Most seven-seat SUV's are now firmly in the luxury and expensive - very expensive - bracket. We're still awaiting a price on Peugeot’s new 5008 EV, which has seven seats and is likely to be relatively more affordable than what’s currently available.
In the meantime, we have premium SUV's like Kia’s EV9 and Volvo’s XC 90 and the latest arrival - the Hyundai Santa Fe, which has just arrived in Ireland. None of them are cheap (even Skoda’s 7-seat Kodiaq is over €60,000) and these cars are increasingly costly.
The Santa Fe seven-seater has an entry-level price of €66,995, about €5,000 more expensive than the outgoing model. However, Hyundai argues that the car - given its level of equipment and size - still represents a competitive offering.
And it is big. It’s almost five metres long and 1.68 metres high and its design echoes the kind of bold styling that Hyundai has introduced in various guises, from the Ioniq 6 to the Kona. It’s also definitely a design aimed at taking on Land Rover, because its character very much resembles the ruggedness of the Land Rover Discovery, with features like squared wheel arches. Then you have 20" wheels as standard. It’s also four wheel drive.
It's a very different car than the one it replaces. Gone are the more conservative exterior features, to be replaced by a much different rectangular grille and H-shaped LED headlights. Boxy and rugged are the two words that best sum up the overall styling.
While it may look every inch like a gas-guzzler, it shouldn’t. Under the bonnet is a 1.6 hybrid petrol engine (another similar-sized EV alternative model is on the way) mated with a plug-in hybrid system. The output is a fairly impressive 235 horse power.
The boot is a fairly massive 725 litres and, even with the rearmost two seats up there’s still a decent load capacity.
Inside the car there is a premium feeling of space. Dominating the cockpit are two curved 12.3 inch screens for infotainment and controls. A head-up display is standard.
Seats are large and very comfortable and the headroom is generous, even towards the rear, which is not usually the case with cars like this. The car we drove briefly was the Calligraphy version, which costs €69,995 - €3,000 more expensive than the entry-level Premium version.
Standard equipment levels are generous. Along with that head-up display, you have a extras like a two-phone charging function and a suite of over 20 safety features, from forward collision avoidance to a 360 degree surround view camera and lane assist. There are ten airbags and an automatic three-stage tailgate is also standard.
Pricey though it may be, the Santa Fe still competes well with cars like the Land Rover Discovery PHEV (€78,000) and the Volvo XC 90, which comes in at just over €93,000.
