[pulsar56]

Spotted this Santa Fe in Tawang, AP.

[harishnair]

It looks like a private/embassy import, any idea why there is a beacon on top.

[wildon]

2.2 Diesel, 2.4 & 3.5 Petrol with 4WD and AT option .. interesting.

[pulsar56]

Originally Posted by harishnair

It looks like a private/embassy import, any idea why there is a beacon on top.

According to the local driver whom we hired there, it belongs to the CM's son. (unverified)

[abk]

In my latest trip to the east & a detour to Bhutan during xmas holidays, I spotted a overwhelmingly large number of Santa Fe, Land Cruisers in Phuntsholing. Appears the import duty is relaxed in Bhutan as compared to India. Hardly saw the common Indian SUVs or sedans

[OHC VTEC]

We’ve been hearing the story of the Hyundai Santa Fe and its Indian escapade since the 2008 Auto Expo. It seems like Hyundai is content manufacturing smaller cars and wasn’t willing to take another chance with a SUV. The previous attempts proved futile as the Korean giant struggled to sell the world famous Tucson and Terracan to Indian buyers.

While many people in India believe the competition has the better of them with superior products, a visit to a local Hyundai dealer shows why Hyundai’s bigger cars never found success in India. Forget floor display, many dealerships don’t even have a vehicle like the Sonata or the Tucson allotted for test drive requests. Even an interested buyer has to go by his instincts, test drive reports online or a friend’s recommendation. Such is the scenario with bigger Hyundais in India.

Could this culture be reversed with the Santa Fe? We certainly hope so.

Multiple reports on local newspapers confirm the car will be brought in through the CKD route and launched in the month of October this year. After the immense popularity of the Toyota Fortuner with 7,000+ bookings within a few months of the vehicle’s launch, other players want to capitalize on the waiting period of these customers and lure them into buying their product. The demand for SUVs are only going be higher with vehicles like BMW X1 being raring to go later this year.

The facelifted Santa Fe was shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show last year and it was powered by a new 2.2-liter CRDi turbo unit producing 197 horsepower and 422 Nm of torque between 1,800 and 2,500 rpm. This is what we Indians will hopefully get albeit lower power and torque ratings.

This engine is coupled to a 6-speed manual transmission and allows to do the zero to sixty run in 9.5 seconds, with a top speed of 190 km/h.

The 2.4-liter petrol unit is also offered that develops 174 horsepower and is mated to a manual transmission (a 6-speed automatic gearbox offered as an option) which might not appeal to Indians as much as the diesel.

[Grafin]

So much of excitement for a Hyundai Suv?

[Guna]

Originally Posted by OHC VTEC

Multiple reports on local newspapers confirm the car will be brought in through the CKD route and launched in the month of October this year. After the immense popularity of the Toyota Fortuner with 7,000+ bookings within a few months of the vehicle’s launch, other players want to capitalize on the waiting period of these customers and lure them into buying their product. The demand for SUVs are only going be higher with vehicles like BMW X1 being raring to go later this year.

Title of your post says the Santa Fe would be priced at 20 lakhs, but there is nothing to support it. Can you please quote the source of this info?

Originally Posted by Grafin

So much of excitement for a Hyundai Suv?

Why not? This is the most successful model by Hyundai even in more mature markets and the car has been rated very high by auto reviewers worldwide.

[Grafin]

Originally Posted by Guna

Title of your post says the Santa Fe would be priced at 20 lakhs, but there is nothing to support it. Can you please quote the source of this info?

Why not? This is the most successful model by Hyundai even in more mature markets and the car has been rated very high by auto reviewers worldwide.

Its looks rather ridiculous, the performance isnt that remarkable and its uncool.

Its nothing in compared to what Ze Germans have to offer.

And Hyundai is probably going to price it on the sidelines of the CRV and Endeavour.

The end result is yet to be seen but i think its going to end up like the Terracan and Tucson.

Hyundai is good at making small zippy hatchbacks and i think they should stick at it rather than bring a soft roader into the market.

[AlokSriva]

Originally Posted by Grafin

Its looks rather ridiculous, the performance isnt that remarkable and its uncool.

Looks are subjective. As they say - beauty lies in the eyes of beholder

Originally Posted by Grafin

Its nothing in compared to what Ze Germans have to offer.

Oh yes, so very true untill you sacrifice an arm and a leg to maintain Ze products.

Originally Posted by Grafin

And Hyundai is probably going to price it on the sidelines of the CRV and Endeavour.

Well, that's the only thing that can possibly go wrong with this product, if it does.

Originally Posted by Grafin

The end result is yet to be seen but i think its going to end up like the Terracan and Tucson.

Hmm... let's wait and watch rather than jumping the gun

Originally Posted by Grafin

Hyundai is good at making small zippy hatchbacks and i think they should stick at it rather than bring a soft roader into the market.

Probably you need to check the kind of numbers Santa Fe does in US and EU markets where consumers are far more brand conscious as compared to Indian market.

[Grafin]

Id rather part with an arm and leg rather than settle for something second best(or 3rd or 4th).


And in the US, the Cadillac Escelade sells well along with the likes of suvs like the H3, Tahoe and the lot.
But that doesnt mean they r good vehicles now, is it?

And im sure for a fact from a Cousin of mine what the S Fe is like in the Uk, uncool and ugly.

Why should we have a mediocre vehicle in our market when we have better options available in the market.

Im not being a cynic(or maybe i am), but i fail to see how the Santa Fe is going to make any difference in the market.

What we dont need is a cheap bag of Korean bolts priced to compete with the Japs and Ze Germans.

[AlokSriva]

Originally Posted by Grafin

Id rather part with an arm and leg rather than settle for something second best(or 3rd or 4th).

Dude, good for you - seriously, I mean it. Because, not all buyers are born with a silver spoon in their mouths (or can earn one) who can afford an arm and a leg.

Originally Posted by Grafin

And im sure for a fact from a Cousin of mine what the S Fe is like in the Uk, uncool and ugly.

One person's personal opinion doesn't really change the facts and numbers!

Originally Posted by Grafin

Why should we have a mediocre vehicle in our market when we have better options available in the market.

Oh seriously you don't mean it - right? All you need to do is see the price point at which SF sells and the options it has to offer as compared to competition for a product with similar bells and whistles.

Originally Posted by Grafin

Im not being a cynic(or maybe i am), but i fail to see how the Santa Fe is going to make any difference in the market.

This my friend, only time will tell when SF comes to Indian shores.

Originally Posted by Grafin

What we dont need is a cheap bag of Korean bolts priced to compete with the Japs and Ze Germans.

I am not a fan of Korean products myself but this statement of yours takes things to a bit too extreme. Seems you don't know the specs of the, oops, Ze German product for Indian masses.
How biased can someone really be to Ze Germans or Japanese sans.. The least we can do is give a good product its due credit without caring about its origin

[prateekm]

Hey come on Grafin!

Why are you so much in praise of Germans? Volkswagen is from Germany. Look at the complaints against it. Turbo failures, DSG failures and what not! To tell you, Tuscon was a great car. They messed up the pricing. But atleast it was cheaper than the OVERPRICED Honda CR-V!

Mediocre vehicle? How can you judge that? I would rather go for a Hyundai vehicle than a far overpriced Honda one. Remember, even Hyundai vehicles have almost the same piece of mind as compared to the Japanese, at a lower price tag

[Grafin]

Originally Posted by AlokSriva

Dude, good for you - seriously, I mean it. Because, not all buyers are born with a silver spoon in their mouths (or can earn one) who can afford an arm and a leg.


One person's personal opinion doesn't really change the facts and numbers!


Oh seriously you don't mean it - right? All you need to do is see the price point at which SF sells and the options it has to offer as compared to competition for a product with similar bells and whistles.


This my friend, only time will tell when SF comes to Indian shores.


I am not a fan of Korean products myself but this statement of yours takes things to a bit too extreme. Seems you don't know the specs of the, oops, Ze German product for Indian masses.
How biased can someone really be to Ze Germans or Japanese sans.. The least we can do is give a good product its due credit without caring about its origin

Lets assume the Santa Fe comes for 17lakhs, id rather go for a CRV which i guess is a lakh or 2 more expensive, but is better in terms of snob value and reliability.The only reason one would go for a Hyundai, is because its cheap.

And if its cheap, u would definitely have to compromise with something.

And speaking of silver spoons, a person who can afford a Santa Fe at whatever price its going to be, can definitely afford a CRV or Endeavour too if not Ze Germans. U wouldnt have to part with an arm or leg for that.

Topgear UK has conducted customer satisfaction surveys for a number of years now and i havent seen a Hyundai and most importantly the Santa Fe make it in the top 20-30 atleast. If u have a doubt, u can google for the result.

U say abt the Santa Fe's large sales numbers, but i dint find any relevant information regarding the same anywhere. When i googled, one site showed that in the US, the sales of the Santa Fe has dropped by 2%.


I know im being negative abt the Santa Fe, but i was positive abt the Terracan and a lil with the Tucson, and what happened to them?

My dislike towards Hyundai is not personal(my bro owns a Xing infact), but i dont want to see another Hyundai which is all show and no go, Over rated, underpowered and over priced.

Im biased towards the Japs and the Germans coz they make good products.
Have you seen a Korean Manufacturer dominate a car market which has Ford, Vauxhall, Citroen, Fiat, Honda,Nissan and Toyota(Ive omitted ze germans here) as players in any European country?

[Grafin]

Originally Posted by prateekm

Hey come on Grafin!

Why are you so much in praise of Germans? Volkswagen is from Germany. Look at the complaints against it. Turbo failures, DSG failures and what not! To tell you, Tuscon was a great car. They messed up the pricing. But atleast it was cheaper than the OVERPRICED Honda CR-V!

Mediocre vehicle? How can you judge that? I would rather go for a Hyundai vehicle than a far overpriced Honda one. Remember, even Hyundai vehicles have almost the same piece of mind as compared to the Japanese, at a lower price tag

Il leave out Ze Germans coz they wont fall in the price range of any Hyundai vehicle.

Lets Speak only abt d Japs and Koreans.
If given a choice and an extended pocket, would u go for a CRV or a Tucson?
If u were to think with yr head and go for the cheaper one, ul regret the decision everytime u see a CRV on the road going past you.

For a lower price tag, u compromise with the looks, probably the reliability, pretty sure the plastics in the Japs r going to be better than the Koreans and the kit in the CRV is better.

The question is; would u settle for second best just to be richer or would u rather have a better car.

When u r spending money, why not part a lil extra for something better engineered and nicer to look at?