Hyundai Santa Fe 2020 review: V6 Highlander

The Highlander V6 slots into the range at $57,500, a slightly puzzling $3000 discount on the turbo-diesel I drove a wee while back.

Once again, the Highlander ships with 19-inch alloys, a 10-speaker stereo, dual-zone climate control, around-view cameras, reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors, active cruise control, electric front seats, sat nav, auto LED headlights, auto high beam, head-up display, partial leather trim, keyless entry and start, auto parking, power tailgate, power everything else, auto wipers, a hefty safety package and a full-size alloy spare.

The Highlander comes equipped with 19-inch alloy wheels.

The 8.0-inch touchscreen runs Hyundai's own (reasonable) software with DAB+ radio connectivity, as well as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto along with a Qi wireless charging pad. That screen seemed pretty good, then I drove the updated Ioniq with its awesome new screen and didn't feel quite so impressed.

Hyundai also includes app-based remote control for the Highlander, calling it Auto Link Premium. You can junp the locks, toot the horn, start or stop the engine and set the climate-control temperature, all remotely. The app also details things like fuel use and tells you where to get 4c off petrol at your local Caltex (soon to be Ampol).

The Santa Fe is a car that's proud of its bulk but isn't any worse for it. Some big SUVs, like the first Audi Q7, were just bling and blubber. There's a lot to look at on the Santa Fe, with its upside down light arrangement (dare I call it the Big Kona?), funky grille and sparing use of brightwork. The 19-inch wheels look terrific and, as I've said before, not going for 20s or 21s is the right choice for both looks and ride.

It's also not overly masculine, like other cars of its size, with some funky details like the 3D effect rear taillights. Very nicely done, but very confident and bold at the same time, which is a tricky balance to get right.

The Santa Fe is a car that's proud of its bulk but isn't any worse for it.

The cabin is very nice and has a really expensive feel to it. From the clever texturing and shaping of the speaker covers in the front doors to the materials and plastics. It feels more expensive than it is and betters its rivals, even the brilliant interior of the Mazda CX-9. The Toyotas in this segment - Fortuner, Prado and Kluger - all feel a bit cheap next to the Hyundai. The Highlander is obviously full of better materials than the Active, but I was pretty happy with the entry-level version I drove a few months ago.

Well, it's massive. Seven people fit in the Hyundai in reasonable comfort, with the middle row tumbling out of the way in a single movement. You get two in the back, three comfortably across the middle and, of course, tonnes of room up front.

The boot is predictably big. With the third row out of the way, you have 547 litres of space, expanding to 1625 litres with all seats folded. With the seats up, you might squeeze in a MacBook Air (okay, probably a few of them).

Each row boast a pair of cupholders, with even the third row scoring moulded cupholders and a little tray for the inevitable munchies. There are bottle holders in each door and an excellent phone tray under the dash. Between the rear seats you will find a decent storage bin with the armrest over the top and the glovebox is cooled.

The V6 Santa Fe packs a 3.5-litre unit with a healthy - if not amazing- 206kW and 336Nm. That torque figure pales next to the 2.0-litre turbo-diesel's 440Nm, but you don't get a V6 growl or smooth throttle response from that engine, either.

An eight-speed automatic sends the power through the front wheels, so don't expect to head off-road. It's a genuine pity it isn't all-wheel drive.

The 3.5-litre V6 produces 206kW/336Nm.

Towing ratings are identical, with 2000kg braked and 750kg unbraked and a 100kg maximum towball weight (or 150kg with the optional assist kit)

Despite its heft, I still managed a creditable 12.5L/100km in the V6 machine. That's pretty good, considering the 2.0-litre ASX I had before it delivered the same result. Hyundai's official claim of 10.6L/100km on the combined cycle is, as ever, probably not completely potty. I've always found Hyundai's official figures to be from a universe reasonably close to our own.

The Santa Fe also packs a very decent 71-litre fuel tank, which should make visits to the servo fairly well-spaced.

Like its diesel twin, the Highlander V6 has six airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, forward collision warning, forward AEB with pedestrian and cyclist detection, active cruise, lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert and exit warning, to stop you or the kids opening a door into an approaching vehicle.

One neat trick is the rear-occupant alert, with the car telling you if you've left someone in the back seats. Hyundai reckons it's an industry-first.

There are two ISOFIX points and three top-tether points, but the third row offers nothing in the way of seat anchoring, which does limit the number of under-sevens you can carry.

Hyundai offers a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, with a year of roadside assist. If you stick with servicing your Santa Fe with Hyundai, you get another year of roadside, up to 10 years, which is pretty good. At the time of writing, Hyundai was offering a seven-year warranty, which I fully expect to become standard soon. Just a hunch.

You'll need to service a Santa Fe every 12 months or 15,000km and Hyundai offers a lifetime-servicing plan, which means you can see the service costs you're faced with up until the car is about 15 years old. You can also choose to pre-pay your servicing for the first few years, so you can add it to the up-front cost of the car and not worry about it again.

There aren't many V6 petrol SUVs left and the only other real choice is the Toyota Kluger. There are a lot of commendable things in that car, but the driving experience isn't one of them. The Santa Fe is a much more interesting vehicle to drive and it stands out for that reason.

The V6 is a strong, quiet unit with a distant and pleasant growl when you give it some welly. It doesn't suddenly turn the Santa Fe into a BMW M-baiting sports SUV, but it does add another dimension that the diesel can't manage. What the diesel doesn't do is spin up the front wheels on full throttle as the traction control tries to rein it all in. Because the V6 is front-wheel drive (which helps explain why it's cheaper), there are two fewer wheels to handle everything. It doesn't feel any less secure, but hey, it's a big beast and all or rear-wheel drive would have been cool.

The V6 offers a smooth throttle response.

The suspension feels a bit stiffer, to handle the extra weight of the bigger engine, and the rear seems a fair bit stiffer, which does occasionally make itself known over potholes and sharper bumps. This is fine up front, but probably a whole lot less fun in the third row. And if you like driving, that tautness is a good trade-off when you turn the wheel.

Just like other Santa Fes, it's not bad at all for a family SUV - it stays quite flat in cornering and manages to be engaging, which points to a well-sorted chassis. If the road is smooth  it's a very pleasant place to be, and in the cruise that occasional city jitter is replaced with a plate-glass smooth ride, and just a hint of wind noise swirling around the big wing mirrors.

Sadly, this iteration of the V6 is blighted by an irritating lack of response from the eight-speed auto. If you're trundling along at, say, 60km/h and need to punch into traffic that's running at 80, the transmission has a good long think about it before kicking down and getting on with the job. The paddles are there, sure, but it would be nice if the throttle and transmission response matched the chassis.