REVIEWS AND ROAD TESTS

A latecomer enters the fray

Does the world really need another sport utility vehicle? The folks at Hyundai seem to think so, and the automaker has delivered one at last.

And yet Hyundai dealerships were doing quite well without a sport utility. After working hard to banish the make’s bargain-basement image by manufacturing decent cars for several consecutive years, Hyundai is looking forward to some boon times in Canada. Whatever happens, sport utility vehicles are still hot items and are generating substantial profits. Not to have one in the showroom is like someone saying they didn’t participate in the group lottery ticket that won the jackpot.The contours of the Santa Fe, designed by the stylists at Hyundai’s California design centre, differentiate this car from the rest of the pack. At once beefy and organic, it projects an image of raw power with a graceful touch, a cross between a dancer and a boxer, although the contrasting panels seem needlessly aggressive.

The interior is all curved lines, giving the passenger compartment an upscale look that is complemented by a variety of clever and useful storage spaces and nooks. Only the quality of the plastic in some places betrays the vehicle’s roots, more obvious with the beige colour scheme than with the gray.

Overall, the Santa Fe proves to be a remarkably quiet vehicle, and not only compared to other sport utilities. It provides a pleasant, fuss-free driving experience compared with conventional cars. Sometimes it seemed slow to react on the California track where we test-drove it, but the altitude may have had something to do with that; we will report further after doing a complete road test under more normal conditions.Arriving fashionably late for a party can have its advantages, not the least of which is the leeway to see how everyone else is dressed. Hyundai made the most of the situation by studying the hits and misses of each rival. The information they gathered showed that a sport utility vehicle would succeed if it had a V6 engine, was equipped with safety and comfort features, had sufficient space for backseat passengers and conveyed an immediate visual impression and the designers were able to incorporate all of these features into the very first model.

Given the direction the market is heading and Hyundai’s resources, it is no surprise that the Santa Fe took its inspiration from a car more than it did a truck. The well- endowed Sonata, which was revamped in 1999, provided the Santa Fe’s platform, albeit modified to suit this different category. Assets include: MacPherson strut front suspension and independent semi-trailing arm rear suspension, 4 disc brakes, and aluminum 2.7-litre V6 transverse-mounted engine. Add to all that maximum 181 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 177 foot-pounds of torque at 4,000 rpm, conveyed by a single four-speed automatic gearbox that can be converted through the Shiftronic system, and you’ve got a dynamo.

Like many of its rivals, the Santa Fe comes with confusing terminology about its drivetrain system, choosing to call it "full-time all-wheel drive" when in fact it is nothing more than an automatic or manually activated function that acts as it would on a front-wheel drive vehicle, other than it automatically transfers 40% of the torque to the rear wheels (via viscous torque converter) as soon as the front wheels start to lose their grip. Whatever. It offers neither a mid- range to low-rpm speed option nor a limited slip differential, which means that the vehicle is not really suited to off-road excursions.

Indeed, Hyundai does not claim otherwise, although it forces us to leave beaten paths to test the limits of this latest model. In fact the vehicle did quite well, even though it belongs to,and even shines on, city streets and highways.

The Santa Fe is available in two well-equipped versions. The GL base model will have standard skid plates, siderails, alloy wheels, rear window wipers, power locks and windows, cruise control and a compact disc player. The more expensive model, the GLS, will boast all of the aforementioned amenities along with air-conditioning (optional installation by the GL dealer), fog lamps, tinted windows, roof rack, remote keyless entry, leather upholstery and ABS.

While the Santa Fe is meant to compete with the "cute utes" (the compact new models), we think it may attract a good number of buyers of mid-size cars because it compares so favourably with them in so many ways, primarily as regards cabin space and comfort. Our first impression is that Hyundai dealers did not wait in vain for this vehicle.

PROS
Attractive price
Detailed equipment
Quiet ride

CONS
Quality of some materials
Not suited to off-road driving
Average driving pleasure