Why Hyundai Santa Fe has gone hybrid at the expense of diesel
The quick facts are that the new 'love it, or hate it' styled Hyundai Santa Fe offers you seven seats, comes with a petrol-hybrid engine option along with all-wheel drive only and is now available locally for a cool R1.25-million.
There was a time when the name Santa Fe meant something a bit different in the SUV world. A time when it was a soft, vaguely jellybean-shaped thing that could have easily got mistaken for a Hyundai Tucson, a Kia Sorento or any other generic SUV on the road, depending on the angle you looked at it.
I like squared-off, boxy-type SUVs and for me it's the new Hyundai signature H-pattern lights and somewhat controversial/ugly rear of the new Santa Fe that works. In 2025, all you must do is take one look at the new Hyundai Santa Fe to see that if the old one was built to blend in, this one was built to stand out.
ALSO READ: No longer boxed as Hyundai prices all-new, hybrid-only Santa Fe
Hyundai Sante Fe drops diesel
Staying with the controversial theme for a bit, as already said, you get one engine derivative choice only with the new Hyundai Santa Fe, and that is a petrol/hybrid combination. Under the bonnet is a 1.6-litre, four-cylinder, turbo petrol engine that churns out 132kW of power and 256Nm of torque. It works in conjunction with an electric motor for a system output of 175kW and 367Nm.
Was it good out on the road during The Citizen Motoring's launch drive? Sure thing. The Hyundai Santa Fe was smooth and quiet too, with what felt like more than enough urge for a family mover. Even the fuel consumption was relatively good for a small capacity petrol turbo unit, albeit with some electrical assistance, and settled in around the mid-8L/100km during our media launch drive.
The elephant in the room is a diesel one, and we all know how consumers love diesel down here on the tip of Africa, and in the Hyundai family there is that great 142kW/440Nm, 2.2-litre turbodiesel on offer in their Palisade.
Love it or hate it – you cannot sit on the fence. Picture: Supplied
Seamless hybrid driving
Now, before you take pitch forks to Hyundai SA's HQ for doing this to you, you need to understand that this is the all-new Sante Fe, and the car's new platform does not support diesel powertrains. The good news for what it is worth, is that the hybrid system is self-charging, so no plugs and other electrically annoying stuff to worry about.
Unless you want to be specifically in Sport mode or Eco driving mode, choose My Drive mode and let the new Hyundai Santa Fe decide when it wants to use petrol, or electricity, or both; and this it does seamlessly. And just in case using your Sante Fe means going a little off the beaten path, there are three Terrain modes: Sand, Mud and Snow.
Paddle shifters control braking regen
The only quirky thing that might throw you for a moment or two is that the steering wheel paddle shifters that are usually associated with changing gears are there to increase or decrease the amount of brake force electricity regeneration that is offered when you deaccelerate.
I say quirky, because every other hybrid I have driven either offers this function via the touch screen or not at all. What is substantially less complicated is that this new Hyundai Santa Fe comes with a host of advanced safety technologies and a broad range of convenience features.
The Hyundai Santa Fe features all the latest tech you'd expect in a R1-million plus car. Picture: Supplied
Families will appreciate the six airbags as well as upper and lower ISOFIX points in both the second and third rows for the kids. Driver and passenger-controlled central door locks and automatic safety locks improves safety further.
ALSO READ: Diesel boxed as Hyundai fully details all-new Santa Fe
Safe as a house
And the Smart Sense Safety features include the likes of 360-View Monitor, Drive-Attention Warning, Blind Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist, Blind-Spot View Monitor, Rear-Occupant Alert, Forward-Collision Avoidance Junction as well as the Lane-Follow Assist, among others.
For entertainment purposes, the new Hyundai Santa Fe features a Bose premium audio system, and large touchscreen display, with Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto available as standard, and all of which can pair wirelessly with your mobile device.
The 12.3-inch instrument cluster shows all the car's vitals.
Hyundai Santa Fe worth a second look
Crossing the R1-million has become the norm for a car like the Sante Fe. In fact, its price puts this SUV right in the middle of at least 20 other similar products, ranging from an Audi to a BMW, to a Jeep, to a Ford, plus even a GWM Tank 500.
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