Rent Hyundai Santa Fe 2023 in Dubai

Park a black Hyundai Santa Fe 2023 outside a Dubai mall at midday in August and the cabin runs hotter than the tarmac by the time you're back with the shopping. That's what a dark-coloured, mid-size SUV does under a summer sun, and it's worth knowing before you book one for a family week. We rent this Santa Fe in Dubai and get it to your door within one to two hours of booking, sized for four people and a real stack of luggage without stepping up to a three-row SUV you won't fill. This page settles whether that size and that black cabin suit your week, and how to manage the heat.

Engine, transmission and everyday driving feel

The Santa Fe 2023 carries a 2.5-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder, tuned for 177 hp and 232 Nm, paired with a 6-speed automatic sending power to the front wheels. There's no turbo here, so acceleration is unhurried rather than urgent, and merging onto Sheikh Zayed Road with a full cabin rewards a bit of planning rather than a stab of throttle. Once you're up to speed the engine settles into a quiet, easy cruise, which is really what a mid-size family SUV is for.

Around town the gearbox shifts smoothly and the steering stays light, so parking and stop-start traffic never feel like work. The ride absorbs Dubai's speed bumps and cracked back-street tarmac better than a smaller crossover, and that comfort, more than outright pace, is the reason to choose this size of car over a Tucson or Creta for a longer stay.

Boot space, seating and packing for the week

Boot space is 571 litres with the rear seats up, enough for three or four properly packed suitcases rather than bags wedged in sideways. Fold the second row and that grows to 1,649 litres, which covers flatpack furniture or sports gear on a moving day. A family of four flying into DXB or DWC with a week's luggage will find this boot does the job without anyone sitting with a bag on their lap.

The cabin backs that up. Front seats have real space either side, and the back bench takes three adults for a normal trip, not two adults either side of a squeezed middle seat. This is a 5-seat car with no third row, so a group that regularly runs to six or seven needs to look further down the fleet.

That size does ask more of you when parking. At 4,785 mm long and 1,900 mm wide, the Santa Fe is noticeably broader than a compact crossover, so tight Marina ramps and older multi-storey bays want a slower approach. Ground clearance of about 185 mm shrugs off speed bumps and mall ramps, but this is a front-wheel-drive SUV on road tyres. Keep Hatta and the dunes for something built for sand.

A black cabin, and what the AC does about it

Colour matters more than most renters expect. A black Santa Fe left outside in direct sun for a few hours will have a hotter steering wheel and hotter seat surfaces than a lighter car parked in the same spot, because dark paint and a dark interior soak up more radiant heat before the AC gets a chance to work. None of that is unique to this car. It's simply physics, and it's worth planning around rather than being caught out by it on day one.

The fix is straightforward. Give the engine a minute running with the AC on before everyone climbs back in, crack the windows if you're stepping away for just a moment, and use a shaded or covered bay whenever one's available. Once you're moving, the front vents pull the cabin down quickly, and a mid-size space like this clears faster than a three-row SUV with more air to shift.

Running costs are reasonable for the size. Hyundai's official combined figure is about 7.1 litres per 100 km, though real Dubai driving, with the AC working hard and traffic rarely free-flowing, runs closer to 9 or 10. The 71-litre tank still gives a solid range between fills, somewhere around 650 to 750 km depending on how much of the week is city stop-start versus open road.

Mileage is worth reading before you book. You get 250 km a day included, then AED 0.5 per extra kilometre past that, which covers a normal week of commuting and errands with room left over for a longer day trip. Salik tolls and any RTA fines during the rental fall to the renter, as with every car in the fleet, and you'll need to be at least 25 to take the keys for this one.

Who this Santa Fe fits, and who should look elsewhere

Rent the Santa Fe 2023 if you're a family of four, or two couples travelling together, who need a proper boot and a back seat that fits three adults without complaint, and who don't mind giving the black cabin a minute to cool before climbing in each time. It handles the airport run, the highway stretch to Abu Dhabi and the daily grind with a settled ride that a compact crossover can't quite match.

Size down to a Tucson or a Creta if it's just two of you with light bags. You'll save on the daily rate and won't miss the extra room. Size up to a three-row SUV if your group runs to six or seven, since this Santa Fe stops at five seats with no fold-out extra row. And if the dunes or Hatta trails are part of the plan, this front-wheel-drive SUV isn't the tool for that job.

If cabin heat management sounds like a hassle you'd rather avoid, a lighter-coloured SUV in the same class will start a little cooler after a few hours in the sun, but that gap closes within a couple of minutes of the AC running. For most families, that's not worth chasing at the expense of a car that otherwise fits the week this well.