I’m what you’d call a “winter driving enthusiast.” I laugh in the face of accumulations that keep other motorists off the road, plan my travels to hit snowstorms, and power through winter conditions that see Corollas everywhere pull to the shoulder with their four-ways on.
Last week, I was driving the new Hyundai Santa Fe with the 2.0L turbo engine, all-wheel drive, and a set of decent winter tires. It was a Friday, and my home town was getting hit by a second, big all-night-long snow dump of the season. This was followed immediately by Mother Nature dropping the mercury faster than a Lance Armstrong endorsement deal.
I did what I always do when there’s an all-night-long dumping of snow. I grabbed some buddies (along with some large double-doubles) and drove around every unplowed backroad I could find for about 4 hours.
On my drive, a few noteworthy aspects of the tested Santa Fe’s all-important ESC and AWD systems came to light.
Wheel spin is a good thing in deep snow, and the Santa Fe’s Electronic Stability Control (ESC) system typically allows plenty of it. Wheel spin allows snow to be flung from the tire treads for better contact with the road -- so when you give the Santa Fe the boots to pull onto a busy street, the wheels are spun a bit faster than they can grip to ensure you get moving quickly.
The system tightens up its tolerances for sliding and slipping at higher speeds, but still allows a brief skid before engaging.
This is far more favourable than overly aggressive ESC systems that kill the throttle at any sign of slippage, cross their arms, report your activities to the fun police, and leave you powerless in front of traffic.
In the Santa Fe, you’ll feel like you’re in control more than the vehicle is, which is a good thing.
The AWD system, which was developed by Magna, is clever and well set-up for driving in crappy winter weather, too. Utilizing data from a network of sensors, it can make a “judgement call” to engage all four wheels from a stop -- effectively pre-emptively dialing up traction instead of letting the front wheels slip ahead of engaging the rear ones. There’s even a “lock” setting to pre-set the system into a 50/50 power split, though I never needed to use it.
When the system brings the rear wheels online for propulsion, they engage quickly -- within about 2 or 3 revolutions of the front wheels -- and get a good share of engine power.
Hyundai says a fast-acting “electro-hydraulic” clutch in the rear coupler is to thank. Faster than the magnetic clutches typically used in systems like these, it’s “primed” when the engine starts, and always ready to call the rear wheels into play on a few milliseconds notice.
I noted no issues with needless tire spinning or harshness during shifting power between the axles, either. In virtually any situation, this set-up is smooth, virtually seamless and feels like it knows what it’s doing.
All said; shoppers opting for a Santa Fe with winter rubber and AWD should expect a confident, stable and well backed-up driving feel when the roads are covered in snow and ice.
Last week, I was driving the new Hyundai Santa Fe with the 2.0L turbo engine, all-wheel drive, and a set of decent winter tires. It was a Friday, and my home town was getting hit by a second, big all-night-long snow dump of the season. This was followed immediately by Mother Nature dropping the mercury faster than a Lance Armstrong endorsement deal.
I did what I always do when there’s an all-night-long dumping of snow. I grabbed some buddies (along with some large double-doubles) and drove around every unplowed backroad I could find for about 4 hours.
On my drive, a few noteworthy aspects of the tested Santa Fe’s all-important ESC and AWD systems came to light.
Wheel spin is a good thing in deep snow, and the Santa Fe’s Electronic Stability Control (ESC) system typically allows plenty of it. Wheel spin allows snow to be flung from the tire treads for better contact with the road -- so when you give the Santa Fe the boots to pull onto a busy street, the wheels are spun a bit faster than they can grip to ensure you get moving quickly.
The system tightens up its tolerances for sliding and slipping at higher speeds, but still allows a brief skid before engaging.
This is far more favourable than overly aggressive ESC systems that kill the throttle at any sign of slippage, cross their arms, report your activities to the fun police, and leave you powerless in front of traffic.
In the Santa Fe, you’ll feel like you’re in control more than the vehicle is, which is a good thing.
The AWD system, which was developed by Magna, is clever and well set-up for driving in crappy winter weather, too. Utilizing data from a network of sensors, it can make a “judgement call” to engage all four wheels from a stop -- effectively pre-emptively dialing up traction instead of letting the front wheels slip ahead of engaging the rear ones. There’s even a “lock” setting to pre-set the system into a 50/50 power split, though I never needed to use it.
When the system brings the rear wheels online for propulsion, they engage quickly -- within about 2 or 3 revolutions of the front wheels -- and get a good share of engine power.
Hyundai says a fast-acting “electro-hydraulic” clutch in the rear coupler is to thank. Faster than the magnetic clutches typically used in systems like these, it’s “primed” when the engine starts, and always ready to call the rear wheels into play on a few milliseconds notice.
I noted no issues with needless tire spinning or harshness during shifting power between the axles, either. In virtually any situation, this set-up is smooth, virtually seamless and feels like it knows what it’s doing.
All said; shoppers opting for a Santa Fe with winter rubber and AWD should expect a confident, stable and well backed-up driving feel when the roads are covered in snow and ice.
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| Photo: Justin Pritchard |