The original Santa Fe, while certainly competent, never quite matched up to top offerings from Japanese automakers in terms of refinement. Looking toward improvement, Hyundai designed the second-generation Santa Fe on an all-new, purpose-built unibody crossover platform. Its wheelbase is longer than before and overall length is up nearly 7 inches. Hyundai says that this chassis was specifically designed to deliver a better balance of ride and handling. The body structure is also considerably stiffer, and new suspension geometry has actually tightened the Santa Fe's turning circle. It is now being offered in Australia for the first time with a third row of seats.
Hyundai has introduced a turbo-diesel engine to the Santa Fe, a high-tech, common-rail, intercooled unit that displaces 2.2 litres. It develops a hefty 343 Newton metres all the way from 1800 rpm to 2500 rpm, meaning that most owners will have the engine running at its best torque virtually all the time. From outside the vehicle at least, at idle the engine was relatively noisy, though inside it is almost as smooth and quiet as a petrol engine. There's some lag before the turbocharger gets up to speed. You don't get sporting performance from it as the Santa Fe is a reasonably tough 4WD and is therefore comparatively heavy.
Few drivers will get anything other than a neutral feel through the steering and suspension, but road holding is good for a vehicle of this type. Pushed hard, the Santa Fe is easy to control and handling is predictable. Around town the brake pedal feels about right, but can get soft during hard braking.
All of the 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe's safety features come standard. This includes four-wheel antilock disc brakes, traction control, stability control, front seat-mounted side airbags, full-length side curtain airbags, front active head restraints and a tire-pressure monitor. In IIHS frontal-offset crash tests, the Santa Fe earned the top rating of "Good."
The Hyundai Santa Fe has a bold, almost car-like look in shape and stance, with a positive grille and particularly strong curves. Inside, there are elegant yet sporting features that work well, especially in the area of the dashboard.
