Hyundai has always enjoyed success in the Indian automobile market. No wonder then, that this company is the second largest manufacturer of passenger cars in India. In an effort to push its sales in the SUV segment, previously challenged with their Terracan and Tuscon models with no real triumphs, Hyundai finally launched the worldwide-successful Santa Fe late October last year.
In a segment with competitors like the Nissan X-Trail, Chevrolet Captiva and the Honda CR-V, the Korean addition will have to wrestle its way into the reckoning. But there is no reason why it can’t. The car has the best engine of the batch coupled with a good six-speed manual 'box, and with 194 bhp and 44.4 kgm of torque, the car is quite a mean mile-muncher. The Santa Fe also has a pretty trick four-wheel-drive system that is primarily front-wheel-drive unless it detects wheel slippage, during which power is transferred to the rear wheels. ESP is standard on the top model too. And while it doesn’t have a low-range gearbox option, it can still be used for fairly rough off-road excursions.
However, what is probably its biggest USP is its practicality. The Santa Fe comes with seven seats that are as flexible as an Olympic gymnast. Also, in-cabin entertainment is a big tick mark on this car’s checklist, with USB ports and a six CD-changer providing enough sound options to keep the mother-in-law quiet in the back.
Probably one of the few downsides to this otherwise capable SUV is the image it portrays, which lack any macho character, making it almost intentionally look like a soft-roader. Also, it remains to be seen how many takers there will be for a Korean car that costs around `24 lakh. However, as far as ‘bang for buck’ goes, the Santa Fe possesses aplenty.
The writer is a car enthusiast based out of Kodaikanal