2025 Hyundai Santa Fe XRT package review

• Doors and Seats

  

  NA

• Engine

  

  NA

• Engine Power

  

  132kW, 265Nm

• Fuel

  

  Hybrid 5.6L/100KM

• Transmission

  

  NA

• Warranty

  

  NA

• Ancap Safety

  

  5/5 star (2024)

Family Cars Guide

Many of us yearn for the big, bulky four-wheel-drive as a family hauler. It can go off-road, it can tow big boats, it can fit in everyone and everything, and it portrays a certain image that many of us want (let's be honest with ourselves).

Such a choice can be burdensome. Big rigs are hard to park, expensive to run, cumbersome in tight spaces, and compromised for packaging.

And if you're brave enough to face the cold facts, many LandCruiser/Patrol/Defender buyers out there barely scratch the surface of what that vehicle is really capable of. They would be better off with something softer, something less hardcore.

So, something like this might make perfect sense. A hybrid seven-seat SUV with all-wheel drive, modified lightly with different wheels and tyres, some extra protection, lifted suspension, and some extra storage to make it fitting for weekend adventures.

Starting with a regular Santa Fe, picking the XRT Peak option pack does exactly that.

Our starting point is the top-spec Santa Fe Hybrid Calligraphy, which starts at $75,000 plus on-road costs. Buyers can opt for a six-seat interior layout (with captain's chairs in the second row) for $500 extra, but we've got the seven-seater in this case.

And as you'd expect, the Santa Fe Calligraphy is well stacked with standard kit. On top of a few mid-range niceties like a heated steering wheel, heated front seats and twin wireless phone chargers, the Calligraphy gets nappa leather seats with electric adjustment up front and memory for the driver, vented front seats, heated second-row outboard seats and some unique colourways to choose from.

There's a smattering of extra tech like a head-up display, digital rear-view mirror and a trick UV-C sterilisation feature, along with a bunch of exterior details to help the Calligraphy stand apart.

Ticking the XRT Peak option pack certainly changes the exterior look, however, with off-road-inspired 17-inch alloy wheels wrapped in Pirelli all-terrain tyres giving a big change to the aesthetic. There's a roof rack on top, side steps down the side, and an underbody bash plate up front.

The suspension is modified to give a 30mm increase in ride height, while there are also slimline weathershields on the front windows, and a stone shield across the front of the bonnet.

Once you throw the $9990 XRT Peak asking price on top of the Calligraphy, plus the $295 for an optional trim colour, you're looking at a not-insignificant $85,285 plus on-road costs for what we have here. That's every bit of a top-spec Ford Everest, an Isuzu MU-X with plenty of change, and only a few grand shy of a $87,400 Toyota LandCruiser Prado VX.

Going more broadly among the large all-wheel-drive SUVs, the Toyota Kluger Grande hybrid is $82,860, the Kia Sorento GT-Line hybrid is a bit cheaper at $73,330, while the Nissan Pathfinder Ti-L (with thirsty V6 power) is pricey at $82,850. Closer to home, the Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy asks for $81,719 with a diesel engine. All of these prices are before you include on-road costs.

Along with picking up a new boxy exterior, this new Santa Fe has grown in most dimensions compared to the model that it replaced. Width carries over at 1900mm, but this new model is taller (especially with the XRT treatment) and longer. The wheelbase has grown as well to 2815mm.

Inside, there is a good sense of space available, once again thanks to those boxy dimensions. There's loads of vertical glass for visibility and that sense of airiness, which really reminds me of older versions of the Land Rover Discovery. In fact, this Santa Fe is quite similar to the Land Rover Discovery 4.

And with the top-spec Calligraphy treatment, there is a real upmarket presence inside the Santa Fe. Sit inside, have and look and feel around, and tell me that the Korean automotive industry isn't currently at the peak of its powers. It's classy, with a nice range of colours and textures that play nicely off each other.

But at the same time – and arguably more importantly – there is loads of storage available in the Santa Fe. Along with two gloveboxes in front of the passenger, one of which has a trick UV-C sterilisation light feature, the other also has an extra storage shelf.

The centre console is quite big, and there's a big storage area underneath the floating centre console, along with a 12V power outlet.

Up on top, you've got twin USB-C power outlets and wireless charging pads, which double as a handy space for storing all your bits and bobs. This is helped along by the steering-column-mounted gear shifter, which frees up space between driver and front passenger.

The nappa leather seats have plenty of adjustment available, along with heating and ventilation, are plenty comfortable, and add to the upmarket vibes inside.

The second row – which sports the same range of materials on the doors and seats – is as spacious and comfortable as you'd want. Visibility is quite good from here thanks to the high seating position and plenty of tall, vertical glass.

The seats are able to be slid fore and aft, and backrests can be tilted for additional comfort. And that's important, because you'll need to adjust the middle to get the best out of the back.

But otherwise, we have pillar-mounted air vents, USB-C chargers in the backs of the front seats, and cupholders on the doors. There's also a drawer in the back of the centre console that is connected to the main centre console smartly for extra storage space.

The third row – while definitely an improvement over the previous-generation model – still plays second fiddle to what you get in a Hyundai Palisade or Kia Carnival. With the second row scooched forward a bit, I (a 180cm-tall adult) am able to sit in the third row with knees just scraping the back of the second-row seats.

The third row has power outlets, air vents, fan speed controls, and cupholders, which is pretty good. Adults might find the third row a bit pokey after a while. Kids will love it, and could even call dibs on the rear seats.

Boot space, which doesn't have a quoted number of litreage in seven-seat mode, is big enough to fit four or five school bags or a decently large load of family groceries. Flipping down the third row increases this area to 628 litres, and sliding the second row back will save things from disappearing into the abyss.

This space is much bigger, of course, but I also like the hardy plastic covering for the boot space, a stand along accessory for an additional $190. This is more durable for everyday useage, but will also give owners an easier life when cleaning the car of sand, dirt, and whatever the car might imbibe.

In fact, closer inspection of the Santa Fe revealed the advent of 'floor mats on floor mats' that Hyundai calls all-in-one floor mats ($390), with a wide and lipped plastic mat going underneath the carpeted floor mats. So if you're expecting the interior to get extra dirty over the weekend, whip out the top layers and save them from getting trashed.

The big, curving display that dominates a large swathe of the Santa Fe's dashboard covers off both infotainment and the driver's instrument cluster. But the integrated, swooping look of the set-up here is certainly classy and modern. Some 12.3 inches is dedicated to infotainment using Hyundai's latest operating system software.

As you would expect, all of the ingredients are included here: wired and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, digital radio and native navigation, as well as a few more gimmicky tricks you might like or be happy to live without.

In our time with the car, we found the infotainment system to be stable and responsive, without any drop-outs or laggy episodes.

The new Santa Fe connects up to the Hyundai Bluelink smartphone app, which can give you a wide range of functions and features to dig into. This is one of the better and more feature-laden set-ups out there, but it's a subscription service after the first five years of complimentary access.

With a five-star ANCAP safety rating from 2024, the Hyundai Santa Fe is in a strong position for safety credentials against the heightened testing criteria.

Adult occupant protection is rated at 84 per cent, while child occupant protection is 86 per cent. Vulnerable road users (pedestrians) get 77 per cent, while the onboard safety systems (like lane-keep assistance and autonomous braking) get an 80 per cent score for performance.

Crash protection is helped by the inclusion of 10 airbags inside the Santa Fe's cabin, which includes a front centre airbag (to protect against occupant collisions), a driver's knee airbag and curtain airbags that cover all three rows.

There's stacks of safety equipment included in the new Santa Fe, and that's especially the case when you've got the top-spec Calligraphy.

Autonomous emergency braking includes pedestrian and cyclist detection, as well as junction detection and steering intervention. There's also lane-keep assistance, lane-departure warning, road edge detection, rear cross-traffic alert and blind-spot monitoring.

Higher-specced models also get a safe exit warning (detecting incoming cars when you open a door), a sensor-based rear occupant alert, and the 360-degree camera system is a quality one.

Like many new vehicles, the Santa Fe keeps an eye on road signs for an indicated speed, as well as driver attention monitoring. On the latter, the feature is well tuned to not be affected by sunglasses and mostly isn't overly onerous. But still, sometimes it blows up at you for using your neck and mirrors or glancing at the infotainment display.

On the former, there are still cases where the speed reading can be incorrect for a variety of reasons, and start warning you for overspeeding when you're not.

The trick here is to assign one of your shortcut buttons on the steering wheel to the driver assistance page, so you can mute the traffic sign recognition features and save a few unnecessary bongs (and your sanity).

The Santa Fe costs $2405 for five years of servicing, which will get you to 50,000km and works out at a reasonable $481 per year on average. Three years of servicing works out to be a little more expensive on average at $496 per year.

The vehicle is covered by a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty for private use. Vehicles used for deliver, ride-share or other commercial duties have a 130,000km distance limit applied. If fitted at the time of purchase, the XRT Peak accessory pack is also covered for five years against manufacturing defects.

While it doesn't stretch to include the additional cost of the XRT Peak pack, insurance for a top-spec Santa Fe Calligraphy is $2159 according to an online quote generator. This is a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.

Adding a hybrid driveline that matches Toyota's technology for outright efficiency (according to the claim) is a big deal for Hyundai, and is important considering diesel power is no longer offered.

A gruntier 2.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine has also been added to the Santa Fe line-up, but we reckon the hybrid is the pick.

A claim of 5.6 litres per 100 kilometres is impressive, but the XRT modifications do blight this somewhat. All-terrain tyres increase the rolling resistance and weight, and the roof rack knocks around the aerodynamics.

But still, our indicated average of 8.2L/100km is quite good considering the size of the car.

The Santa Fe plays both sides of the street nicely, not throwing out the baby with the bathwater as it chases improved off-road credentials.

Firstly, the on-road driving experience isn't terribly different to what you get with a regular Santa Fe, and that's a good thing. It's a smooth and refined operator, with a well-resolved driving experience.

Actually, there's a good chance that moving to 17-inch alloy wheels, instead of the 20-inch wheels you normally get on all other Santa Fe grades, including base, for this XRT might help soften off the ride quality a little. The suspension kit provides a higher ride height and different dampers, which offers good absorption over the regular range of bumps and lumps that you find around town.

But, it's not unwieldy or brusque in the way it drives. It's an easy, comfortable point-and-shoot affair.

The hybrid system, which utilises a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine and six-speed torque converter transmission, is different to the naturally aspirated/CVT combination that Toyota has used so successfully for some time.

But it has to be said, this doesn't lose out in its ability to smoothly blend together petrol and electric power, turning the engine on and off nearly imperceptibly from the cabin. The electric side of things is able to do some reasonably heavy lifting, including your initial takeoff (as long as you're not in too much of a hurry), coasting, and suburban cruising.

Only when you're really giving it to the throttle does the engine start to make a laborious noise. However, it's not too unsettling.

That difference in ride quality, with meatier rubber and raised suspension, does let this Santa Fe feel particularly well balanced for dirt road driving. Better bump absorption pays dividends here, stopping the car from jiggling around and bouncing the occupants.

Considering the better durability credentials of the tyres and good comfort levels (along with a full-sized spare), this Santa Fe XRT is well placed for touring the more remote and regional parts of Australia, down rough roads and unsealed highways of our country's interior.

When things get a bit tougher, then you start to come up against the limitations of an SUV pretending to be a proper off-roader.

Firstly, there is a lack of overall clearance to take on the kind of challenges other off-roaders would find a piece of cake. And once you start lifting wheels off the deck, which is easy to do, you'll notice that the car isn't afraid to develop a big chunk of wheelspin before making any progress.

Because the Santa Fe is all-wheel drive – which is intrinsically different to the four-wheel-drive system you get elsewhere in off-roaders – only one wheel losing traction can slow down your progress noticeably. There are some off-road driving modes to help here (mud appears to be the most aggressive), and the Santa Fe can drive through these situations. But it's not overly gracious, and adding in steeper inclines and slipperier surfaces would bring the car unstuck more quickly.

But on the flip side, all-terrain tyres on 17-inch wheels allow you to air down for extra grip more confidently. For something like muddy tracks and wet grass, this XRT will be in a much better position mostly because of the different rubber.

Compared to what some might call a 'proper four-wheel drive', the Hyundai Santa Fe hybrid is underdone from a towing point of view. The maximum braked towing capacity is 1650kg, with a 100kg maximum allowable ball weight.

Why? It's because of the regular-duty car-like underpinnings of the Santa Fe, compared to the body-on-frame construction you'd normally find with the likes of a more heavy-duty four-wheel-drive with a 3500kg braked towing capacity.

This is part of the trade-off you must accept for the more carlike nature of the Santa Fe, and the more approachable demeanour of it around town.

Don't buy this Santa Fe instead of a LandCruiser Prado or Ford Everest if you want to prioritise the utility and capability that comes with a proper four-wheel-drive vehicle.

And in terms of bang-for-buck, the Calligraphy XRT Peak does ask for a pretty penny.

However, there is a strong niche where this car performs well. Because although it might not keep up with others off-road, it does provide tangible benefits of comfort, running costs, and refinement around town that a body-on-frame four-wheel-drive struggles to emulate.

And let's be honest, the amount of off-road ability offered here is probably enough to suit the needs of most. Not necessarily what they dream about doing, but what they actually do on holidays and weekends.

Family Cars Guide

Sam Purcell has been writing about cars, four-wheel driving and camping since 2013, and obsessed with anything that goes brum-brum longer than he can remember. Sam joined the team at CarAdvice/Drive as the off-road Editor in 2018, after cutting his teeth at Unsealed 4X4 and Pat Callinan’s 4X4 Adventures. Off-road writer of the Year, Winner - Sam Purcell

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