Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid

On the inside, the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid looks much subtle as compared to the exterior design of the SUV. One can choose between three leather upholstery options of Cognac Brown, Dark Beige and Mono Black, all of which lend a premium appeal to the cabin of the SUV.

The driver’s cockpit of the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid looks nice with a three-spoke multi-functional steering wheel with silver inserts and an 8-inch full-TFT instrument console behind it. This console has customizable display modes, depending on the drive mode you select.

The upper part of the centre console gets a floating 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with wireless smartphone connectivity options and two sleek AC vents below it. However, it is the large and bulky looking lower centre console, which gets all the prominent buttons for three-zone automatic climate control, electric parking brake, transmission lever and buttons for drive modes and other functions.

While the cabin is properly spacious with the panoramic sunroof enhancing the sense of space, the room for the third row of seats is limited and is best suited for children.

The latest design language of Hyundai, which has been coined as ‘sensuous sportiness’ by the Korean carmaker, definitely makes the new Santa Fe Hybrid look extremely sharp and extroverted for a full-sized premium SUV. However, many will find this extrovert design language too loud for their liking.

The front profile of the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid looks polarizing in our opinion. The front fascia of the SUV looks wide with a horizontally-stretched front grille, which is octagonal and is flanked with rectangular headlamp housings. The grille has shiny chrome-finished T-shaped inserts and a chrome lower lip, which extends towards the lower part of the headlamps.

The headlamps have a split design, with the upper housing having daytime running LEDs that stretch down to the lower rectangular part which also accommodate the main projectors for the headlamps. While this front fascia looks extremely flashy and unique, it does not draw common opinions for its liking.

However, move towards the side profile, and it is where the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid starts to impress. The overall huge stance looks majestic, which only gets better with its long wheelbase. There is a subtle amount of chrome used for window surrounds, door handles and garnishes on the lower parts of the door panels. However, the design for the 19-inch machined alloy wheels, like the front profile, looks a bit overdone.

The Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid looks functional from the rear, with a nice, eye-pleasant design executed for the edgy LED tail lamps and the LED light bar flowing between them. An additional amount of chrome is there on the bumper corner protectors and the lower part of the rear bumper.

Despite being a large SUV, the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid feels plush and composed in its ride quality and handling. The SUV comes with four different drive modes – Comfort for usual driving, Eco for a fuel-efficient drive, Sport for faster acceleration and Smart for optimal gear shift intervals. There are three terrains modes on offer as well – sand, mud and snow.

Powering the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid is a hybrid powertrain, which is a combination of a 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine and an electric motor with a battery setup. This powertrain produces a maximum power output of 230 bhp, while the peak torque output is rated at 350 Nm. The powertrain is coupled to a 6-speed automatic gearbox and propels the SUV to a top speed of 189 kmph and 0-100 kmph claim of 8.9 seconds.

The Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid is equipped with a bunch of safety features like forwarding collision assist, safe exit assist, blind view monitor, 360-degree parking camera, rear occupant alert, blind-spot collision avoidance assist, rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control with stop and go, lane keep assist, lane follow assist, driver attention warning, surround-view monitor, head-up display and six airbags.

The Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid ticks all the right boxes for classifying it as a premium full-size SUV. If you can live with the overdone styling on the outside, the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid is a perfect SUV for both everyday urban and weekend drives.