Rent Hyundai SANTA FE 2022 in Dubai

The question most people ask when they size up to a midsize SUV is whether they'll regret it in a Marina car park, so let's answer that first for the Hyundai Santa Fe 2022. We rent it across Dubai and deliver to your door in one to two hours, with 250 km a day included before any extra-kilometre charge. At 4785 mm long it's a proper midsize, but the high seating, light steering and clear sightlines make it easier to place than its footprint suggests. Our take: this is the SUV for a family who wants serious space and a strong engine without driving something that fights them in tight bays. The first thing to settle is whether five seats suit your group, and we'll be straight about that below.

Parking it, ramps and U-turns

This is the worry that stops people booking up a size, so it leads. At 4785 mm long and 1900 mm wide the Santa Fe is bigger than a Tucson, but it doesn't drive big. The seating position is high enough to read junctions and judge the long bonnet, the steering is light for repeated U-turns and tower-car-park laps, and the reversing camera earns its keep in the Marina's narrower multi-storey columns and on a few older mall ramps. Give it a day and you stop thinking about the size.

Ground clearance is generous for the class, so Dubai's speed bumps and the lips on mall entrances don't make you wince. It's a front-wheel-drive road SUV rather than a dune machine, so leave soft sand to a proper 4x4, but for everything a Dubai week actually involves it places easily.

Five seats, and who fits

The 2022 Santa Fe we rent is a five-seat, two-row SUV. If you genuinely need to seat six or seven, this isn't the car, and a Palisade or a people-mover is the move. For a couple, or two adults with two or three kids, it's roomy where it counts, with a wide second row and reclining seatbacks that keep an adult comfortable on a longer drive to Hatta or Abu Dhabi.

Rear passengers get their own air vents, which matters more here than the brochure makes it sound. In 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 stay comfortable.

The engine, and the roads here

This is the strong card. The 2.5-litre turbo four makes 277 hp and gets the car from rest to 100 km/h in about 6.2 seconds, which is brisk for a family SUV. In practice that means easy, confident overtaking on Sheikh Zayed Road even with four aboard and the AC working, and a relaxed cruise at the limit on the E11. DXB and DWC airport runs are smooth and quiet over the expansion joints, with high seating that takes the strain out of a long drive.

You won't use all that power most days, but the reserve is there when you merge onto a fast road or pull out to pass, and it never feels like it's straining.

Spec at a glance

Luggage, and how often you'll refuel

Boot space is a strong suit. With all five seats up you get 1030 litres, enough for a big grocery run plus a stroller, or two large cases and a few soft bags off an airport pickup. Drop the second row and it opens to 2041 litres, which takes flat-pack furniture or a bike with the front wheel out. The honest line: load four or five people plus a week of cases and you'll use most of that boot, so pack with a plan. It's generous for a midsize, but it isn't a full-size SUV.

On fuel, the 67-litre tank is what matters for a week. The 277 hp turbo is the thirstier engine in the range, so in real Dubai city driving with the AC on hard, expect around 11 to 13 litres per 100 km, less on a steady highway run. That's still a comfortable few days between fills for normal errands, with plenty in hand for a return trip to Abu Dhabi.

A couple of costs catch renters out. Salik tolls are charged to you as you pass the gantries, and any RTA fines during the rental pass to you, so keep to posted limits and lanes. Children under four need a child seat by law, and we can fit one on request.

Staying cool in the heat

A black Santa Fe left in an open lot through a Dubai July gets genuinely hot inside. The air conditioning is strong, and the large cabin cools to comfortable within a few minutes of driving with the fans up. Park in shade where you can, crack the windows for ten seconds before you set the climate, and even August is manageable. Those rear vents are the detail that keeps back-seat passengers from baking on a longer drive.

Who should rent it, and who shouldn't

Rent the Santa Fe 2022 if you want a midsize SUV with genuine pace, a quiet highway ride and a boot that handles serious luggage, in a body that's easier to park than its size suggests. It's the car I hand to people who find the Tucson a touch tight but don't want a full-size SUV's footprint in Marina parking, and the rent-from-18 option lets a younger driver book it where most desks still require 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, the 277 hp engine is power and fuel you're paying for and won't use, so a Tucson or a midsize sedan will be cheaper and simpler. For the family in between who wants pace with the space, the 2022 Santa Fe is the pick, and we'll have it at your door within the hour or two.