Team-BHP - Which 7 Seater SUV for 17-25L? Endeavour vs Fortuner vs Captiva vs Pajero vs Santa-Fe

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Originally Posted by wanderernomad (Post 2682444)

Guys between the Koleos and the Santa Fe what would be your choice? Any owners of either of these two here?

I have been running Santa Fe 4x4 MT since late Oct'11 with absolutely zilch issues so far (done about 8K on odo). Between the two I'd pick Santa Fe for its greater practicality (7 seats), more safety options (rollover sensor, ESP) and a better (more powerful) engine. Only thing is - If this is going to be self-driven mostly then go for the AT as almost all reviews for the AT I have read are positive and it saves you some hassle from the relatively heavy clutch in MT. I opted for MT as this was my Innova replacement and mostly not driven by me.

I'm 185 cms and seating comfort is fine in the front two rows. Last row is suitable for someone upto 5'2"-5'3". It is used by kids in my case. The engine gets very silent when cruising on the highway between 100-130 kmph. I (and my better half agrees) have felt much less fatigued in Santa Fe compared to Innova over the long journeys that we have been doing over the same route for the last 4 years. Overall Santa Fe is a sensible buy and pick of the lot IMO - though a bit pricier. Hope that helps.

I am looking at replacing our Aging Toyota innova which has covered 1.7 lac kms in last 6 years. The most obvious choice looked like another Innova but with the car going as high as 16 lacs on road in Mumbai and the feeling of owning the same car for another 6 years doesn't feel good.

The main reason to change the car is niggles, the car has started showing its age, it even breaks down for small reason mainly electrical.

The purpose of the car is simple, should be able to carry 7 people in city and 5 people with luggage on the highways and of-course should be an upgrade from the Innova.

Being Toyota fans after the qualis and innova (we still have the qualis at 3 lac kms) fortuner seemed like the obvious choice. But I always liked the Santa fe it looks futuristic not in your face type, has a decent hyundai Crdi engine, loads of features, better safety, more interior space, better interiors and no waiting. The Innova experience was nothing to be proud of either with frequent breakdowns starting as early as 40k kms where the entire gear box was replaced that too not under warranty.

I could not find a detailed T-bhp test drive for the Santa fe but I did find a comparison drive on carwale. Here is the link

Comparison Test: Hyundai Santa Fe VS Toyota Fortuner - CarWale

I plan to replace the car within next month.

I once read a comparo between the Santa Fe and Nissan Xtrail and the driver was not impressed with Santa Fe. Considering that you need a no non-sense vehicle which will log the miles and throw tantrums, I think the Fortuner 2WD is the way to go. You'll get good resale also when you sell it. For Santa Fe the service and the resale value aspects are unknown.

All the best!

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Originally Posted by tazmaan (Post 2858121)

The purpose of the car is simple, should be able to carry 7 people in city and 5 people with luggage on the highways and of-course should be an upgrade from the Innova.

Well, in terms of space, the Santa Fe is better than the Fortuner and I had very recently taken its test drive as well. I was impressed by its gizmos and ergonomics, especially when it comes to the gear lever vibrations and the dashboard fit and finish.

However, it is not as easy to drive at city as the Fortuner due to the latter's awesome LeT though on the highway they feel the same.

Since your requirement is for 7 passengers, there are very few options available in the price range but few of those I have researched and liked are, Outlander (petrol), you can check the new Pajero Sports, XUV can also be another option, I have test driven all of them and found the Outlander to be the best in the category, though it is petrol and is priced around 21 lake on road Delhi, but it has all the bells and whistles required. Pajero Sports has excellent road presence as well as behaves very well on the highway and it does give reasonably good mileage on its diesel.

I did a test drive of the new fortuner 4x2. I drove it after driving my Innova. The first things you notice is the how big fortuner is from the outside and how macho it looks (in you face types). Sat inside and everything faded away, started the car and vibration and noise was exactly like Innova. Drove approx 5 kms in the city and broken road, I found the fortuner to me a lot more jumpy compared to Innova and also the suspension felt stiff.

The fortuner I drove was just 2000kms old and was very well maintained, odor free and had test drive stickers on it.

The sales man him self told me, if the car is chaffer driven and you are looking at ride comfort then Innova beats the fortuner hands down. But if you are going to self drive then fortuner makes sense.

I called a couple of Hyundai dealers and no one has a test drive for Santa-fe, they dont seem keen to sell it either.

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Originally Posted by tazmaan (Post 2860409)

Drove approx 5 kms in the city and broken road, I found the fortuner to me a lot more jumpy compared to Innova and also the suspension felt stiff.

The fortuner I drove was just 2000kms old and was very well maintained, odor free and had test drive stickers on it.

The sales man him self told me, if the car is chaffer driven and you are looking at ride comfort then Innova beats the fortuner hands down. But if you are going to self drive then fortuner makes sense.

Yup, completely agree with your experience and what the salesman said. The Fortuner is a truck compared to the Innova.

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Originally Posted by tazmaan (Post 2860409)

I called a couple of Hyundai dealers and no one has a test drive for Santa-fe, they dont seem keen to sell it either.

I took a long test drive of the Santa Fe a couple of weeks ago and it is an impressive vehicle, but certainly not worth the price it is pegged at, by Hyundai.

A few points that come my mind are:

1. The lack of low end grunt is felt easily in it due to the smaller engine.
2. Speeds on the wrong side of 150kmph were a breeze on the highway including single lane changes and braking. Braking was excellent.
3. Ride quality was way better and the vehicle was not at all bumpy.
4. The interiors "look" very premium but the "feel" is mediocre.
5. The floor is higher than the Fortuner so middle seat comfort is compromised on that angle.

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Originally Posted by n.devdath (Post 2860422)

5. The floor is higher than the Fortuner so middle seat comfort is compromised on that angle.

Are you sure about this? Santa fe looks quite low slung from outside. Fortuner looks quite tall and being body on chassis, you expect it to have higher floor.

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Originally Posted by Guna (Post 2860588)

Are you sure about this? Santa fe looks quite low slung from outside. Fortuner looks quite tall and being body on chassis, you expect it to have higher floor.

Yes, absolutely. In fact, I have a few photos of it somewhere since it was meant to be published elsewhere, let me see if I can find one of those and put it here.

The more I am researching the more I feel like buying the Innova again. The fact remains there are not many options in diesel and spending that extra 9 to 10 lacs seems like an overkill.

I now have an option of buying the Innova Vx and another SUV (Duster or Ecosport) say 6 months down the line.

It comes down to me being content with the same car for another 5 years and have a small SUV for those weekends.

Down side: May be I might have to sell my W123 to make parking space

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Originally Posted by tazmaan (Post 2860807)

Very frankly, it is hard to find fault with the Innova. It is that complete a package when it comes to moving people.

But, I would strongly recommend you stick on to your W123, even if you have to rent a parking some place else to keep it safe. Such things once sold, are hard to find again

Finally the decision was made. We are going to replace the Innova G4 with Innova Vx. The booking process has already started and we are expecting delivery within 10 days.

We have saved 9 odd lacks by not buying the fortuner. We have decided to wait for another few months and buy another car mostly a duster, nissan sunny or may be ecosport.

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Originally Posted by tazmaan (Post 2863784)

Finally the decision was made. We are going to replace the Innova G4 with Innova Vx. The booking process has already started and we are expecting delivery within 10 days.

A very practical and sensible decision I must say. Enjoy another million miles of driving with your new Innova and do put up an ownership thread.:thumbs up