2009 Hyundai Santa Fe Elite CRDi Review
15 Jan, 2009
23 Comments 
2009 Hyundai Santa Fe Elite CRDi Review & Road Test
A true contender in the family car market
Model Tested:
- 2009 Hyundai CM Santa Fe Elite AWD CRDi, 2.2-litre, turbo-diesel, five-speed automatic – $46,990 (RRP)
Options:
- Metallic Paint $375
Family friendly; quiet highway cruising; comfortable
Turbo lag issues; hindered lower rearward visibility
CarAdvice Rating: 
Family marketing slogans are often touted by car manufacturers and when one claims to be ‘Built Family Tough’, the precursor has been set for family practicality to be leaking out the doors.
When I took loan of the Hyundai Santa Fe Elite CRDi, I was expecting big things in this department and I have to say, despite some small issues I had with the car, it lived up to its family friendly claim.
I had a whole three weeks to put the Santa Fe through its paces, including a lot of driving around Victoria over the busy holiday season. To me, it is the little things that matter, a car can go fast and as hard as you like, but if the kids are cramped, it is a chore loading and unloading the boot and you need to take out a bank loan to fill the thing up, you can keep what’s under the bonnet.
The Santa Fe is packed with nifty innovative ideas which are a definite appeal to those with kids and it also hits the nail on the head in the economy department, also a major requirement for family cars.
Hyundai’s economical 2.2-litre, CRDi (common rail diesel) engine sat between 8.0 and 9.0-litres per 100km on around-town trips and on a long drive, it worked its way down to steady 7.0-litres per 100km.
The Santa Fe also comes with a 2.7-litre or 3.3-litre petrol engine option that, according to manufacturers specifications, chews up 10.6 and 10.7-litres per 100km respectively. That being said, in the Santa Fe CRDi as tested, my main gripe came from the driving stakes.
The initial turbo lag provides what I can only best describe as ‘sporadic acceleration’. When I put my foot down to take off from traffic lights or to make it across a road before oncoming traffic, nothing would happen and then suddenly the car would take off quickly and unexpectedly and I would then be grappling for the brake.
Over the three weeks, I tested two different vehicles, both five-speed automatics, the turbo lag was more pronounced in the first car (which I had for the majority of the time) and I found it a challenge to find the right spot to bring the throttle to, wait for the delay, then take off without running into the person in front.
However the acceleration seemed a lot smoother in the second vehicle, so it could have been an isolated problem. In both though, they seemed to lack the take-off expected when I wanted to make a quick move in traffic with the slower acceleration expected from a single spool turbo-diesel.
Obviously the petrol models have an advantage here with naturally aspirated engines not presenting this issue. A manual transmission may also make a difference, but the Santa Fe stalls here being offered as a manual in the two SX five-seat models only.
Location: Home / 4WD, 4x4, Behind the Wheel, Car Reviews, Diesel, Hyundai / ...
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January 15th, 2009 at 11:17 am
Looks fantastic IMO. GM couldnt release something like this if it was sitting in front of them….. =(
Vote:January 15th, 2009 at 11:45 am
Sounds like a very good package BUT having to remove the key from the ignition every time i pickup or drop off one of my teenage boys is a deal breaker for me….so much so that i stopped reading the review at that point!!!
Vote:January 15th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Glad to see this review is one one page and not spread over 6 like usual (just to built up your page view stats perhaps ?).
Car is a OK thing – I would rather one of these than a Captiva IMHO.
I would never even put my worst enemy in the third row of one of these or a Captiva etc. Even a moderate rear end impact would likely be fatal to the occupants…
Vote:January 15th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Carl, I’m sure you can unlock the doors with the keys still in the ignition. My dad’s BMW and new Mini locks the doors when you set off (about 40kph I think), and you simply unlock the door manually if you want to get out without removing the key.
Personally I think it’s a great feature for security, and good on Hyundai for implementing it in a family car like this.
Looks like quite a nice car, decent looker as well, certainly wouldn’t be embarrassing to drive one around. Great review!
Vote:January 15th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
The santa fe is defintely a truely impressive vehicle, doing everythign it was meant to do rather well. I Never really thought much of hyundai until my parents and i checked out the santa fe not too long ago. We were pretty surprised at how good the quality was and the fit and finish were on par if not better than some of the toyota offerings. In the end though, we settled on the Mazda CX9 Luxury. Its a much nicer drive, looks better and is bigger/roomier. Although 7L/100KM on the highway is just something the mazda can dream about.
Vote:January 15th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Hi Carl,
I can assure you having driven the Santa Fe before that the boot, and indeed all locks, can be undone by simply pressing the unlock button located near the power window switches.
I think Rose was saying that if you wanted for this to happen automatically then you do in fact need to remove the key.
It’s a part of Hyundai’s HALO anti-carjacking system.
Hope this helps, Matt.
Vote:January 15th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Hi Carl,
As Mitchell said, the doors are able to be unlocked manually, I guess I should have been a little clearer in my explanation there. What I should have said it that they don’t automatically unlock until the keys are removed from the ignition (same with the boot). With small children, I would find myself leaving the keys in the ignition and then going to get them out and finding the doors locked, but I could put my arm through and manually unlock them (or just remove the keys from the ignition which is what I got in the habit of doing in the end).
I’m sure with older children or adults, it wouldn’t be a problem as they could competently unlock the doors manually to get out while the keys are still in the ignition.
Hope that clears up the confusion, I encourage you to read on.
Regards,
Rose Harris.
Vote:January 15th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Mitchell Oke, I’m sure the reviewer stated that the doors could not be unlocked until the keys were completely removed……..and that can be a major pain in the real world, it might sound like a great idea but it’s a pretty useless function coz at high speeds the wind resistance makes it very difficult to open a car door!!! so i guess if you live in a high crime city it would be OK but not necessary in OZ (YET)
Vote:January 15th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Hi Rose, Good to hear i misunderstood and the door handles override the auto lock function!
Vote:January 15th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
These things look as good if not better than any SUV on the market IMO.
Cmon Hyundai get your act together and sort the Turbo lag out. Can’t think of anything more off putting in a brand new vehicle than a car that misses or hesitates under acceleration.
Vote:January 15th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Actually diesel economy very impressive considering real life economy of v6 petrol models would be north of 14 litres/100klms like most petrol SUVs this size.
Vote:January 15th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
Great review & I think the base SX CRDi manual model is the pick of the bunch. This car would have to be one of the most underrated suv’s going around, & even though there may be a slight turbo lag problem, the diesel engined model is the best motor for this range. I think Hyundai is on a winner with this car & I cant wait to see their new i30 CW wagon when it comes out.
Cheers !
Vote:January 15th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
is there such a thing as a “slight turbo lag problem”???sounds to me like its a small problem that turns into a big pain in the _ _ _ !!!
Vote:January 15th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
Santa Fe kills the Kluger i reckon. value wise for me it would be a no brainer, looks better to. i read somewhere an all new Santa Fe was due out this year, but i thought it is to early in its model life to need a replacement.
Vote:anyone heard anything on that?
January 15th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
With respect to the driveability issue reported on the diesel, I wonder if CA can advise if the auto is one of these adaptive units that ‘learns’ the required input from the driver. Reason I ask is that having jumped into a vehicle which had one of these trannies and was literally driven for 50000km on a school run, the whole engine response seemed very sluggish. After two weeks of driving with more gusto, the whole vehicle responded perfectly – the auto had adapted to the driving style.
I think the vehicle is outstanding value for money and for Hyundai represents a seachange in the perception that they are a budget low cost manufacturer. On the contrary there will be several auto manufacturer casualties, but somehow I don’t think Hyundai will be one of them.
In time they might even rethink introducing the Genesis to the ANZ market.
Vote:January 15th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
Has anybody towed an 19ft van with one of these We are looking at buying one and concerned about the towing
Vote:January 16th, 2009 at 10:08 am
bernie,are you on drugs..
maybe a small pop top would better suit the santa-fe.
if it must be a 19 footer then you MUST look prado,pajero,pathfinder,or any dual cab diesel.no if’s or but’s…
Vote:January 16th, 2009 at 10:41 am
Having owned a SLX 7 seat CRD model for 18 months and 43000 kms later..I believe it was a great purchase and couldnt recommend higher. Was looking at Territory (no diesel) and Kluger (old model at the time),even Captiva (no third row airbag). Absolutely reliable and only minor warranty items dealt with hassle free at service. Currently around town avg 8.4ltrs and have been in low 6’s on a longer trip. My first diesel but i’m a convert.. despite the ripoff markup compared to Unleaded.
Vote:January 16th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Perhaps Hyundai should have used the Kia Sorento’s turbo diesel. No discernable turbo lag, its a top notch engine.
Vote:January 18th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
not sure if it’s the same system, but my Golf GTI auto locks the doors at 15km/h, and auto unlocks when the engine is switched off. The door locks can be over ridden when the internal door handles are pulled twice; and also by the driver pushing on the “unlock” button. I love the system for the sense of security, as we’re starting to hear of some car jackings even in Oz
Vote:April 14th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Can someone please explain to me the difference between a model with All Wheel Drive (AWD) and 4WD On demand. I seen from various Santa Fe brochures references to these 2 terms, some from the States and some from outside the USA , but cannot seems to tell which one does what and which model comes with which drive system? I am confused. Thanks. Louis F.
Vote:May 19th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
I’ve test driven twice after driving other “turbo lag” SUVs. The CRDi is now as smooth as?
Vote:May 31st, 2009 at 9:25 am
AWD has a ‘centre diff’ which allows the tail shaft to slip so to speak, meaning that the car can drive on any surface without damage to the drivetrain. This puts power to all wheels but still allows slip or different turning ratios between all the wheels for cornering. many systems are electronic now and controls power to each wheels, some are 60% Front/ 40% back etc. 4WD is when the centre diff locks apportioning equal drive to all wheels. However the centre diff does not work so the tail shaft will take the brunt of the force when on hard pack surfaces like bitumen. This should only be used ‘off-road’, and will give better traction under such circumstances.
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