Santa Fe as a tow car

[AlanADS]

I am considering changing our Series 2 Discovery for a Hyundai Santa Fe. We have had 5 Hyundai cars from new over the years ranging from the Accent, Sonata, 3 Coupes and the present Getz that is used as the second car. We know the product well and over the years never had a problem with any of the cars and we do cover a high mileage.

Now the question - which one, the auto or manual ? I know a few of you out there tow with them so what is the fuel consumption like ? We tow a Senator and may change to a Coachman which is about 1650kg - no problem for the Disco but what is the performance like for a van of comparative weight ?

One alternative is the Kia Sorento and a dealer near us has one of the old models still (not sure which one as only seen it in the showroom). Our preference would be for the Hyundai though so any help would be appreciated.

 

[Oldsalt49]

Hi AlanS,

I have just bought a brand sparkling new Hyundai Santa Fe, only covered 250 mlies so far. Unfortunately I have not towed with it yet as I have to run it in for 1000 miles first. Anyway it is an diesel automatic, very smooth, very solid and very impressive. My first feeling is that it is going to be a great towcar. Like you I have had a Hyundai Sonata, it was a 3.0 ltr automatic, it was not a good car at all and had 2 new gearboxes before I got shot of it.

I did not test drive the manual Santa Fe, but I have heard the gearchange is not very user friendly, very long throw? There is one reported case of a dual mass flywheel failure, but that is becoming common with a lot of towcars these days (expensive to replace).

The kerb weight of the Santa Fe automatic is 1946kg, so should be ok for the Coachman.

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

hi ive a 57 plate santa fe cdf 7 auto. weve had it from new and didnt have to run it in before we towed. we tow a twin axel bailey senator wyoming our mptlm is 1678kg and we tow at approx 88%. the auto is fab but what we have noticed is if your towing up a steep hill just push it over and drive it manually and then its fine. its not bad on fuel either.

any other ? just give us a shout.

thanks

jo-anne

 

[AlanADS]

Hi Dave and Jo-Anne

Thanks for your replies.

I have not driven a Santa Fe yet - only sat in one. It certainly seems a good car - yes, a lot of people criticise the plastics used but I've always found them to be OK and quite robust. The bodywork looks good only one concern is how soft the paint is as I have seen quite a few secondhand ones where there are quite a few finger nail scratches around the door and boot lid handles - this is on relatively new cars, i.e. less than a year old.

Dave

My Sonata was the 2.0 litre and it drove really well and not a jot wrong with it. Best, was my 2.7 coupe - what a dream car. Got back from Grindelwald in Switzerland to Calais in 8 hours 30 minutes and got out of the car still feeleing fresh - of course no van on the back !

I like the look of the auto and although we don't need the seats would go for the 7 seat verson because of the air suspension which we have on the Disco. Hope you have many years of enjoyment with the new car.

Jo-Anne

I have had many auto box cars over the 35 years of towing that I have done and like most driving situations you have to anticipate when driving an auto to maintain momentum and speed when towing. You have to use the box 'manually' at times that is why the facility is there. What is the top speed you tow at when hitched to the Wyoming (I am sure you exceed the legal limit very occasionally !) and what fuel consumption do you get when towing ?

Regards

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

Hi Dave and Jo-Anne

Thanks for your replies.

I have not driven a Santa Fe yet - only sat in one. It certainly seems a good car - yes, a lot of people criticise the plastics used but I've always found them to be OK and quite robust. The bodywork looks good only one concern is how soft the paint is as I have seen quite a few secondhand ones where there are quite a few finger nail scratches around the door and boot lid handles - this is on relatively new cars, i.e. less than a year old.

Dave

My Sonata was the 2.0 litre and it drove really well and not a jot wrong with it. Best, was my 2.7 coupe - what a dream car. Got back from Grindelwald in Switzerland to Calais in 8 hours 30 minutes and got out of the car still feeleing fresh - of course no van on the back !

I like the look of the auto and although we don't need the seats would go for the 7 seat verson because of the air suspension which we have on the Disco. Hope you have many years of enjoyment with the new car.

Jo-Anne

I have had many auto box cars over the 35 years of towing that I have done and like most driving situations you have to anticipate when driving an auto to maintain momentum and speed when towing. You have to use the box 'manually' at times that is why the facility is there. What is the top speed you tow at when hitched to the Wyoming (I am sure you exceed the legal limit very occasionally !) and what fuel consumption do you get when towing ?

Regards

alan, we are a stickler for the legal limit. on mway we get in the 20's towing the wyoming. without the wyoming on the mway we can get in the 40's belive it or not. around town 20's.

with reguards to the door handle scrathes there on mine aswell and i dont use a key so why do they appear can you help me lol.

what colour are you thinking of getting and which model?. i have the silver one it looks ace with the dark windows.

jo

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

bump it up i have put a message on its tagged onto your message tho .

jo

 

[James_374408700]

Alan,

When I was looking for a replacement for our Xtrail Mk1 I test drove the Kia Sorento. I thought I was going to vomit........

ride was terrible. Bought another Xtrail Mk2 ....brilliant

Jim

 

[AlanADS]

Hi Jo

The colour I prefer is either Gunmetal or Blue Onyx. The last 3 cars have been silver so getting a bit bored with it now.

The scratches seem to be made by finger nails and or rings. Whether the paint is softer in this area or not I don't know. We have never had it on any other Hyundai though and we have had them for the last 12 years.

I would have hoped to get somewhere mid twenties for the fuel consumption but I suppose as an automatic that is expecting a lot.

Hi Jim

I think that the X-Trail looks good but what put me off was the early problems with the Mark 1's. I have always been a Land Rover man but costs are becoming prohibitive. The Santa Fe has a 5 year warranty and our local dealer is very good. Although we have never had to make a claim, if my wife hears a rattle or thinks something is amiss she takes the car to them and they have a look straight away put it on a diagnostic check which proves nothing is wrong. We usually wait for a special offer to come along and our present Hyundai had the first 3 years servicing thrown in for free.

Regards

Alan

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

Hi Jo

The colour I prefer is either Gunmetal or Blue Onyx. The last 3 cars have been silver so getting a bit bored with it now.

The scratches seem to be made by finger nails and or rings. Whether the paint is softer in this area or not I don't know. We have never had it on any other Hyundai though and we have had them for the last 12 years.

I would have hoped to get somewhere mid twenties for the fuel consumption but I suppose as an automatic that is expecting a lot.

Hi Jim

I think that the X-Trail looks good but what put me off was the early problems with the Mark 1's. I have always been a Land Rover man but costs are becoming prohibitive. The Santa Fe has a 5 year warranty and our local dealer is very good. Although we have never had to make a claim, if my wife hears a rattle or thinks something is amiss she takes the car to them and they have a look straight away put it on a diagnostic check which proves nothing is wrong. We usually wait for a special offer to come along and our present Hyundai had the first 3 years servicing thrown in for free.

Regards

Alan

hi alan, my in laws wanted the gun metal but the wait was to long so they had the blue onyx. he regreated the colour as soon as he had it. i like the gun metal, black and silver but like you my last 3 cars have been silver and after a while you do need a change.

let me know how you get on

jo-anne

 

[AlanADS]

Hi All

We found that our local Hyundai dealers didn't have any Santa Fe's, not had any for a while nor any Tuscons so started looking at alternatives.

We went out on Saturday and visited a local Land Rover dealer. We tried out the new Freelander with the engine that stops/starts when in traffic. It was quite strange finding the engine had stopped as you waited in traffic - the car was quiet anyway, but as soon as you put your foot on the clutch the engine fires up again. The CO2 emmissions are less and the fuel consumption marginally better. Anyway, in the end we opted for a secondhand 09 Freelander with only 3k mileage on the clock at a considerable drop over its original price. This one didn't have the stop / start facility but no problem. Part of the deal was to have a towbar fitted with 13 pin electrics.

We are taking the van in to be serviced next week using our Disco but should be picking the van up when it is ready with the new Freelander - it will be interesting to see how they compare.

Regards

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

maybe they have stopped making them?.

good luck with your new freelander.

what caravan do you tow?.

jo

 

[DeliDave]

sposed to be back in January,cut back production to use up the stockpile,so I'm told

 

[Oldsalt49]

We got ours at a very good discount. They launching an updated model early next year, 175bhp and 6 speed manual and automatic gearboxes. There is some cosmetic changes to the front bumper, which I feel does not improve its looks at all.

I will be towing a 2010 Swift challenger 530 1580kg ladened weight. My gut feeling is the Santa fe auto we have will be a solid towcar with plenty of power. We are looking forward to our first outing very much, we are returning after an 8 year absence.

Good luck with you Freelander2 Alan S.

 

[Oldsalt49]

I was wrong about the engine on the new model, its 197 bhp, could be quite interesting.

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

mmmmmmmm interesting engine. maybe its the same engine as there putting in the sister car the kia sorento?.

i heard they were having a brwak making them maybe thats why my in laws had a friday afternoon car and sent it back. as i say weve had the odd teething problem but who doesn on a brand new car.

jo

 

[Mikey1]

The new Kia and Hyundai will indeed share the new engine.

To be honest you shouldnt expect teething problems on a new car,i have owned Fords,Audi's and Mercedes and touch wood all were perfect.

 

[AlanADS]

Hi all

We have never had a bad Hyundai and never had a fault on one for the last 14 years we have owned one - considering we drive about 20k miles a year to work, that isn't bad.

Jo-Anne,

We have a late 2007 Bailey Senator Arizona and were going to change it at the Caravan show this year. It is our second Bailey (owned plenty of others though) but we have looked at many new Pegasus's both at the show and at dealers and just don't think that the quality is there - nothing like our Senator. We have narrowed the new van down to a Coachman VIP, only trouble is that there are not that many dealers down South - found one, Sussex Caravans, which is about 40 miles from us so will pop along to see what they have.

Well, we will be sorry to see our Disco TD5 go - it has been a great tow car. Not great on MPG but will climb anything, run all day and when caught in slow moving traffic just drop it in first gear low box and the car just 'walks along' - great with the caravan on the back. It will be interesting to see what the Freelander 2 can do - it has a higher BHP and certainly more torque so I am hopeful.

Regards

Alan

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

hi alan, i was behind a new freelander the other day and it was filthy dirty and it didnt have a rear washer or wiper i thought this was a bit mad considering how much the new ones are.

jo

 

[NigelHutson]

Jo-Anne,

All Freelander 2 models (base standard spec being the S) do have rear wash wipe systems. Now, as to whether drivers use them.......... bit like speedometers really

 

[AlanADS]

Hi Jo

As Nigel said it is whether drivers use their wipers or not.

All hatchbacks, estates and 4x4 have had rear washers / wipers for years so either the driver was lazy or perhaps he had run out of washer fluid and thought better of using the rear wiper. I have found that if this does happen, to use the wipers without washer fluid, just blanks out the screen (front or rear)- I hope for a lot more rain to help clear it or struggle home or get to somewhere where we can add some water.

All the Freelander 2's come fairly well speced, ours has all the bells ans whistles (more to go wrong though !)so compares well with the Santa Fe CDX. Land Rover warranties are not too bad and depends on the dealer service department to give you good service.

Well, I pick up our new car tomorrow so next weekend we will be towing the caravan so will let you know how we get on.

Regards

Alan

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

hi alan and nigel. this freelander didnt have a window wiper on the back or im going mad lol.

jo

 

[NigelHutson]

Couldn't possibly comment!

Shall we give it the benefit of the doubt and say that it must have been taken off? Now who will be the first without experience to say that "it could have dropped off"?

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

it could have been that thick with dirt it was hidden away lol

 

[AlanADS]

Hi Jo and all

Well, picked up my Freelander 2 and didn't even get the chance to say goodbye to our trusty Disco 2 - it was pouring with rain at the time. First impression driving over the next couple of days was great - drives like a car but it is a 4x4, albeit a small one.

We picked the caravan up today following its annual service and we have a 20 mile journey with a long steep climb on the way home and a mixture of dual carriageway and single lane driving. Well, did we make a mistake in settling for a Freelander or not ? The answer is a resounding no. The Freelander towed our Senator like a dream and at times I had to look to make sure that the van was still there. It beats our Disco hands down - so smooth, quiet and well behaved with the van on the back , it climbed like a mountain goat. We are very pleased and look forward to towing abroad with it next year.

It would have been good to try the Santa Fe or Sorrento before we bought the Freelander but for us caravanners it is unfortunately out of the question to hook a van on the back of a test car and we have to rely on our own and our forum colleagues' experiences - in the end it is all subjective.

As you can see we are both really pleased with our purchase and hope the Land Rover will serve us well.

Regards

Alan

 

[Oldsalt49]

Alan S,

Glad you are pleased with your Freelander 2 and that it has not disappointed you. I have a 59 Hyundai Santa Fe CDX Auto, as you I have not towed, so am waiting for it debut on Wednesday. We collect our 2010 Swift Challenger 530 that day. I have been very patient and run-in the Santa Fe for a 1000 miles as recommended in the handbook. I doubt we will get to use the van until after the new year. I will post with my experiences with the Santa Fe in due course.