Comments on: Hyundai Santa Fe Long Term Update

By: Richard Malone

Richard Malone — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 17:05:13 +0000

2007 CRDi auto since new. 88000 k’s.Through the Pilbara more than once, dirt and beach. Unstoppable in soft boggy sand. Serviced but not babied. 2 electronic door locks failed in 3 years. Worst fuel consumption 10L per 100K. Average fuel 9L per 100K’s. Never towed anything.
Totally reliable and cheap to run for such a big vehicle.
I don’t let the dealer service it. He is a major rip off. Same as most dealers I guess. The local mechanic is more than impressed by what he used to refer to as Korean crap. He loves it now.

By: Simon

Simon — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 02:41:34 +0000

It’s a love hate relationship for me with the Sante Fe. I have the very first in the new shape that released in May 06, just the petrol not the cdi.

After 3 and half years, i do love still love the car but i am seriously concerned about the longivity beyond the warranty period.

My list of faults so far:

3 door handle breakages (internal components failing to open the door) – very annoying. about 1 a year and all 3 were different doors. – That means a trip to work out the problem and then another trip to get it fixed = that’s 6 extra visits to service.

Check engine light came on late last year – took 3 visits to service to work out what was wrong – just ended up being a faulty hose.

Manual selection of gear switch broke and needed replacing after about 2 years. I do drive it like a manual though – i only ended up with an auto for the wife – but it still should be able to take it.

Odd starting problem – just meant you had to turn it over twice but it always got going. Seems to have gone away now…. (??)

And finally – today – just found out the Air conditiong needs all replacing after it died over christmas. $2000 worth of parts – thank goodness there is warranty left on it!

Oh – and get ready for the major service – i was quoted $1750 at 90,000k – which i later found out was incorrect, instead that is due at 120,000k. I say the service department tried to rip me by defaulting to a “heavy use” service – but i was given the excuse “we had the wrong service history attached to your car” – but then assured in the same breath all the other services were correct (??!!)

On the up side, it’s never “not worked” – most of the issues are just annoying.

Think carefully though before you buy one…. I’m not sure i’d go a a second time round.

By: sunshine

sunshine — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 23:36:06 +0000

We have just completed a 20000km trip around Australia in SLX 7 seater crdi.Had 1000 ks when began.Towed a 16 ft Regent Van,all up weight 3.95 tonne.Troubles? none,nothing fell off,no minor glitches,aircon cold,gear changes excellent,carried seven people on occations,travelled with a group of up tp six couples and their vans.Fuel consumption average 12.66l/100kms.The best by far of the group.Territories using up to 26/100kms.We only used 4th gear for the time towing and travelled up to the legal speed limit.Best consumtion was 7.8 l/100kms without van,four up,with fridge and other gear in back,at 110 kms per hour over 400 kms.

Extremely pleased with the vehicle and would look at the R series in the near future.Finances and trade in considered.

By: rob

rob — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:06:24 +0000

Hey Karl, I read with interest how you swerved to avoid the kangaroos. You made a very silly mistake. Motorists should never swerve to avoid animals as this is a recipe for disaster. Better to brake hard and safely and hit the animal front on, sure it might die and the car get damaged but a rollover can be avoided regardless of having stability control. Motorist in Australia should be trained to brake and hit if necessary than swerve to avoid kangaroos and the like. You are setting a bad example as a motoring journalist if you swerve for a kangaroo especially at high speed.

By: Mr Buy

Mr Buy — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:56:23 +0000

What is the matter with those Hyundai dealers, none response to my request for ordering a 2010 Santa Fe, now I am going to buy a Kluger, Toyata is so much better in terms of services

By: 5294

5294 — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:05:48 +0000

The Sportwagon’s boot isn’t big enough when you have a young family and compare it to the vehicles in the category of the Santa Fe. I thought the Santa Fe was an excellent car when I tested it but ended up with a 7 seat Territory TS only because I felt access to the third row seat was better. Once I have no need for constant use of the third row I’ll definately look at the Santa Fe, much better warranty than Ford.

By: Mani

Mani — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:31:52 +0000

The wife doesn’t like wagons and unfortunately what the wife likes is the biggest tick of all!

By: Mani

Mani — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:31:14 +0000

The wife doesn’t like wagons and unfortunately what the wife likes is the biggest tick of all!

By: Karl

Karl — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:41:51 +0000

What about the sportswagon?

By: Neilo

Neilo — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:57:19 +0000

I drove one of these Diesel Santa Fe’s for a month as a loan car after my ’06 Diesel Nissan Pathfinder engine blew up. The Santa Fe was vastly more zippy than my Pathfinder, drove more comfortably at higher speeds and used less fuel. It also felt about the same size. It was a great car – highly recommended.