2010 Hyundai Santa Fe - www.mister-cars.com

Hyundai is running red hot in the Australian sales race, increasing sales by 36 per cent year to date in a market where others are struggling to even reach last year’s numbers let alone beat them. That's partly because the South Korean company has had a free kick by way of currency fluctuations – but its ever improving model lineup has also been a major factor.

Witness the latest iteration of the company's compact SUV, the Santa Fe. It has not only received a neat facelift, but also comes with an all-new design of turbo-diesel engine.

Changes to the appearance are minor as Hyundai is taking the European route and concentrating on what’s under the skin rather than just giving its vehicles a pretty new face. However, the change to the reworking of the radiator grille, foglights and bumper give the Santa Fe a family resemblance to the pretty little Hyundai i30 sedan and station wagon. Those vehicles are both receiving rave reviews wherever they are launched, particularly in European countries.

Santa Fe also has a bolder design to its taillights and the design of the alloy wheels (installed on even the lowest-cost Santa Fe models) has been revised. Inside the overall theme is the same as before, but clever use of aluminium and carbon graphite inserts gives it a modern sporty look. All models now have USB and iPod connectivity. Sadly, Hyundai continues to install one of those potentially dangerous ‘conversation’ mirrors designed to let the driver make eye contact with people sitting behind them while the vehicle is on the move, or to keep an eye on the kids. Let's hope no one is tempted to do so.

The new Hyundai diesel engine is a real beauty; displacing just 2.2 litres it manages to produce and outstanding 145 kilowatts. It took a V8 petrol engine (admittedly without a turbo) to gain that sort of power only a decade or so back. Even more impressive is the torque peak of 436 Newton metres, developed from 1800 rpm to 2500 rpm. That torque figure is for the Santa Fe with a six-speed automatic transmission, the engine is slightly detuned when a six-speed manual gearbox is fitted and torque drops to 421 Nm, still at the same revs.

The six-speed manual is significantly more economical than the auto, with officially measured fuel consumption of 6.7 litres per hundred kilometres, compared to 7.5 litres per hundred for the auto. On the road we were most impressed with the pulling power of this new design of diesel engine. While turbo lag has been trimmed by innovations within the turbo itself, and also in the engine computer mapping, there's still some hesitation off the line. Once that lag's past, all that torque really gets the Hyundai SUV up and moving briskly. Overtaking is neat and safe and hills are despatched with ease.

All models in the latest Santa Fe range for 2010 have seven seats. Access is relatively easy thanks again to smart design features. The rearmost seats are probably best left to the smallest members of the family, as is the centre seat in the middle row. That's hardly unusual in a vehicle of this size so the designers have done a good job.