2019 Hyundai Santa Fe vs Mazda CX-9

What's the difference?

It's all so easy in the Santa Fe. Easy to get in and out of, easy to own, easy to drive, easy to like. I really liked the old car, for all its flaws, thinking it good value for money, nice enough to drive and a good looker.

The new Santa Fe has raised the bar a long way and brought it into the same league as Mazda's excellent CX-9. To my mind, that means it's a significantly better overall proposition than the Toyota Kluger and Kia Sorento. And it's done all of that without pushing the price through the roof.

The previous CX-9 was excellent and now the new one fills in many of the gaps which were missing such as the addition of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, the safety tech standard across all grades and great ride and handling. You'd be hard-pressed to find a better large seven-seater all-rounder without stepping into the $100K prestige territory.

The Touring is the sweet spot in the CX-9 with its leather seats, 8.0-inch display and good price.

As with the previous generation, the Santa Fe is bold, but this one is properly out there. Whereas the old car took conventional design and played with it, the nose on the fourth-gen Santa Fe is quite something. Sleek LED driving lights at the top where you might expect the headlights, a chunky grille and stacked headlights remind me of the Kona's arrangement, but on steroids. I wasn't sure at first, but the more I see them, the more I like it. It's as adventurous as a Citroen, which is really saying something.

It's also nice to see that there isn't much in the way of model differentiation from the outside, apart from the 17-inch alloys, which the Active just about gets away with.

The Santa Fe's cabin is just as fanastic, if more skewed towards usability than avant-garde attractiveness. Hyundai interiors are pretty good these days and this one is no exception. The previous generation cars were a bit brash but this one is classy and sophisticated. M'colleague Richard Berry wasn't so keen on the Active's cloth interior but I quite like it and won't be swayed.

Nothing has changed to the exterior of the CX-9 in this 2018 update – but that's a good thing, because this is a striking and beautifully styled SUV. More a tall, sleek wagon than upright boxy SUV, there's that in-your-face grille, the long nose the set-back cabin and the hatchback rear end. The only element which irks me are the taillights – they seem a bit small for that big bottom.

All CX-9s look almost identical on the outside, but you can tell the higher grades form their larger-sized wheels and LED fog lights.

There's not much in the way of a body kit, but there is that subtle roof top spoiler, that sculpted front bumper and the little shark fin antenna.

The cabin is a premium feeling place (have a look at the images) – this is Mazda flagship after all. Materials feel soft to touch even on the dash and door sills back and front, while there's a high-quality fit and finish throughout. With big interior dimensions this is also a roomy place, despite that sloping roofline.

The Azami LE is by far the most decadent grade with its nappa leather upholstery and real wood trim. Mazda was not able to tell me what type of wood has been used and could only go as far as confirming it was real wood, however, in the United States the top-grade CX-9, known as the Signature, uses a similar looking material and officially calls it rosewood.

Mazda also told me that the adhesives and materials used in the cabin were also chosen to minimise bad smells – not from the people in it but from the leather's plastics and glues. If only all car companies would care enough to do this – some new car smells make my eyes water.

At almost 5.1 metres long, nearly 2.0m wide and getting onto 1.8m tall you'll need a pretty big garage to house the CX-9.

Despite the Santa Fe growing in all directions as well as scoring a longer wheelbase, it's not much bigger inside. That's okay, it was already pretty big. With seven seats, though, you've got a ton of people-hauling capability and the six cupholders and four bottle holders to keep everyone refreshed.

The centre console has a huge bin with USB ports in it, while the rear armrest has a handy storage tray for losable items that shouldn't go to the beach. There's also a Qi charging mat under the dash. Rear-seat passengers score fast-charging USB-C ports.

The generous boot starts at 547 litres, expanding to a whopping 1625 litres (VDA) with all the rear seats folded away. There is also space under the boot floor to hide things.

Access to the third row is resaonably straightforward, with a lever tipping the sliding middle row seatback forward and releasing the seat to slide forward. The rear row is reasonably spacious for a small person but a small-ish adult could survive there for a short trip.

There are a stack of reasons to buy a seven-seater. You may have a big family and really need the third row, or you're just a small family that likes to pack a truck-load of gear for holidays while having a couple of extra seats just in case you're put on the spot after picking the kids up from karate and end up with more ninjas to drop home.

There are other seven-seaters where those third-row seats are just a bonus – the Santa Fe is a bit like that, but SUVs such as the CX-9, Kluger and Sorento offer much better room back there.

Even at 191cm tall I can sit in the third row comfortably, with just enough head and legroom. That said, I wouldn't want to be there for an epic road trip, but it's fine for kids and shorter adults.

Legroom in the second row is excellent – I can sit behind my driving position with about 10cm of space between my knees and the seat back – headroom isn't as generous as the Kluger or Sorento but there's still plenty, even for me.

If you're lifting babies and children into car seats you may find that coupe styling to the roofline makes the process a little harder – it did for me with our little one.

Also, this SUV is fairly high up. I've had my toddler do a face plant falling out of one while trying to climb in. Oh, don't judge me.

Entry into the third row is made easier by a 60:40 folding second row on rails. It's also good to see that the smaller foldable section is on the curb side of the car.

The CX-9's boot space with the third row down is outstanding at 810 litres (VDA) – the Kluger can only manage 529 litres and even with those back seats in place the luggage capacity is 230 litres, check out my video above where I demonstrate the size with a live human being.

Storage in the cabin is also excellent with six cupholders (two in the first row, two in second and the others in the third) and all grades above the Sport come with storage in the fold-down centre armrest, which also contains a USB port.

All CX-9s come with a USB port up front in the giant split-opening centre console bin and a 12-volt power outlet in the cargo area.

The Mazda CX-9's price has gone up but you're getting more features in return – and that goes for all grades in the range. Also, there's now a new grade and king of the Mazda CX-9 range – the Azami LE. Right, let's get into the details.

The most affordable CX-9 is the Sport at $44,990 (an $1100 increase) for the front-wheel drive version and another $4000 for all-wheel drive. Coming standard on the Sport for the first time is a head-up display and being introduced to the CX-9 range finally is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Other standard features include a 7.0-inch screen with sat nav, reversing camera, rear parking sensors, digital radio, three-zone climate control, LED headlights, black cloth seats and 18-inch alloy wheels.

The Touring grade sits above the Sport and is arguably the best value with its list price of $51,390  ($1100 increase) for the front-wheel drive and again $4000 more for the AWD. In addition to the Sport's features, the Touring comes standard with black leather seats (power adjustable and heated in the front), an 8.0-inch touch screen, proximity key, front parking sensors and LED fog lights.

The GT grade is getting into pricier territory with the front-wheel drive listing for $59,390 (an increase of $1000) and $4000 more for AWD, but along with all of the Touring's features it has a power tailgate, sunroof, 20-inch alloy wheels and heated second-row window seats.

The once-king-of-the-range Azami lists for $60,990 in FWD form (an increase of $4200), again $4000 for the AWD, but now there's a level above it – the Azami LE which is $66,490 and only available as an all-wheel drive.

What's the difference between them? Well let's start with what's the same. Both come with the GT's features plus adaptive LED headlights, heated steering wheel, a 360-degree view monitor, ventilated front seats, windscreen de-icer and a 7.0-inch centre digital instrument cluster.

What the Azami LE gets that the Azami doesn't is real wood trim panels on the centre console, nappa leather seats, box stitching on the steering wheel and different overhead console styling.

As a model comparison you could also take a look at the Toyota Kluger which ranges from about $45K to $70K. There's also the Kia Sorento which ranges from $43K-$60K and I'm going to throw in the Hyundai Santa Fe – it's not as big as the CX-9, but the new one is larger than the previous model and it's a seven-seater, too.

Hyundai makes all its major componentry, including engines and transmissions. Here in the Active diesel you have a 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo engine, serving up 147kW and 440Nm, both pretty decent figures for this type of engine.

Power goes to all four wheels via Hyundai's own eight-speed automatic. The all-wheel-drive system is what Hyundai calls "active on-demand", with 50/50 front and rear lock mode for when things get slippery.

It's worth pointing out that the diesel produces both more power (9kW) and a heck of a lot more torque (219Nm) than the petrol, which also makes do with a six-speed automatic. That might also explain the lack of petrol engines in the Elite and Highlander models.

The extra power and torque more than offsets the weight penalty of 125kg.

Both can tow 2000kg braked and 750kg unbraked with a towball weight of up to 100kg (150kg with an optional assist kit).

All CX-9s have the same engine – it's a 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol that makes 170kW and 420Nm. That's simple isn't it? Also simple is this: all CX-9 have the same six-speed automatic transmission.

Every grade apart from the Azami LE comes with a choice of front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. The Azami LE is purely all-wheel drive.

Hyundai claims a combined cycle figure of 7.5L/100km. Hyundai numbers, in my experience, are usually fairly close to real world and, as it turns out, I got 8.4L/100km over the week I had the big bruiser. With a 71-litre fuel tank, that means a pretty good real-world range of 845km.

Big car, big drinker? The CX-9 used to be back when it had a V6, but not any more. The turbo-four is efficient, with Mazda saying that front-wheel drive version will use 8.4L/100km, while all-wheel drives will use 8.8L/100km after a combination of open and urban roads. You'll also only need to feed it 91 RON – that's the cheap petrol.

My testing on the launch saw me use 10.3L/100km, according to the car's trip computer, but I was really getting into those roads and stamping on that accelerator like it was a funnel web spider, so for it still to be that low is great.

If you've read a review of a Hyundai from the last five years, you'll be aware that there is a local suspension team that works very hard on making the car more appealing to Australian tastes.

And, pretty much without fail, it has worked. From the Tucson to the i30 to the Kona and now the Santa Fe, they've done an impressive job putting together a balance between ride and handling (and modest off-road ability). I was expecting a solid experience from the Santa Fe - it's a big fella, so you don't really have a great deal of hope it's going to be anything more than comfortable and competent.

The big Hyundai's body control coped with a winding, undulating road with unexpected aplomb. Obviously it wasn't like chucking a Mini down the same stretch, but it stayed reasonably flat and changed direction without the lurching histrionics of, say, a Kluger.

The diesel is a smooth, torquey engine and it's well-matched to the eight-speed automatic. Together they sweep the car along with a verve the petrol engine couldn't hope to manage. Once up to speed, the torque of the diesel means you'll find seventh or eighth gear pretty quickly and it settles to a distant growl.

Either in town or out on the highway, the car is very comfortable and quiet, regardless of whether you're on your own or you're full up. Well, the quiet thing is entirely dependent on your passengers, of course. The tyres on the Active are higher profile and a bit quieter than I expected but also hold on a bit more grimly than I would have predicted.

I was pleasantly surprised, even though recent history told me the Santa Fe was going to impress.

There is no way to make a 5.1m long, 2.0m wide, two-tonne SUV feel small in a supermarket car park and you'll feel its size particularly in multi-storey ones as you navigate the HMAS CX-9 up through the levels. I've lived with a CX-9 and I'm not ashamed to admit that I find it tricky to manoeuvre in tight spaces. But you have AEB, rear cross-traffic alert, parking sensors at the back and good visibility to make it as easy as it possibly can be.

Get the CX-9 out on the street, though, and it feels a lot less cumbersome. And on the open road the CX-9 is brilliant. Not only does it just much up miles in comfort, it has such great handling ability that it defies my logic.

In this update Mazda says it has refined the driving experience while making the SUV more responsive though suspension and steering changes. A thicker material behind the headlining in the ceiling has also been used to keep the cabin even quieter, too.

The result? A ride that's knocking on the door of German prestige SUVs and great dynamics.

Even on the 20-inch wheels and 50-profile tyres fitted to the Azami LE I tested at the launch, the ride was outstanding while the handling was excellent. Pushing the Azami LE hard in the corners should have had something of this size and weight leaning on its door handles, but a moment after entering the turn the CX-9 was able to compose itself, hunker down and hold its line in a controlled and planted way.

The Azami LE is all-wheel drive only, but the front-wheel drive version for the base grade Sport and the FWD Azami I drove felt just as composed with great body control and impressive handling ability for the class. In some ways the Sport being lighter and on smaller wheels and higher profile tyres meant the ride was more comfortable and acceleration a bit better.

That engine is a good thing, although part of me misses the old V6 from years ago for its smoothness and torque. The 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo has enough grunt and it's fuel efficient, but to me a six-cylinder suits this big flagship better.

Safety is another strong point of the CX-9 with its maximum five-star ANCAP rating and AEB which works forwards and backwards, blind-spot warning and rear cross-traffic alert. This update has made the advanced safety tech suite standard across the full range adding adaptive cruise control with stop and go feature, lane departure warning and traffic sign recognition.

For child and baby seats you'll find three top-tether anchor points across the second row and two in the third, while there are ISOFIX points in the back as well and two in the second-row window seats.

Under that boot floor you'll find a space saver spare wheel.

Hyundai offers a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty with a year of roadside assist. If you stick with servicing your Santa Fe with Hyundai, you get another year of roadside up to 10 years, which is pretty good.

You're expected to bring your Santa Fe in for a service every 12 months or 15,000km and the company offers a lifetime servicing plan. Each service costs around $400 with a few jumping up to $500 or $600 as the car gets older. You can also choose to pre-pay your servicing.

The CX-9 is covered by Mazda's five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty. Servicing is recommended at 12 month or 10,000km intervals. Servicing is capped and switch from $329 for the first visit, $371 for the next and then back to $329 for five services.