Now you wonder why would I go for a 4x4 well try spending a winter in Livingston then you will see. Last January we had some major snow fall and because I work in Edinburgh I tend to drive in. Well I had a Hyundai Coupe and let me tell you that car did not like the snow . Looked out my window in the morning and the snow was about 6/7 inch deep.
Tried to get it out of the street with no luck so had to take the day off work. That's when I decided I would get the 4x4.
I went to my local Hyundai dealer as they have provided me with excellent service in the past and explained to them my dilemma. They suggested the 4x4 Santa Fe. So took it out for a spin and loved it straight away it got off it's mark quick enough this is important for me as I stay in a place with lots of roundabouts
so pick off speed is important. Took a bit of getting used to after having a 2ltr coupe as I could not throw it round bends as fast for fear of it toppling over.
The drive itself was very comfortable and there are lots of leavers for the seat adjustment you can angle the seat pad and move up and down (for us short people)forward back and there is lumbar support witch you can adjust also.
Visually it is quite rounded and not as square as the land rover I bought a nice silver color which surprisingly enough hides dirt well have only washed it twice in about 8 months.
Now getting in and out of it can be tricky if your small as it does not come with a wee step. I did twist me knee once getting in to it so may not be a good choice for someone with limited movement. My wee nephew had a bit of bother trying to get in also.
There are lots of nice touches inside two cup holders in the front and space for sat nav witch you can buy as an extra when you purchase this.
• This car as new comes 5 year unlimited mileage warranty • 6 year anti-perforation warranty • 3 years' Hyundai RAC assistance Which I found useful as I did not have to pay extra for RAC. Another wee perk was I can take my car in for a free health check they top up your washer fluid and oil and wash it at anytime during this 5 years.
Now for the technical stuff>>>>>> >Specs (taken From My Manual)
4-cylinder DOHC 16-valve
0-62mph in seconds---11.4
Top speed mph---108< (dunno about this I'm sure I have got 115 in my car but this is what the manual says.)
Alloys---6.5J x 16>> very nice alloys for a big car I thought.
Price New: £15,995.00 This is a good price but I bought mine second hand at £12500.00
>Safety Features:( Taken from my Manual)
3 x 3 point rear seatbelts> there are nifty wee holders for the seatbelts to stop them moving about in the back also.
4WD system - rear limited slip differential unit> the 4 wheel drive unfortunately is on all the time this is one drawback as it does suck up the petrol.
Adjustable head restraints - front & rear
Adjustable steering column - height
Airbag - side Airbags - driver and front passenger
Anti-lock brakes (ABS) with Electronic brake force distribution (EBD)
Retractable load cover..>This is handy when you are putting lots of stuff in your boot I moved my sister from one flat to another and did it all in one trip with my Santa Fe it holds lots of stuff and you can take the load cover off altogether to gain even more room.
Seatbelt pre-tensioners with load limiters.
>>Final Thoughts:
I do like this car it's very comfortable to drive and you can see over other cars in front so great for seeing to overtake the slowbies. But you do have to keep it in higher gears to overtake. I used to get upset in my wee coupe when people tailgated me but with the Santa Fe it does not bother me as I don't see them and if they do bash into me their car will come out a lot worse than mine he he. It's nice being up high and you get used to it very quickly the size of the car just folds round about you. The air conditioning is nice when it's a warm day as the car does heat up allot with all the windows and sunroof. Another good thing is people tend to stay out of your way as you're a bit bigger than them.
It also has a window that opens at the back as well as the boot.
Only major down side I see to the Santa Fe is it's petrol consumption I drive roughly 368 miles a week and it takes about £53 at the moment to fill her up and I get about 390 to a tank so it's not the most economical car around. So have started to get the train into work.
So would definitely recommend this car but only if you have the cash to keep her filled with petrol as she is a greedy one.
Another point to note if you want to keep your warranty up to date you have to get it serviced at a Hyundai garage.
Additions:
Forgot to mention the back seats fold down to allow extra space, we actualy managed to get a huge fridge freezer in the back once the rear seats were down. The other good thing is there is a single seat and a double so depending on the size of the item you only need to put one of them down and you will still have another space for a passenger.
Thanks for reading, Cheers Maggie.
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Advantages: nice handling, all wheel drive Disadvantages: v6 all wheel drive drinks gas
sting_of_the_scorpion 22.03.2006 (22.03.2006)
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Review of Hyundai Santa Fe 2.4
Advantages: All on road aspects of driving top class from morning start to end of journey. All round visibility for reversing, motorway driving, changing lanes in town also excellent. Looks inside and out like the top of the range. Holds it own with Jeep, Disadvantages: Harder on fuel than the average car but then that is to be expected.
Catz 04.03.2003 (05.03.2003)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Hyundai Santa Fe 2.4
Advantages: All on road aspects of driving top class from morning start to end of journey. All round visibility for reversing, motorway driving, changing lanes in town also excellent. Looks inside and out like the top of the range. Holds it own with Jeep, Disadvantages: Harder on fuel than the average car but then that is to be expected.
Catz 04.03.2003 (05.03.2003)
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Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Hyundai Santa Fe 2.4
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