Sante Fe or Nissan X-Trail

thebaz

Thinking of getting a mini suv - choice between Hyundai Sante Fe and Nissan X-Trail . Thinking of the X-Trail as it seams less bulky, and seams to do better mileage. Anyone any idea how much better mileage ? both are 2,000 cc and petrol.

wreckedhead

I spent ages looking at the mid size suv,I was driving a santa fe at the time,
very little complaints,The boot space is great,found it a bit hungry on the juice,maybe the deisel would be better,mind you I think your into the 2.7 more tax and Insurance,body roll is a bitch,not to bad when you get used it,then when it rained the window always seemed to let in drops of water onto the buttons for the window controls,yes I know you dont have to drive with the window open, but even a little bit open and it still dripped.Dont know to much about the x-trail . Have a look at the Suzuki. Grand Vitera 5 door,,or the Xl 7which is a longer version Grand Vitera. The spec is good , I got a good trade in. The engine sizes if I'm not mistaken is 2 Ltr,1.6 for the 3 door, and a 1.9 deisel in the 5 door. The Xl7 I have is a 2 Ltr turbo deisel 5 seater. My daughter and myself do a lot of kayaking and with all the gear and tent and stuff there is still plenty of room.
Let me know what you go for,curiosty and all that,,,,good luck !

Interceptor

X-trail every time. It drives, handles, feels and looks better. I've driven both and despise the Hyundai. I took an X-trail into a turf bog and sank it to its axles to see if it could pull itself out - top marks for a car I had previously written off as a soft-roader. I have a paper bag with eye-holes for the next time I have to drive a Santa Fe, in case anyone sees me driving it.

'cptr

dts

I went for the Xtrail and love it. I have to agree with the previous poster that you should be looking at the diesel. The 2.2dci is great fun and so far seems to be better on fuel than my 1.8 petrol Alfa. The extra in tax will be saved on the fuel bill.
I didnt test drive the sante fe but did take out the Tuscon and it fet more like a car than a SUV. The new RAV is nice and the vitera but the Xtrail has the fun factor feeling.
If you do decide on the Sante fe then wait a couple of months because they have a revised body shape coming out.
Have fun choosing, and test drive them all:cool:

AlanD

I'd wait for the new Santa Fe to arrive which could be next month. It sounds like a huge improvement over the last one and it looks great!

Here's a review worth reading: Santa Fe

thebaz

unfortunatly i won't be buying new , looking at '02 models. The Sante Fe is 2 wheel drive , and the x-trail is 4 wd . I have moved to wicklow , and roads aren't the best - would the 2wd Sante Fe be poor in bad conditions , and slippery surface . i.e. would there a significant improvent in handling & grip with the 4wd xTrail. The Sante Fe is cheaper , so i could get a later model, or not have to borrow so much !

dts

If you use the same website the link takes you to and check out what they have to say about the Xtrail. If its value for money that you are after then wait until the new sante fe comes out then the second hand older model will drop in price.
The Xtrail has the option of 2wd 4wd and auto where in bad road conditions it will adjust the power to all four wheels to keep the grip. You have to decide whether the extra traction is worth paying the extra money?
If you were choosing on look alone it would have to be the Xtrail.
Remember the price you see on the forecourt isn’t the price you should pay.

dts

Whatever you choose I am sure you will enjoy the experiance of driving a SUV.

Lex Luthor

Interceptor wrote:

X-trail every time. It drives, handles, feels and looks better. I've driven both and despise the Hyundai. I took an X-trail into a turf bog and sank it to its axles to see if it could pull itself out - top marks for a car I had previously written off as a soft-roader. I have a paper bag with eye-holes for the next time I have to drive a Santa Fe, in case anyone sees me driving it.

'cptr

2nd that....or wait until Subaru launch a smaller version of the B9 Tribeca over here.
From the US site, it would be my personal choice in SUV

colm_mcm

the Xtrail has a 2wd option too. If you go for the Santa Fe Diesel it'll be 4wd.

116bhp 2.0 Diesel

dts

If there is one thing to take from this it is dont go for a petrol version.

thebaz

Thanks for all advice - one last thing, as the x-trail is 4wd and Sante Fe is 2 wd , will the traction and handling be a lot better on the xtrail (never owned 4wd !). P.S. i got a drive in the sante fe last night, and it seemed fairly smooth ride , it is petrol, so is the xtrail , im lookin at . Would i get much better mileage on the xtrail ? Cheers.

dts

I would say they would both be about the same if the xtrail is set the 2wd.
You may want to check out the insurance as I know that my 2.2 was quite expensive. Also think of resale value, I would say the Xtrail will hold its price better.

thebaz

i assume you mean mpg would be the same between 2wd sante fe and 4wd xtrail or did you mean handling/ tracking ? sorry i had 2 questions in there ?? I am begining to think x-trail might be more practical especially around city , which i do bit , for parking etc .

colm_mcm

the Santa Fe being 2WD won't be horrendous on fuel consumption, and don't bank on the Nissan holding its value. they do a lot of pre-regs and hire drive, so are percieved in the trade as being inferior to the Rav4 or CR-V. I would also go as far as to say that the Hyundai will be more reliable.

dts

So Bax, what did you get?

thebaz

Probably sante fe -- but still no monies have been exchanged .

tred

bax wrote:

Probably sante fe -- but still no monies have been exchanged .

buy the x trail!!!!

colm_mcm

buy the Santa Fe! or something completely different