BROWSING Australian large-SUV segment sales figures, we can’t help but feel the Hyundai Santa Fe deserves to be outselling more bitumen-biased rivals than it does. Even the rugged ute-based Isuzu MU-X regularly finds more customers.

That the Kluger from dominant Toyota sells in droves is a given, and the ancient Holden Captiva’s bargain pricing manages to avoid repelling buyers who don’t know better. But despite plummeting popularity, the death-row Ford Territory and five-seat-only Jeep Grand Cherokee remain bigger sellers than the Hyundai.

Bafflingly, a mid-life overhaul launched in late-2015 has seemingly not helped lift Santa Fe sales either. But believe us, this car was close to the top of our shopping lists before the improvements and is now even better.

For producing this slick and complete SUV package, Hyundai certainly deserves more attention.

Especially the high-grade Highlander diesel tested here, which is a peach.

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