Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2 manual or auto

[Kris_the_joiner]

Hello.

Looking into a new car to tow the caravan as our grand C4 Picasso is right on the limit with towing limit at 1500g our caravan max Kaden weight is 1500kg. Also kerbweight ratio is 90+ % so not ideal match. Been looking at Honda CRV that's got the best reliability record and good engine power kerbweight etc. Then really considering the Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorrento. Ok they not as reliable as the Honda but bigger and more powerful. Would want post 2010 with the new 2.2 diesel engine.

Now the post 2010 are out of price range but the sister car Hyundai Santa Fe and cracking prices

What I'm interested to know is whether to get the Santa Fe in manual or automatic. I've read loads about the Kia Sorrento manual clutches burning out from towing. Just wondered if that's the same case with the santa Fe.

If anyone can shed some light on this it would go along way in helping us decide on next car

 

[otherclive]

I'd surmise that the Hyundai and Kia manuals are very similar so clutch wear could be a problem on both. Although towing if driven correctly shouldn't adversely affect a clutch but manoeuvring a caravan will necessitate clutch slip and perhaps that has caused a problem. Notwithstanding that I would always opt for the auto for towing duties. The two cars of interest to you have torque converter automatics which are normally very reliable and make driving and manoeuvres so much easier. Fuel consumption differences between automatic and manual are marginal in the overall scheme of things.

 

[Anseo]

In a word,
auto

 

[Hutch]

Kris, I had a 2008 Sante Fe, AUTO, and it towed our Coachman 545 and later our 560 both max weight 1645kg, very easily. I now have a 2014 Santa fe auto. I wouldn't want to tow with a manual again.

 

[Thingy]

+1 for auto. Shogun power. :cheer:

 

[Scorpy]

I tow a Coachman 545 with a Sorento Auto 2.2
Apart from the fact I find it a bit slow pulling away on a gradient unles I give it some pedal it tows like a dream. Once rolling you don't know it's there. Uphill & down dale the auto box is spot on. Effortless driving-no arriving like you want to lay in a hot bath for a week!
Depending on what you tow, the fuel consumption does drop a bit-best I can get out of her towing is 30mpg and that's on cruise at 55/60 mph. However solo, can average 45+mpg
The main thing though is you never feel the tail is wagging the dog-total control even in high cross winds and never pushes downhill.
You can pick up a post 2010 now for about £6,500 for a good one and in my opinion a great towcar
Mike

 

[Kris_the_joiner]

hi everyone
thank you very much for your replies. i see its unanimous for towing with an auto.
would you agree on the honda crv auto?

fao otherclive noticed in your signiture it says you have the sKoda superb 4x4 whats that like.

 

[otherclive]

hi everyone
thank you very much for your replies. i see its unanimous for towing with an auto.
would you agree on the honda crv auto?

fao otherclive noticed in your signiture it says you have the sKoda superb 4x4 whats that like.

I’ve had Disco2, Sorento Gen 1, XC70 Gen3 and Forester SJ. The Superb is up there with any of them as a tow car, great luggage volume and by far the best solo drive and economical too. I actually enjoy trips in “Bradley, or should it be Paloma”. Mines 179 ps 4x4 so I can’t comment on the 2wd version but Skoda Superb (and Ictavua) have consistently won awards in various tow car competitions.

 

[waffler]

We use auto for towing. It saves another job, it’s always in the right gear. I suspect the manuals have bimass flywheels which can be problematic especially when reversing. Check the tow limits on both boxes as the auto may have a lower maximum.

 

[RayS]

25 years back I resumed caravanning after a short absence and bought a Discovery td 200 manual. This had the grunt required but also huge turbo lag at low revs and was quite a nightmare when you encountered a necklace of roundabouts forming some town ring roads. Since then it's been all autos, Merc ML270 and E220 and currently Freelander.
No question about it, auto makes for safer and more relaxing towing.

 

[waffler]

Go for the auto. the Santa Fe used to have a dual mass flywheel which could be a problem, and expensive to replace. I don't know if the ones you're looking at are the same but I would check. One thing to check is back suspension. Between 2010 and 2012 Sorento didn't have self levelling suspension on most models and with a rather flexible pan they did not tow as well as the pre-2010 ones. (Santa Fe and Sorento generally use the same parts.) The CRV used to have a very low nose weight limit so check that as well.

 

[ProfJohnL]

The CRV used to have a very low nose weight limit so check that as well.

Provided the nose load limit is big enough to handle the trailer, then there is no concern about the limit.

The Eu construction and use require the tow hitch on the car must be able to accept a minimum 4% of the trailers towed weight as a nose load. THe UK caravan industry recommend using a nose load of between 5 and 7% of the trailers MTPLM, though you should never exceed the tow load capacity of either the car or caravan.

You only need as much nose load that keeps the outfit towing sweetly provide all other factors have been managed correctly.

 

[Bob_5041432]

Not sure whether this is any help at this stage but I have a 2017 Santa Fe auto. I am towing a Fendt Topas with a axle upgraded to 1700 kg. We did 10,500 miles last year going up to Finland before working our way down to Sicily and we are currently at Tan Tan Plage at the top of the Western Sahara in Morocco having worked our way slowly down from the Düsseldorf Caravan Show. I cannot fault the car. It tows brilliantly and there is always the ability to intervene manually if you feel you are I the wrong gear. We tend to do a steady 60 mph where possible but road conditions here mean that often we are slower. The Santa Fe is thirsty and I am probably only getting about 25 mpg but my caravan is heavy. Have not yet found a hill that it cannot cope with and it has good pulling power for overtaking. My only 2 complaints is that I have a creak in the back left suspension that Hyundai cannot find (it started on he drive back up from Sicily and the raod surface was quite rough) and I had to tighten one of the mounting bolts for the tow bar sub-frame yesterday although in fairness the tow bar has been under some pressure over the last 2 weeks.

 

[Bob_5041432]

Sorry - typos. Should read ".....if you feel that you are in the wrong gear." and "....the road surface....".