Hyundai Santa Fe emerges large SUV of the year

Hyundai Santa Fe has emerged as the Large SUV of the Year at the prestigious 2022 What Car/Car of the Year Awards.

The judges also named the Hyundai i10 ‘Best Small Car for the City’ and the Hyundai TUCSON ‘Best Family SUV for Practicality’ in the magazine’s ‘Best Buy’ categories, in which Santa Fe also won ‘Best Plug-in Hybrid for Big Families’.

The new Hyundai Santa Fe, which provides ample seating for a family of seven, drew praise from the What Car? judges for a raft of improvements, which have elevated the elegantly styled, high-technology SUV to another level.

The What Car Editor Steve Huntingford, said, “Hyundai has proved that small changes can make all the difference, with the addition of hybrid and plug-in hybrid power options turning this already good, large SUV into a great one.

“Running costs are reduced and refinement improved. Plus, you still get a well-controlled ride, outstanding value for money and a nicely finished interior with seating for seven.”

Offered with a range of highly efficient petrol engines with impressively low running costs, the Hyundai i10 is said to benefit from the same sophisticated technology and intelligent safety systems found on the marque’s larger models.

Backed by a five-year unlimited mileage warranty, like every Hyundai, the i10 is designed and engineered to meet whatever challenges the road throws at it, a fact that was clearly not lost on the What Car? road test team when putting the car through its paces.

Hyundai’s blind spot detection technology, which effectively endows the driver with an additional pair of eyes by alerting them to vehicle’s hidden in the wing mirror’s ‘blind spot,’ took the runner-up spot in the What Car ‘Innovation’ category.

Managing Director of Hyundai Motor UK, Ashley Andrew, said, “Hyundai’s success in the 2022 What Car? Car of the Year Awards is especially gratifying as it highlights the appeal of our vehicles, from our smallest car, the i10, to our largest SUV, the Hyundai Santa Fe.

“It really reinforces the strength of our current range which offers customers a wide range of choices to suit their individual needs.”