World-class diesel for Santa Fe

You'd never know that Korean carmakers have only been developing their own diesels for about half a decade, not after driving the new 2.2-litre R-type unit fitted to the latest version of Hyundai's Santa Fe.

Its on-road punch and uncanny refinement levels will serve it well on our market and it should give a few Japanese offerings something of a hurry-up.

At the moment, similar-sized crossover wagons from that country either don't offer diesel alternatives at all, or when they do, only do so with manual transmissions.

From my homework, the only serious contender for the diesel automatic Santa Fe, apart from its sibling relative the Kia Sorento, is Peugeot's recently introduced diesel 4007.

There are other engines in the Korean crossover's line-up: a 2.4-litre 128kW/226Nm petrol four, and a 3.5-litre 206kW/335Nm petrol V6, which replace the old 2.7-litre 138kW/248Nm V6 petrol unit from the pre-facelift model. But the new R-type diesel, despite being of similar swept volume to the already useful previous diesel, fronts up with 32 per cent more power, at 145kW while managing a reduction in fuel consumption of 10 per cent.

The R-type diesel also puts out a hefty 436Nm and its improvement over the old model is helped by running through a slick new six speed automatic – a transmission also enjoyed by the two petrol engines.

On the fuel consumption front, the R-type diesel manages a combined rating of 7.5L/100km compared with the old diesel's 8.2L, while the 2.4-litre petrol car rates at 9.4L/100km and the 3.5-litre V6 manages 9.6L/100km – both improving on the previous 2.7-litre V6's 10.6L/100km. Per kilometre emissions levels are: 2.2-litre turbodiesel 197gm; 2.4-litre petrol 223gm and the 3.5-litre V6 230gm. These are respective improvements on the old models of 21gm, 29gm and 22gm.

The most obvious cosmetic changes to the Santa Fe are a new black multi-barred grille with a chrome upper strip, redesigned front and rear bumpers, new fog and tail lights and a fresh selection of alloy wheel designs.

Inside, the Santa Fe has enjoyed some changes too, with a push-button start system, a smart triple dial instrument cluster, uprated airconditioning and sound systems, and carbon-fibre dash fillets with titanium-like metallised accent strips.

There will be five models in the revamped Santa Fe range, all automatics. A single 2.4-litre petrol five-seater starts the range at $52,990, with a similarly configured CRDi priced at $58,490 marking the entry-point for the 2.2-litre diesels. Take the diesel with seven seats and it will cost you $59,990, while a luxury specification version, the CRDi Elite, with leather and all the fruit, asks $65,990.

Another Elite model is the 3.5-litre V6 Santa Fe, which is only available as a two-wheel-drive model and costs $59,990.

All New Zealand Santa Fes have dual front, dual side and roof curtain airbags, roll over sensors, ABS, and an Electronic Stability Programme, scoring a five-star ANCAP safety rating.

On the home comfort front, all Santa Fes also have AM/FM stereos with CD player, MP3 compatibility and six speakers, as well as power drivers' seats, keyless entry, push-button starting, air conditioning, alloy wheels, power windows, steering wheel mounted stereo and cruise controls and flat-folding rear seating.

Elite models add an in-dash six CD player and extra speaker and woofer for the stereo and replace airconditioning with climate control. They also add leather upholstery and power operation for the front passenger seat and have a rear-view camera with a screen integrated in the rear-view mirror. The screen is only visible when in reverse.

In the Hyundai scheme of things, the previous Santa Fe was only outsold in New Zealand by the Getz and i30 hatchback ranges, and represented 17 per cent of the company's sales. It also outsold every other maker's SUV, with 15 per cent of the country's market in that segment, ahead of Toyota's RAV4 (14 per cent) and Holden's Captiva (11 per cent).

With its new safety and comfort features, as well as a world-class new diesel, not to mention two improved petrol units to boot, I'd predict an even greater slice of the market pie for the new model, with perhaps the Kia Sorento its closest rival by this time next year.

- © Fairfax NZ News