Rent Hyundai SANTA FE 2023 in Dubai

A week in a midsize SUV doesn't have to mean a week of fuel stops, and that's the case we'd make for renting the Hyundai Santa Fe 2023 in Dubai. We deliver it to your door in one to two hours, with 250 km a day included before any extra-kilometre charge, and the turbocharged petrol four under the bonnet is more efficient than its 205 hp suggests. Our take is simple: this is the family SUV to book when you want real space and highway pull without feeding a thirsty full-size car all week. Before you book, the one thing to settle is whether five seats and this boot fit your group, and we'll be honest about both below.

How often you'll actually stop for fuel

The 67-litre tank is the number that decides your week. In real Dubai driving, a mix of the school run, mall trips and the odd highway stint, expect somewhere around 9 to 11 litres per 100 km, more if you sit in Marina traffic with the AC working hard. For normal city errands that means topping up roughly once across a week, not every other day. A couple of airport runs to DXB or DWC won't leave you hunting for a station mid-trip, and you'll still have range in hand for a return drive to Abu Dhabi.

It's a big SUV with a turbo engine, so it isn't sipping fuel. But for the space you get, it's sensible, and that's the point: you're not paying a full-size SUV's running cost to move a family of four.

Five seats, and whether your group fits

The 2023 Santa Fe we rent is a two-row, five-seat SUV. This generation has no third row, so if you genuinely need to seat six or seven, this isn't the car and a Palisade or a people-mover is the better call. For a couple or two adults with two or three kids, it's roomy where it counts. The second row is wide and the seatbacks recline, so an adult stays comfortable back there on a longer drive out to Hatta.

Rear passengers get their own air vents, which matters more than the spec sheet lets on. In a Dubai July, a back seat without vents stays warm long after the front has cooled. The Santa Fe pushes cold air to both rows, so the kids behind aren't roasting while you're already comfortable up front.

Spec at a glance

Does the luggage fit

With all five seats up the boot holds 1031 litres. In practical terms that's a full grocery run plus a stroller, or two large suitcases and a couple of soft bags off an airport pickup. Fold the second row and you open up 2041 litres, enough for flat-pack furniture or a bike with the front wheel off.

The honest caveat: load four or five people plus a week of full-size cases and you'll use all that boot and pack with a plan. It's generous for the class, but it isn't a Palisade. A family of five flying in with five big bags should expect to tetris it or size up.

Heat, parking and the roads here

A white Santa Fe left in an open lot through August still gets hot inside, though the pale paint helps at the margin. The air conditioning does the real work, and the large cabin drops to comfortable within a few minutes of driving with the fans up. Open the windows for ten seconds before you set the climate to dump the trapped heat, and even an afternoon pickup is bearable from the first minute.

At 4785 mm long and 1900 mm wide, this is a midsize SUV, not a compact, so the Marina's tighter multi-storey bays and a few older mall ramps want the reversing camera and a moment's care. The roughly 208 mm of clearance handles Dubai's speed bumps and mall lips without scraping. On Sheikh Zayed Road the 205 hp gives confident overtaking and a quiet, settled cruise at the limit. It's front-wheel drive, so it's a road SUV rather than a dune car, and soft sand wants a proper 4x4.

One note on costs that fall to you. Salik tolls are charged to the renter as you pass the gantries, and any RTA fines during the rental pass to you, so keep to the limits and lanes. Children under four need a child seat by law, and we can fit one on request.

Who should rent it, and who shouldn't

Rent the Santa Fe 2023 if you're a couple or a family of up to five who wants comfort, a quiet highway ride and a boot that handles real luggage, without a full-size SUV's fuel bill and parking footprint. It's the car I hand to people who find the Tucson a touch tight but don't want to wrestle a bigger SUV through Marina parking, and the rent-from-18 option means a younger driver can book it where most desks still hold the line at 21.

Look elsewhere in two cases. If you regularly need six or seven seats, this five-seater won't stretch, so size up. And if your week is mostly solo or two-up city driving with light bags, you're paying to move space you won't fill, and a Tucson or a midsize sedan will be cheaper and easier to park. For the family in between, the 2023 Santa Fe is the sensible middle, and we'll have it at your door within the hour or two.