Chung set up a small vehicle repair shop. The business grew successfully and rapidly and by 1946 had grown to become Hyundai Auto Service Centre.
Vehicle assembly was born out of the servicing arm of the company, with Hyundai contracting to build the Ford Cortina under licence in 1967 and production starting a year later.
Having produced the Mark II and III Cortinas into the seventies it was decided to embark on a Korean designed and built car, a project which resulted in the five door Pony hatchback. The world saw the Pony at the Turin Motor Show and production started in late 1975.
We actually owned a green Pony when we lived in the Middle East , it was fairly simple but never let us down and just kept going and going.
Cars are one facet of Hyundai, lorries and large trucks plus huge construction works are also within their compass. A good few of the hotels in were built by Hyundai. In addition they say that they are the sixth largest car manufacturer in the world.
Well enough of the background, what is the Santa Fe like to drive, we don’t really need to say more than superb, but we will.
Our model was the seven seat version, there are two seats right in the rear that with a lift of a lever fold into the floor and you then have a very spacious load bay. The two extra seats cost an extra £1025. This version will be the best seller, or in the words of the company script "make the biggest impact"
The external appearance of the new model is much altered and it looks a much more formidable machine, like virtually every other model from every manufacturer the Santa Fe has grown and it is now Kia Sorento size.
All the active and passive safety devices are incorporated together with a more rigid body shell built using extensive computer design techniques and also crash simulations.
The 2.2 litre diesel engine is a gem with very strong performance combined with a very smooth power delivery, it is quiet, starts virtually instantly and is very frugal. The five speed manual gearbox is easy to change and merits the old “knife through butter” saying.
Internally there all the bells and whistles that you will ever need, a front and rear air conditioning system, a ten speaker radio and CD player.
For the towing fraternity the new Santa Fe has a very respectable towing limit of 2,200kg (2,000kg for automatics) which will translate into a fair sized boat.
The new Santa Fe is superb, go and try one.
Techy Bit
Model: Hyundai Santa Fe CDX 7seat
Price: £24,430
Fuel Consumption: Around 38mpg (solo) low twenties towing
Kerbweight: 1,863kg
Max noseweight: 88kg
Max trailer weight (braked) 2,200kg
Max Trailer weight (unbraked) 750kg
