So three months with the Santa Fe Hybrid Elite and it’s safe to say, this is one of the best family cars we’ve had to pleasure of reviewing.
For me at least, the key pillars a family SUV should nail are practicality, affordability and ease-of-use, which the Santa Fe Hybrid absolutely delivers on.
We all know EVs are the future – it’s no longer a question of if, but when – so that leaves us in the present at this weird intersection of changeover.
And it’s here where the Santa Fe Hybrid comes into the picture, which some might call a stop-gap before full-battery electrification, but I would just call a damn good car.
The first time I drove this car, I was struck by just how ordinary everything feels, but ordinary in the best way possible.
There’s no super high-tech interface or cutting-edge technology thrown in your face, you just get in, turn it on, put it in drive and away you go.
Sure, there’s a gauge on the dashboard to show if you are driving in Eco or Power bands, as well as when the brakes are regenerating, but it’s easy enough to ignore the hybrid powertrain and just drive like you normally would.
Up front you’ve got that 1.6-litre engine working part time to keep things moving along, and it does a fine job.
But this hybrid system is really smart, switching from petrol to electric seamlessly and without any perceivable jumps or jolts like I’ve experienced in other systems.
Of course, the engine noise will clue you into the fact that the 1.6-litre engine has come alive, but in terms of ride comfort and quality, nothing really changes between the two.
And when this car is cruising along using electricity, it is so serene and comfortable. This combined with the high-end, soft-touch materials throughout really elevate the Santa Fe Hybrid to something that could even rival a premium brand like BMW or Mercedes-Benz.
The suspension and steering tune also have a part to play here too, with the former soaking up bumps and ruts without much rocking in the cabin, and the latter feeling communicative and well weighted.
And if that all sounds a bit ho-hum to you, well why are you reading a Santa Fe Hybrid review anyway?
This car is not designed to thrill or delight in a straight line or in corners, it’s meant to be a comfortable and frugal family hauler, and the fact there is no learning curve or changes to your driving behaviour makes it even better, in my opinion.
This hybrid powertrain, to me at least, makes the Santa Fe Hybrid one of the best family cars I’ve driven, and easily surpasses the non-electrified competition in its class.
Pair that with the fact that it can be had for just $63,000 before on-road costs – making it comparable to petrol- and diesel-powered rivals, and cheaper than hybrid competitors – is just extra icing on top of an already delicious cake.
But of course, I couldn’t recommend the Santa Fe Hybrid for families if it wasn’t also safe.
And while the 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid has not been awarded an ANCAP safety rating, petrol- and diesel-powered model have a five-star score.
This could be turn-off for some, but knowing how much the Hybrid shares structurally with the rest of the Santa Fe range meant I didn’t have any doubts putting my family into the car.
Much of the same safety technologies also carry over to hybrid variants like the one we have here.
For reference, the current-generation Santa Fe, when tested in 2018, scored ‘excellent’ in the adult occupant test, and did very well in the child occupant protection and safety assist tests.
However, there are no top tether anchorage points in the third row, so child seats back there are not recommended.
Standard safety systems include almost everything you could want in a family car, including autonomous emergency braking, rear cross-traffic alert, automatic high beams and adaptive cruise control, as well as airbags for the first and second row, but no protection for the third row.
And in keeping costs down, the Santa Fe Hybrid is also quite cheap to maintain, with the first five services (every 12 months or 10,000km – whichever occur first) costing $459 each under Hyundai’s capped-price service plan.
Like all new Hyundais sold in 2023, this Santa Fe Hybrid Elite comes with a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty.
And while this falls behind the industry-leading seven-years/unlimited kilometres offered by Kia and MG, it is on par with big names like Toyota, Mazda and Ford.
But it’s the trips to the servo where you’ll likely see most of the savings as they are few and very far between in the Santa Fe Hybrid.
Official fuel consumption figure sits at 6.0 litres per 100km, which is outstanding economy for a car of this size, but in our three months with the car, we managed an overall average of 7.0L/100km – mainly due to the fact this car was largely used for school runs and commuting.
However, some weeks we saw the number drop as low as 6.5L/100km, so there really are tangible benefits of going for the hybrid over the petrol or diesel.
The best part though, is that because this isn’t a plug-in hybrid or a range-extending hybrid, there’s no learning curve or user error to unlock these fuel-saving benefits – the hybrid system is always working when the car is.
And let me tell you, with how much I have to juggle with a toddler and a newborn, I’d probably forget to plug in the car on a daily basis, so this hybrid system is something I really appreciate.
It might have taken Hyundai a while to come to the hybrid SUV game, but they do say patience is a virtue.
It feels more premium than a Kluger, it’s cheaper than a Sorento and you can actually walk into a dealership today and snap one up without waiting.
If you’re in the market for a safe, comfortable and relatively affordable seven-seat family SUV – I don’t say this too often, but – you should buy a Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid.
Acquired: March 2023
Distance travelled this month: 677km
Odometer: 4750km
Average fuel consumption this month: 7.0L/100km (measured at the pump)
Keyword: Hyundai Santa Fe 2023 review: Elite hybrid long-term | Part 3