2016 Hyundai Santa Fe Highlander REVIEW | Neither Brilliant, Nor Lacking, But ‘Just Right’
HYUNDAI'S SANTA FE HIGHLANDER - THE FLAGSHIP MODEL IN THE RANGE - HOGS ALMOST HALF OF THE LARGE SUV MODEL'S SALES.
Priced from $55,990 (plus on-road costs), the diesel-engined automatic-equipped Highlander is certainly not cheap.
However its attributes clearly resonate with buyers who bypass the cheaper four-cylinder entry models – and we would too – then politely step over the middle-range $40-50,000 diesel variants to this ‘top dog’.
The third-generation Santa Fe has been around for four years now, but it was given a light facelift last year bundled with new active safety features reserved only for the Highlander we’re testing here.
Vehicle Style: Large SUV
Price: $55,990 (plus on-roads)
Engine/trans: 147kW/440Nm 2.2 litre 4cyl turbo-diesel | 6sp automatic
Fuel Economy claimed: 7.7 l/100km | tested: 10.1 l/100km
OVERVIEW
Sales for the Santa Fe are steady in the market this year, with 2240 units shifted from January to April, down 5.6 percent compared with the same period last year.
Rivals are plentiful, and the Hyundai is now outsold by other seven-seaters including the Ford Territory (2394 units), Holden Captiva (3264) and Toyota Kluger (3864).