Hyundai Santa Fe - Interior, design and technology

The Santa Fe’s cabin styling isn’t as radical as the exterior’s, but it’s roomy and features useful tech from other Hyundai models.

What is the Hyundai Santa Fe like inside?

There’s a square theme inside that mirrors the car’s exterior, and the seats are embossed with a pattern that mimics the pixel lights on the nose. Plus there’s a big centre console that divides the front cabin, while the dashboard has a horizontal theme. The angled panel between the dash and console houses the climate controls and other functions, and has a semi-gloss finish that doesn’t suffer from distracting reflections.

What is the interior quality like? 

All of the Hyundai’s main touchpoints give the car a premium feel, with high-quality materials and metal-effect switches boosting the ambience inside. The fit and finish of the cabin is good, too, although the large black plastic centre console might be a little utilitarian for some people. There are some other touches that seem slightly cheap: for example, the front door handles are illuminated at night, but the rear ones aren’t.

Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment

Hyundai has kitted the Santa Fe out with a pair of 12.3-inch screens that stretch across the top of the dashboard, with the main touchscreen curved towards the driver for ease of use. 

Given that there is no budget version of the Santa Fe, all cars feature the same 12.3-inch touchscreen system. The infotainment system runs software that will be familiar to anybody who has driven a current Hyundai or Kia, with a menu system that can get a little involved, although the small Home button in the bottom right gets you back to square one if you need it. Navigation is standard and comes with five years of updates, plus wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are included.

At least the climate controls are on a separate panel, although the touch-sensitive buttons aren’t the most intuitive to use.