Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - November 10, 2000, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free november 2000 automotive e9 Survey safety is Job 1 for Sun buyers by David Booth Santa be offers Many sport Ute amenities at a reasonable t 2001 Hyundai Santa be ride in Comfort in Brawny buggy this int just for the off readers by Haney Louka until Hyundai product lineup consisted of the sub compact compact Elantra and midsize sonata along with the sporty Tiburon Hyundai has that in order to make it in North America these they need to offer products in two of the most profitable segments of the Market near luxury sedans and sport Utility the former has been addressed by the recently introduced offering a High level of luxury for an affordable now Hyundai joins the burgeoning sport Utility mar Ket with the Al new Santa the Santa be is one of an increasing number of car based sums on the mar As opposed to the traditional truck body Frame design such As grand this one is a uni design based on an extensively revised version of the midsize sonata its about the size of a Honda bigger than a Toyota rav4 and smaller than a Ford the lineup the go Model comes Well equipped with Standard Power windows and roof Alloy a six speaker cd and if you kick in another and upgrade to the Gas the equip ment list grows to include air condition Antilock braking system fog tinted leather seats heated in front and keyless entry with suffice it to say that the Santa be comes regardless of which Model you the drivetrain Power for the Santa be comes from a 24valve Good for 181 he at rpm and 177 Pound feet torque at rpm numbers that put this Ute near the head of its a smooth shifting four Speed automatic with the Shi tronic manual shifting Mode is also on the Standard equipment the Power hits the pavement via Hyundai full time Allthee drive sys tem with a double differential heres How it works during Normal Dri 60 per cent of the Power is distributed to the front with 40 per cent going to the As conditions a viscous coupling in the Transfer Case the distribution of torque and absorbs differences in wheel styling Hyundai stylists gave the Santa be a rugged presence that belies its Sedan a distinctive headlight treat vent and nicely sculpted Hood dominate the front theres a charcoal coloured bumper that painted for an attractive Glossy the Side View carries Strong fender bulges and five spoke alloys with Beefy Michelin to fill out the wheel from wraparound Tail lights and bumper mounted along with the tinted give the Santa be a upscale in contrast with its Brawny exterior the cockpit of the Santa be takes ton More of a sports car the is a muted Grey and blends into the door and the High Centre console with armrest lends an air of intimate control to the the gauges and controls Are Well placed and exactly where you would expect the ventilation knobs Are Large and would be a cinch to operate with tag mitts were s my beef Hyundai chose to install a detachable face stereo in the Santa Feit looks a Little out of and the Case is about twice As thick As it needs to i would much prefer to see a Security coded system that stays put in the that it sounds with tweet ers that Are embedded into the pillars for maximum other Inte rior highlights include an overhead con sole with a compartment for illuminated visor arid storage bins the Only glaring omission i noted was the absence of a cover in the rear the driving experience i found the perforated leather seats in my Gas tester to be and the seat Heaters did a great Job on Chilly the seating position is typically enabling a commanding View of the Road rear seat Pas sengers marvelled at the ample head and but complained about the Lack of thigh support Back there because the seat Cushion was too the v6 is smooth and really comes alive above providing ample Power to Hustle this vehicle Down the Road with relative the tranny is a Good match for the engine it always seems to know when to the added control of the Shi tronic is useful at but i found that most of the time leaving it in automatic models most on the ride and handling the Santa be reveals its Sedan roots by pro Viding a suppleness you cant get in a hard Core bumps Are absorbed by the fully Independent sus pension with Little and the Abs equipped four wheel disc brakes bring the action to a halt in a Only in transient such As an emergency Lane change or a Quick Cor does the inevitable Sun body Roll become the Santa be is easy to drive and surprisingly easy to so How does it handle offload i have no prospective buyers Likely dont care like All other car based this sport Ute was designed from the ground up with Comfort on the Road and Al weather drivability As the primary not offload to sum it up the Santa be offers buyers High end a Standard v6 and Al wheel to name just for surprisingly Little Combine that desirable trait with High Quality construction and a comfortable and you have an Overall package that hard to shopping list the Santa be joins a crowded group of mini and compact each of which strives to find the perfect balance Between car and Here Are a few other entries Worth considering in this class Ford escape Honda cry v Isuzu Rodeo jeep Cherokee Mazda tribute Nissan Terra Pontiac Astek forester Suzuki grand vitara Iby Ota rave it hardly comes As a consid ering the recent spate of bad news regarding sport utilities explorer tire warnings of More but increased safety is the most desired Quality for Sun at least Accord ing to Powers 2000 automotive Fea Ture contenting keeping the family Safe is a top priority among said Jacques senior manager of product research at Power and one of the factors contributing to Strong Sun sales is the perception that a bigger vehicle with a better View of the Road is Many new Drivers of sums say they like the ride height and the bet Ter View of the Road it this High Riding feel does not reduce the owners desire for safety according to the owners of luxury sums posted the strongest desire for night adaptive cruise control and smart on a More general the study also revealed that almost three out of every four Consumers report they want Sid Impact in a safety related it seems that Ford has taken this research information to heart and is placing a huge emphasis on the safety of its future line a recent exposition of its future safety technology included a tiny video hooked up to a cell phone that alerts the closest emergency service and a vehicle that tries to Antici Pate crashes by using a sensor system in the front and Rescue car includes a tiny video Cam Era in the rear View Mirror linked to a cell phone and a crash in the Case of an the system sends out an emergency message to the nearest Emer gency having the camera Means the dispatcher has Access to information regarding the position the vehicle came to rest the severity of the the number of people in the the num ber wearing seat belts and even a rough estimate of this information is important to Ems workers so they know How to attend to said Srini Fords supervisor of safety research and devel if there Are three people maybe you need to Send two Ford targets safety f1 its time to Stop win pegs 4x4 new 2001 town country wheel drive 2001 grand i sport 2000 Cherokee sport 2000 sport new 2000 jeep to 4x4 Grad rebate ask dealer for details new 8001 grand Cherokee limited new 2001 Dodge ram i off new 2001 Chrysler me r five Star ;