The new Santa Fe, despite the name that evokes deserts and Church fathers, is a decidedly earthly object, indeed: earthly to the point of seeming to have come out of a geometry laboratory. Today’s cars, as we know, all seem a bit alike, machines in an identity crisis. But this one beats them all. SUV? Minivan? Maxi station wagon? Crossover? The mix is total, and the result is a strong personality: sharp, squared lines, a spectacularly vertical front.
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The aerodynamic mystery remains unsolved. How something so angular, so stubbornly parallelepiped, with such a flat front can boast a record aerodynamic drag coefficient (Cx 0.33) is an enigma. Evidently, the Koreans’ tricks – active air intakes and flow studies – work.
Shape aside, the details here also matter. There are LED lights that form very evident “H”s; the wheel arches protrude like the shoulders of a rugby player; the tailgate is vertical, slightly bulging, and the windows seem to be one with the windshield and rear window, as if the car were a single block of glass and metal determined not to make unnecessary curves.
The cabin
Inside, the geometry continues. Five very comfortable seats, or seven if you want to pull out two discreet and, in their own way, hospitable jump seats from the bottom of the trunk. The doors open almost at a right angle, as if to facilitate entry into a living room rather than a cabin. A high and wide bridge tunnel clearly separates the front seats; underneath there is a large storage compartment. The controls are practical, except for the climate controls, which are confusing in a digital panel as sophisticated as a latest-generation remote control. The materials, however, are the kind that invite touch: soft plastics, leather seats in the XClass. The trunk is generous, modular, with a sliding bench and adjustable backrests; the loading sill is a bit high, but the powered tailgate is standard, and this, in times of saving, is already a form of courtesy.
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The mechanics
On the road, the Santa Fe is comfortable and safe, as befits a car that weighs and measures almost five meters. Good braking, good stability, excellent many electronic aids that hold your hand without making you feel too stupid. Handling, on the other hand, is not its strong point, obviously: the size and a generous turning diameter remind you that this is not a city car, but a piece of mobile furniture. The hybrid system – full or plug-in, the latter only with four-wheel drive – guarantees brilliant performance, smooth driving, and low consumption. The plug-in, with its 13.8 kWh, promises about fifty electric kilometers. Not many, to be honest: enough to use it every day in zero-emission mode.
The great virtues? Habitability, first of all: you really feel good, even in the back, and the third row exists. Comfort: it goes over rough roads without flinching and as silent as a well-insulated library. Technology: well-calibrated assistance systems that do not shout but whisper. Prices, from fifty thousand euros upwards, complete the picture of a car with a personality that, squared as it is, does not let itself be easily confused.
