Achieving an outstanding fuel consumption of 5.1L/100km during a north-south traverse of the country, the latest Santa Fe beat its impressive official government-specified 'combined cycle' fuel consumption by a staggering 23.9 per cent.
The Global Green Challenge is a gruelling, week-long crossing of the continent from Darwin to Adelaide. The Challenge includes two demanding urban loops and covers a total distance of 3,147 kilometres. For real-world relevance, competing vehicles are required to meet strict average-speed protocols on the highway.
At the finish line in Adelaide's CBD, after seven days of intense competition, the new Santa Fe R diesel had consumed a total of just 160.46 litres of diesel fuel and achieved a low 137.67 grams of CO2 per kilometre.
The winning vehicle was driven by former Australian rally champion Ed Ordynski and motoring commentator John Cadogan. "This is a practical, versatile and rugged vehicle with serious off-road capability and seven seats. Yet with a combination of the latest technology and conservative driving techniques, we achieved the equivalent of 56 miles per gallon – a result that would have been unheard of just a decade ago," said Cadogan.
Ordynski added: "Competition in the category was extremely close. I think what we proved was that smarter driving and making the right choice of vehicle can make a real difference to ordinary Australians – both economically and environmentally,"
The new Hyundai Santa Fe R 2.2-litre diesel produces 145 kilowatts of peak power and up to 436 Newton-metres of torque (421 Newton-metres on manual), has seats seven as standard and features the highest safety standards in independent ANCAP tests – five stars for occupant protection.
Two years ago, the Hyundai i30 CRDi returned an astonishing 3.2L/100km over the same journey as part of the World Solar Challenge event.