2019 Hyundai Santa Fe vs Nissan Pathfinder

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 Nissan Pathfinder Ti is outstanding in its practicality and value, while offering a comfortable premium feeling experience with materials that feel hard wearing and will put up with the punishment families can throw its way.

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.

Interesting, you say? The Pathfinder Ti has presence, that’s for sure, with a solid stance and a tough face. It’s handsome, in a rugged off-road way, even though it’s not a serious four-wheel drive like the Nissan Patrol or Navara ute that you’d take across demanding terrain.

The Ti’s interior has the same tough but premium look to it, with plush materials and soft padding everywhere your body touches while sitting in the driver’s seat.

The foot parking brake isn’t nice - it’s an American thing.

The centre console does look a bit dated with its multitude of buttons, but a mate who has a new Pathfinder says that, while it’s a bit old school, he finds it intuitive to use.

The foot parking brake isn’t nice. It’s an American thing, and while it does have a satisfying effect of making you confident that your SUV isn’t going to roll off, I’ve driven tractors that feel less agricultural.

Let’s look at the HMAS Pathfinder’s dimensions because this is a big ship. Measuring more than five metres in length and nearly two metres across, the Pathfinder Ti is long and wide, but not very tall at just over 1.7m. So underground carparks will be fine for height, but where you may be challenged is finding spaces big enough to park in out on the street.

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.

The Pathfinder’s interior is enormous and the number of storage places and access to power outlets is excellent.

First, legroom in the second row is fantastic. I’m 191cm tall and can sit behind my driving position with about 10cm of space between my knees and the seat back. If I slide that second-row forward to narrow the gap to about two centimetres, I can then sit behind that seat in the third row with about the same amount of room. I can’t do that in a CX-9 or Sorento, but I can in the Acadia.

Headroom is also plentiful in the second row even with the Ti’s sunroof, although I had to dip my head to sit in the third row because of the sunroof housing. I need to do the same in the third row of the top-grade Acadia with its sunroof.

Of the seven-seat SUVs I’ve tested this year (Holden Acadia, Mazda CX-9, Hyundai Santa Fe, Tiguan AllSpace, Volvo XC90, Skoda Kodiaq), the award for easiest rear row to climb into goes to the Pathfinder. Look at my (very bad) photos – the seat base of the second row folds up and the whole thing slides forward, given you plenty of room and great foot placement areas. Also outstanding are the hand grips on the inside of the door frame for children to hold onto as they step up.

Cabin storage is outstanding for the class, with a giant double-layered centre console bin under the armrest that houses two USB ports and a 12-volt outlet, plus there’s a tray in front of the shifter with two 12-volt outlets, as well as slots for papers and books on the side of the console. Second-row riders also have two USB charging points and a media USB port.

Thirsty? The Nissan Pathfinder Ti has 10 cup holders. Two in the front, four in the second row and another four in the third. All doors have big bottle holders, too.

There’s good storage under the boot floor, although the amp for the Bose sound system and the tyre inflation kit do eat into it a bit. If you’re looking for the spare, it’s under the car and it’s a space-saver version.

The cargo capacity with the rear seats folded flat is 1354 litres, and with all seats in place the boot space is 453 litres.

Finally, there’s climate control in the second row, and there are air-vents everywhere you look - including in the third row.

The Pathfinder Ti grade is priciest in the range, and it comes in three forms: a front-wheel-drive petrol, a four-wheel-drive petrol, and a hybrid four-wheel drive. Our test car was the petrol 4WD and it lists for $66,190, making it about $25k more than the entry grade Pathfinder ST 2WD – which is a grade you should check out if you think unloading almost 70 grand on an SUV is a bit much.

That said, you’re getting a lot in return for your money with the Ti.

Coming standard in the cabin is a 13-speaker Bose stereo, a DVD player and a three-zone entertainment system with an eight-inch touchscreen up the front and seat-back screens for the second row, along with two sets of wireless headphones. There’s also leather upholstery, power adjustable front seats with heating and cooling functions, three-zone climate control, an around-view camera, sat nav and a push-button ignition.

A proximity key means you just need the fob in your pocket or bag to unlock or lock the car, and a gesture tailgate lets you just ‘swish’ your foot under the rear bumper to open the boot.

The exterior gets LED headlights and running lights, tinted glass in the second and third row windows, door mirrors that tilt-down when reversing, roof rails and a pair of sun roofs (one over the front seats and one over the second row).

You can also accessorise the heck out of your Pathfinder. In fact, there are three pages of add-ons at the Nissan Australia website - check out the snowboard carrier, for example.

Rivals to the Pathfinder are everywhere. There is the Toyota Kluger, the Holden Acadia, the Mazda CX-9, the Kia Sorento … the list goes on. But the Pathfinder holds its own among this crowd, particularly in practicality, which we’re just about to get to.

What’s missing? Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. These functions mirror your smart phone on the media screen, and they are incredibly useful for keeping your eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.

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).

The Pathfinder is available with a 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine making 202kW and 340Nm, or a hybrid petrol-electric powertrain. Ours had the petrol V6, which was introduced in February 2017.

Maximum torque does come in quite high, at 4800revs, which isn’t ideal for fuel economy, but not unusual in big V6 engines such as the one in the Pathfinder and the Holden Acadia.

The transmission is a CVT and it’s one of the best I’ve used, which is saying something because I’m not a big fan of this type of auto as they tend to cause the engine to drone and offer pretty lacklustre acceleration.

This CVT is a revised unit, and it feels so much like a regular automatic that I had to double check the tech sheet to make sure.

Our test car was the 4x4 version of the Ti, and had a braked towing capacity of 2700kg.

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.

According to Nissan, the V6 petrol with four-wheel drive should use 10.1L/100km on a combination of open and urban roads.

I tested that myself, and found that after 190km and driving with the mode selector in Auto (allowing the Pathfinder to choose between front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive on the fly) I was using 11.49L/100km. I measured this at the petrol pump. The trip computer said 10.9L/100km.

That’s not terrible mileage considering I was punishing the Pathfinder everyday sitting in traffic and only clocking up motorway miles on the weekend.

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.

The Pathfinder Ti looks like a bit of a beast, but it’s an easy and comfortable SUV to pilot, despite it being so long and wide. The photos that go with this review are taken at the top of an eight-storey carpark with narrow ramps. The Acadia and CX-9 were trickier to navigate up those ramps than the Pathfinder, mainly because the Nissan offered such good visibility through its giant windows.

Out on the road, the Pathfinder Ti had a comfortable ride, although it was a bit challenged by fast bends. Yup, the Pathfinder isn’t agile, it’s happier to cruise than corner.

Those front seats are big and comfy, the steering is light and that engine has plenty of grunt that it delivers it smoothly and controllably. I found the accelerator pedal to be a bit light and the brake pedal to be too high, but owners will get used to these small quirks.

If you're thinking seriously about off-roading, go for the Nissan Patrol.

The adaptive cruise control worked perfectly for me. I liked the way I could nudge the speed up in 1km/h increments, too, rather than 5km/h like you find on some cars.

A head-up display would be good, though, especially given other car makers are offering them, even on base grades, like with the CX-9.

Do you need all-wheel drive? Nope, but I like the extra traction that it provides and, in wet weather, it offers another layer of safety. If you can afford it, get it. As for off-roading, well you only have a ground clearance of 181mm and while there's hill descent control, there isn't a low-range 4WD gear.

If you're thinking seriously about off-roading, go for the Nissan Patrol - that'll go pretty much anywhere.

The Pathfinder has the maximum five-star ANCAP rating, but keep in mind that this score was given to it in 2013. The good news is that in 2017 the Pathfinder was updated with some much-needed advanced safety equipment such as AEB, adaptive cruise control and rear cross-traffic alert.

The Ti grade comes with blind-spot warning and Moving Object Detection - which monitors for movement behind the car and will automatic brake the vehicle if it senses something moving close behind it. It’s great for carparks where there could be children or cars moving about.

For child seats, there are three top tethers points and two ISOFIX mounts in the second row, while the third has a top tether point on just the right-side seat.

The second row folds 60:40, but the bigger part is on the left-hand side of the car, which is fine for left-hand-drive countries, where the smaller and easier-to-slide section is on their kerb side, but that’s the traffic side here in Australia.

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 Pathfinder is covered by Nissan’s three-year/100,000km warranty. Nissan is now falling behind in a broad industry shift to longer coverage. Ford, Holden, Mazda, Kia, Hyundai, Volkswagen and Skoda now all have five-year warranties and it would be good to see Nissan offer the same. It’s for this reason that the Pathfinder has scored this lower mark for ownership.

Servicing is recommended every 12 months or 10,000km. Capped price servicing is offered, with the first costing $289, the second $302, the third $399, and the fourth $343.

Going by Nissan’s service price guide, after 120,000km you’d have paid $4538 in servicing costs. That’s excellent value.