Hyundai Santa Fe 2009 News

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced its latest round of national recalls, with models from Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Kia, Land Rover and Ram impacted.

To be eligible for 4WD Of The Year, a vehicle has to be completely new that year, or significantly revised. By 'significantly revised' we mean a major mechanical change like a new engine or drivetrain, or a new body. Styling, equipment or interior facelifts don't cut the mustard.To be eligible, the vehicle in question also has to have a full-size spare wheel either as standard, or available as an option. No full-size spare equals no start. On this count, the Peugeot 4007, Volvo XC60, Audi Q5 and Mitsubishi Outlander were all eliminated automatically.That left a number of other soft-roaders that do come with a full-size spare to consider. These included the Kia Sorento, Hyundai Santa Fe, Lexus RX350, Lexus RX400h and the Nissan Murano. The fact that so many new soft roaders didn't go down the space-saver route is good news but at the end of the day they are still soft roaders and with so many strong candidates among the ranks of the serious 4WDs, we couldn't warrant their inclusion.The new 'serious' 4WDs included the Prado 150 Series, the Land Rover Discovery 4, the Range Rover Sport and Vogue, the new Land Rover Defender variants, the ML Series Triton, and the revised Jeep Wrangler.   Further culling of the numbers saw the Wrangler and the Defender eliminated on the grounds that they are both variations on well-known themes while the Range Rover Vogue, with its new petrol 5.0-litre V8, was deemed to be too expensive in relation to the new Range Rover Sport with its new 3.0-litre TDV6.In the end it came down to the Discovery 4 with its new TDV6 engine (in SE spec), the Range Rover Sport with the same engine (only one spec level), the top-spec ML Triton as this is the only model with all the new features as standard, and the Prado in both petrol and diesel guise. To us, these five vehicles represented an extremely strong field … a classic Land Rover verses Toyota battle with the wildcard Triton thrown in.Find out which vehicle won in Australia’s leading offroad magazine, Overlander, on sale Wednesday Jan 27.

Driving Hyundai's new Santa Fe diesel we had a spectacularly good run on the leg from Port Augusta to Adelaide thanks to a handy tail wind, a distance of just over 300km.   A figure of 4.9 litres per 100km is an impressive achievement for a wagon that weighs almost two tonnes, but still not as good as the one achieved by Mitsubishi rally great Ed Ordynski who brought his vehicle home with just 4.8 on the trip computer.  Bugger.Hyundai entered two, 2.2-litre diesel Santa Fe CRDi's in the Eco Challenge section of the event that caters to production cars.  It's run in tandem with the famous World Solar Challenge out of which the event grew a couple of years ago.It took the two Hyundais six days to drive from Darwin to Adelaide, with the longest leg between Alice Springs and Coober Pedy 685km.  It might not sound that far, but at a speed of around 75km/h the journey starts to take on epic proportions, especially with no air conditioning and an ambient temperature nudging 40 degrees.It turned that particular leg into 9.25 hours of living hell.  You can't use air conditioning because it eats into the fuel consumption.  Now, no one in their right mind is going to drive that far in those conditions without air, but it shows what can be achieved if you try hard enough.The two Santa Fe's were neck and neck for most of the way, averaging between 4.8 and 5.4 litres/100km each day, with only a tenth of a point separating them.  It led to some good natured rivalry as the teams vied to see who would record the greatest improvement in fuel consumption (the Santa Fe is rated at 6.7 litres/100km).While the the rally driver may have won the day, it's the journalist that gets to have the last word.  "We was robbed,'' springs to mind.  Ordynski had had some practice conserving fuel on the transport stages of rallies, where he'd managed to achieve 8.5 litres/100km instead of the outrageous 100 litres/100km that the car consumed in competition.Records tumbled and the rules evolved as the Green Challenge unfolded.  Japan's Tokai University team took out the Solar Challenge while the Tesla sports car set a new record of 501km for the greatest distance travelled by an electric car between charges.Incredibly, it was HSV's Maloo ute that was declared the winner of the Eco Challenge with a figure of 7.74 litres/100km, while Ford's Fiesta EcoNETIC recorded the lowest fuel consumption slipping below 3.0 litres/100km.The winner was the entry that recorded the most improvement and while the Maloo may have done that, it also used the most fuel and produced the most carbon emissions.  Hyundai was elated to claim the crown as the most economical SUV after Ordynski's car finished a fraction ahead of the Kia Sorento at 5.1 litres versus 5.17 litres/100km _ a 24 per cent improvement.The other car piloted by myself and other Carsguide journos finished with 5.35 litres/100km.  The Kia and the Hyundai share the same 2.2-litre turbo diesel engine and transmissions, but the Kia is lighter and has a better wind drag co-efficient.The event concluded with a three hour urban leg around the streets of Adelaide.Make One Degree of difference today by calculating your carbon footprint and finding out what you can do to reduce it.

The temperature has soared to a sticky 40 deg and a willy-willy is kicking up a menacing dust spiral right beside us. The road ahead disappears into a mirage, only the faint shimmering of what passes for trees indicates where the highway is heading.Heavy skid marks and hawks circling overhead pinpoint today's fresh road kill - yet another cow - which has been hit the night before. Already the carcass in the ditch is withering in the heat. Beside it termite mounds are rising through a rusting vehicle abandoned in the bush.This is a punishing environment but the perfect for Hyundai. They are out to prove its new Santa Fe all-wheel drive wagon has clean, green credentials - even in this Outback oven.The Koreans launched the revamped seven-seat Santa Fe in Adelaide last night. But we have already been testing it this week, competing as a guest driver in the two-car Hyundai team in the Global Green Challenge, an endurance rally for production or near production vehicles to prove their fuel efficiency.The task: drive 3000km from Darwin to Adelaide using the least amount of fuel possible; with each day's stage having a maximum completion time, forcing entries not to dawdle too slowly or they will be penalised. It's a mind game of measuring speed against time for maximum efficiency. The vehicle which returns to best fuel efficiency gain over its official consumption rating wins.We have been cutting it close - 11 minutes to spare at the stage finish on day one, just one minute on day two after nine hours on the road and two minutes on day three. That's too close for comfort.And as for the Santa Fe? It's remarkable for just how well it's been running, both team cars using less than 5.4l/100km, which is well under the official figure of 6.7l/100km - a figure set in the laboratory and not in the real world.We've been travelling at a snail's pace - between 70 and 80km/h on the 130km/h limited highway and we have been doing it with the air conditioning switched off. What's even more remarkable is that we have been running the wagon, as an experiment, on cruise control, which has penalised us about 0.2l/100km on our sister team entry. It's a reflection of just how smart Hyundai's electronics have become.While most drivers wouldn't tackle long distance journeys at such slow speeds or without using cooling air conditioning, the Global Green rally has proved that you can save money by simply reducing speed and driving smoothly. At 90km/h the Santa Fe was still achieving 6l/100km. That's fuel saved, less carbon dioxide emissions and more money in your wallet. Even careful driving in the city, changing to top gear as soon as possible and avoiding heavy braking reaps rewards. We've proved that. 

After yesterday’s fuel spillage on the Ford Fiesta EcoNETIC, organisers have decided to alter the all-important refill procedure.  The cars are now topped up first thing in the morning, and a nominated member from each team does the duty under the scrutiny of the organisers.A morning fill has been welcomed by the teams. There had been some grumbles about the practice of topping up at the end of the stage, as the fuel could still be warm enough to be expanded on the early cars over the line -- while it could have contracted in those who followed behind and had to wait for their turn at the bowser.With the entire field now sitting overnight before refuelling, there should be no question about disparity.  And on the subject of fuel, fellow Carsguide journalists Keith Didham and Chris Riley have piloted this Santa Fe well, with Didham handing over his part of the driving at Alice Springs 684km leg, which gave us a 5.37l/100km average – or 19.8 per cent improvement.That put us at 9th in the field at the end of Tuesday, three places behind our team-mates John Cadogan and Ed Ordynski in the other Santa Fe, who sit in 6th place after having whittled their consumption down to 4.14l/100km, which gives them an improvement of 26.3 per cent.And while most car fans’ eyes were on the Holden vs Ford battle last weekend during the V8 Supercar round on the Gold Coast, a similar Red vs Blue joust has characterised the Eco Challenge.  The Holden Special Vehicles Maloo is still leading the economy race with 7.59l/100km and 49.7 per cent improvement overall, with the Ford Falcon XR6 in second place with 6.98l/100km and 40.3 per cent improvement.Sitting in third is the car that has turned out to be a sleeper success, the Skoda Superb diesel with their fuel figure of 4.6l/100km giving them 33.3 per cent improvement.

HSV's V8 Maloo ute continues to lead the manufacturer's section of the 2009 Global Green Challenge.Halfway through the event, the Maloo has shown a 51 per cent improvement in fuel economy which puts it ahead of the field by a country mile.  With an official fuel economy figure of 15.1 litres/100km, the go-fast utility driven by former Fairfax journalist Joshua Dowling has been returning an average 7.35 litres/100km after three days of competition.Second place is being held down by Ford's turbocharged XR6 Falcon, another heavy hitter in the normal course of events.  With an official figure of 11.7 litres/100km, the Falcon has been getting 7.09 litres/100km, giving it a 39 per cent improvement.  Third place is occupied by the turbo diesel Skoda Superb with 4.6 litres/100km _ and improvement of 33.3 per cent.It is only the second time that the event which stretches 3000km between Darwin and Adelaide has been open to mainstream vehicles from the major manufacturers.  A total of 17 vehicles have entered in the Eco Challenge section of this year's event which is being run in parallel with the World Solar Car Challenge.The first event in 2007 was won by Hyundai's i30 turbo diesel hatch.  Competition has been fierce this year, as car markers vie to show that their vehicles are a practical and economical alternative to conventional petrol-powered cars.As well as petrol and diesel powered vehicles, there's also a hybrid and a couple of electric cars competing including the glamorous Tesla electric sports car.  But, rather than small ultra-efficient cars like Ford's Fiesta EcoNETIC, the rules seem to favour large cars that produce their best economy in top gear on long straight roads like those found in the event.The unlikely results could prompt a revision of the rules which have already been altered after an emergency meeting between organisers and team managers on Monday afternoon.  The meeting was called after tempers flared when the Fiesta EcoNETIC was accidentally overfilled at the end of competition.Gob-smacked Ford officials watched as fuel flowed down the side of the car and on to the ground to be later washed away.  As a result team managers will now refill their own vehicles under the supervision of scrutineers to avoid a repetition.  With some legs of the week-long event more than nine hours in length, a 15-minute break has been introduced for teams.And, results will no longer reflect the actual distance travelled by vehicles, but rather the stated length of each leg which will in turn be used to calculate economy based on the amount of fuel consumed.  Other major manufacturers that have entered vehicles in the event include Holden, Hyundai, Kia, Mini and Suzuki.Holden has entered a Commodore Sportwagon with its new 3.0-litre direct injection V6.  It's been getting 6.49 litres/100km.Make One Degree of difference today by calculating your carbon footprint and finding out what you can do to reduce it.

But today – day three, 668km away in Tennant Creek – started with a typical Outback dust storm that turned the sky an odd shade of grey above this rough and tough frontier town.The strong winds and reduced visibility was a test as the cars in the Challenge headed for the halfway mark at Alice Springs.It was an easy run today – just 512km and the temperature had dropped to 34 deg, making conditions in the cabin of the new Hyundai Santa Fe a little more bearable because we, like most competitors, have been running without air conditioning to reduce fuel consumption.And the landscape has changed too, with the majestic rocky outcrops and termite hills replacing the open savannah country. But the number of abandoned cars and dead cattle was a stark reminder of just how tough life in the Northern Territory can be.On day two we finished the nine-hour trip with just 1 minute to spare before time penalties were imposed. Today we time-managed our run a little better, sneaking into the finish with two minutes up our sleeve after 512km on the road, the last two hours we drove at 70km/h to correct too much speed earlier in the day.Hyundai’s Team R had another impressive day on fuel consumption. The 2.2-litre all-wheel drive Santa Fe has an official combined fuel rating of 6.7l/100km. Our wagon finished the day returning 5.39l/100km, against just pipped by our second team car driven by rally ace Ed Ordynski with a fuel consumption of 5.18l/100km.A the halfway mark both Santa Fes have used less than 5.4l/100km which is remarkable for a constant all-wheel drive which weighs close to 2 tonnes.I now hand over the drive to Carsguide’s Karla Pincott for tomorrow’s start to the second half of the event, from Alice Springs to Adelaide. My advice to her: keep it smooth.

But that’s the time by which we scraped in to avoid a late penalty after day two – the toughest day so far – in the Global Green Challenge.We were given a maximum time of nine hours to cover the 668km from Katherine to Tennant Creek. The slower you go, of course, the less fuel you use, but go too slow and you get penalised.On day one, fellow Carsguide co driver Chris Riley and I got to the finish with 11 minutes to spare and we thought that was a close call. Today it was just a minute. That’s too close.And that was after a day of continuously doing mental arithmetic to work out the distance run against travel speed, and the time we needed to be at the finish – keeping in mind we had to maintain fuel efficiency in our Hyundai Santa Fe, which is working out to be an impressive wagon.The Santa Fe, which goes on sale next week with a new engine and six-speed manual or automatic transmission, has been turning heads everywhere we go for the frugal fuel consumption it offers for a SUV.This turbodiesel 1.9-tonne vehicle with constant four-wheel drive has been running all day at just 5.5l/100km. For several hours we got the average down to 4.9 litres before strong headwinds slowed our progress. That’s remarkable considering we experimented and ran most of the day on cruise control.The other Santa Fe in the team, driven by rally veteran Ed Ordynski and motoring guru John Cadogan – who won the Challenge last year – has been doing marginally better. For the second day in a row they beat us, by using less than half a tank of diesel over the 668km course. We will be out to make amends tomorrow.It was another tough day, running without the air conditioning to save fuel as the temperature soared to over 40 degrees. It’s also been a day we saw a lot of road kill, black skid marks on the highway from heavy braking and dead cattle on roadside have sadly become a common sight. But in nature’s way, the hawks and crows are efficient cleaners, leaving only bones behind.Today’s result proved interesting.The winner of the Global Green Challenge is the vehicle which, over the 3000km journey, records the biggest gain over its official fuel consumption rating. So all cars, from a thumping V8 ute to a three-cylinder micro are on an even footing.As predicted, the large cars are doing well because they have greater opportunities for fuel consumption gain.After day two, the HSV V8 Maloo ute has a commanding lead in the production car class with a 47 per cent improvement. Ford’s Falcon six-cylinder XR6 is second with a 39.5 per cent gain, followed by Holden’s Sportwagon with 33.5 per cent and Skoda’s prestige diesel powered Superb on 32 per cent.We are sitting in sixth spot, up from 10 on day one, with a 21.2 per cent gain.Our teammate is fifth on 21.7 per cent..Tomorrow we are off to Alice before the Global Challenge heads for Adelaide.

The Eco-friendly Green Challenge diet, guaranteed to make you sweat, and hopefully drop a few kilos.First, take a suitable vehicle – in this case Hyundai’s impressive Santa Fe, a mid-sized soft roader which has been revamped and which goes on sale next week.We’re driving the Santa Fe in this year’s 3000km challenge from Darwin to Adelaide in a real-world test of fuel consumption.But being a challenge, my co-driver and fellow Carsguide writer Chris Riley decided to get smart. And it turns out all the other drivers, seeking an edge, thought the same. Why not save fuel by turning off the vehicle’s air conditioning?Well all know air conditioning robs a vehicle of power and therefore adds to daily running costs. It can’t be too hard to drive with it switched off and the windows up … right?Wrong. Today’s leg from Darwin to Katherine was 376km and tomorrow we do double the distance from Katherine to Tennant Creek is another 668km.Now, picture a 4WD wagon, no air conditioning, windows up, travelling at 80km/h to save fuel as the temperature sizzles from 37 to 40 deg C. Liken it to sitting in a confined but comfortable space with a hot air dryer going full blast in your face for five hours and you get the picture. You sweat in this mobile sauna.Never mind trying to drive and dodge wandering cattle on the Stuart Highway.Still, a truckload of bottled water, a simply divine ice-cream at our only stop at the Hayes Creek roadhouse and several hours of music from the Angels made it bearable.We made it to Katherine with just two minutes to spare on the time clock otherwise we would have been penalised for being late . And how well did the Santa Fe do? At the moment that’s up for debate.By our reckoning we are in the top six in the field, but like all good rallies there are questions over the first day’s results which saw HSV’s V8 Maloo record a remarkable 65 per cent gain in fuel efficiency, running at just 5.34 litres per 100km. That’s from a ute with an official combined fuel figure of 15.1.Unimpressed mutterings at day’s end about that result.The cars which did impress the field were the Skoda Superb (20 per cent gain) and Ford’s XR6 Falcon (37 per cent).And James Stanford did well to even get to Katherine on a postie bike fueled by methylated spirits and alcohol.For the record, the two Santa Fes – the other being driven by rally veteran Ed Ordynski and motoring guru John Cadogan – averaged an affordable 5.8 and 5.9l/100km, which is about 12 per cent below the official fuel consumption guide. And yes, Ed’s team had the air conditioning off as well.We would have done better had we not stopped at nearly all of Darwin’s traffic lights. A red light is a cruel thing to face when you are trying to be smooth.The biggest winner for the day was the all-electric Tesla roadster, the $160,000 silent rocket that drew crowds. Owner Simon Hackett says he’s getting 400km between recharges – being done from a portable generator on the back of a truck. 

...we will be lucky if we make it to the finish line, 3000km and a week later down the Stuart Highway…Northern Territory and South Australian officials don’t mince words when it comes to laying down the law for competitors in the inaugural Global Green Challenge.At a safety briefing for all team drivers in Darwin, the constabulary gave advanced warning they know we are coming and will be watching seeming from behind every boulder and should any competitor creep over the speed limit out on the highway or in the dozen or so local settlements on the route severe penalties will be enforced with wallets opened and cash removed – or worse your licence and car confiscated .There are warnings about traffic hazards, like desert dwellers who wander the highway and we should keep an eye out for the bloke with two camels and half a red car in tow, who has was spotted a few days ago.The warning about giant eagles feeding on road kill, fresh from the road trains the night before, gets our attention. The sound advice is to go around them because – like a Mexican standoff – they won’t give up their free tucker for any car. Same goes for wandering cattle, emus, kangaroos and camels that should be given right of way unless you want a mess.Oh, then there’s the road trains – 50m giants long travelling at 110km/h ‘so don’t park in the middle of the road’. As if.There’s also the warning about having to dodge the trucks carrying half a house – apparently a common sight on the highway.Welcome to motoring in the Top End. We can’t wait for the start.I’ll have one eye on the speedo and one on the fuel gauge, while my co driver can be the camel-spotter. I reckon we won’t miss the bloke with half a red car though.Meanwhile teams are talking tactics – windows up with air conditioning on, best speeds to conserve fuel, how not to get lost on the first stage from Darwin to Katherine.