Rent Hyundai Santa Fe 2024 in Dubai

Red is not the color most renters reach for on a family SUV, but on the redesigned Hyundai Santa Fe 2024 it works better than you would expect. Hyundai rebuilt the Santa Fe from the ground up for this model year: flat panels, vertical LED lighting, an almost truck-like stance that replaces the rounded shape the old car wore for years. Red suits those hard edges. We rent this Santa Fe in Dubai and bring it to your door within one to two hours, seven seats and all-wheel drive included on this unit. The real question this page answers is whether the size and the drivetrain earn their place in your week, not the paint.

The redesigned engine bay, and how it drives

Under the new sheet metal, the GCC-spec 2024 Santa Fe runs a naturally aspirated 2.5-litre Smartstream four, 191 hp and 246 Nm, paired with an eight-speed automatic and Hyundai's HTRAC all-wheel drive. It is not the quickest thing in this class, and it should not need to be. This is the drivetrain Hyundai fits to the volume AWD trim here, not the turbocharged 2.5 T-GDi some dealers reserve for the range-topping Calligraphy spec. On Sheikh Zayed Road it holds 120 km/h without strain and still has enough for a normal overtake, though you feel the weight of a three-row SUV if you ask for a quick one. The AWD is there for wet roads, a gravel car park or the loose edge of a track, not for dunes. Treat it as a sure-footed road SUV rather than a 4x4 replacement and it does exactly what you want.

Three rows, and what fits behind them

The Santa Fe seats seven across three rows, and the middle row is where the redesign shows. It is wide, sits close to flat, and takes three across or two adults with real space either side. It slides too, so you can steal a little extra room for the third row when someone actually needs to sit back there. The last row suits kids on the school run or a short hop to the mall, not four adults and a driver on a run to Abu Dhabi. Getting back there takes a moment, because the middle bench has to tip forward first.

Luggage tells the same story. With all seven seats up there is about 413 litres behind the third row, enough for the weekly shop and a few soft bags, not a stack of hard cases. Fold that row down and the boot opens to around 1,147 litres, comfortably two large suitcases and the rest of the family's luggage for a DXB or DWC pickup. Drop the middle row too and you are close to 2,254 litres, enough for flatpack furniture or a bike. The honest rule with a three-row SUV like this: seven people or a full boot, rarely both on the same trip.

Fuel bills, Salik and a red cabin in summer

Hyundai's official combined figure for the 2.5-litre AWD is around 8.4 litres per 100 km. That is a lab number. A loaded Santa Fe doing Dubai stop-and-go with the AC working through a summer afternoon sits closer to 10.5 or 11. The 67-litre tank still gives a decent stretch between visits to the pump, more like 550 to 600 km of real city driving than the official range suggests.

Mileage matters more than fuel on a week's rental. This car comes with 250 km included a day, which covers city life and school runs with room left over. Go past it and it is AED 0.5 for every extra kilometre, so a full day out to Hatta and back is worth totting up first. Salik tolls and any RTA fines during the rental are the renter's, the same as on every car here, and you will need to be 25 to take the keys, older than the 21 some smaller cars in the fleet allow.

The cabin is large, and after a few hours parked in the sun it takes longer to cool down than a compact SUV needs. Once you are moving, though, the AC pulls it down fast and the front vents work hard from the first minute. Second-row vents on the back of the console mean kids in the middle are not waiting for air pushed all the way from the dash when you climb back in after a hot afternoon at the mall. The third row is the last to cool, which only matters on the days someone is actually sitting there.

Who this redesigned Santa Fe suits, and who should look elsewhere

Rent the Santa Fe if you are a family of four or five who wants three rows in reserve for visiting relatives or the kids' friends, a genuinely comfortable highway cruiser, and all-wheel drive for wet or loose surfaces without paying for a body-on-frame 4x4 you will not use. The middle row is wide enough for real adults, the boot handles an airport run once the third row folds, and the redesigned cabin feels a size above what the older Santa Fe offered.

Look elsewhere in two cases. If you need the third row for adults on a regular basis or want real dune capability, a bigger three-row SUV or a proper 4x4 like a Patrol or a Fortuner will suit you better. The AWD here is a road system, and it will not get you across soft sand. And if it is usually two or three of you with a normal boot's worth of luggage, a mid-size SUV without the extra row will cost less to run and park more easily in a tight Marina bay. The Santa Fe earns its place when you actually use the extra row and the highway comfort, and for most families renting one in Dubai, that is exactly when they book it.