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2006 hyundai santa fe

Another 4x4 just hit the Korean roads and will soon be introduced to the rest of the world. The new Hyundai Santa Fe, model 2006.

The previous Hyundai Santa Fe was quite succesfull both on the South Korean market and abroad. Although the shape of the previous model was something which required a certain taste for curves, the quality / price ratio was attractive enough for a fair share in the 4x4 segment.

Maybe the Hyundai design team read my comments on the SsangYong cars and decided to go for a modern, yet conservative design. The result looks promising. Without judging the technical qualities of the car I think in general it is an improvement compared to the previous Santa Fe. The backlights look like they got inspiration from Volkswagen, or it's just a trend to have ovals within the light unit. The front looks quite sharp and the overal shape of the car is less curvy but not stiff.

I saw the first one driving just two days ago on temporarily plates. This weekend I will try to chase the car. Own pictures next week. (posted by Jitze, 30/11/05)

update December 12, 2005

I went to a Hyundai dealer to take these pictures. I must say I like the look of the car, especially that light blue version. Big disadvantage: the version with the sunroof is not big enough for me. I am 190 cm. tall and I could not adjust the seat to a position in which I did not bump my head against the ceiling. The backseat was even worse for me. It came as a surprise because the car looks big on the outside. (posted by Jitze, 12/12/05)

new pictures

previous pictures

Technical info (more info soon)

Overall length (mm) 4675
Overall width (mm) 1890
Wheelbase (mm) 2700
Front Track (mm) 1615
Rear Track (mm) 1620
Ground Clearance (mm) 200

Diesel engine:

D-2.2, 153ps at 4000rpm, 35kg.m of torque at 2000rpm
Fuel Tank Capacity: 75 liter
Tires 235/65R17, 235/60R18

Gasoline engines::

2.7-liter, 189ps at 6000rpm, 25.3kg.m of torque at 4200rpm.

For the North American market, the 3.3-liter (no additional info yet)

Both V6 engines are all-aluminum.