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Someone get in touch with the guy who invented the Chinese calendar. We think it might be time to add “Year of the Hyundai” to the tigers, pigs, snakes and dragons that already have their places in the Chinese culture’s annual rotation.

Okay, maybe not. But to say that this company is on a roll just doesn’t cut it. Stronger words are needed to describe the constant succession of products that keep emerging from Hyundai’s drawing rooms, each one better than the vehicle it replaces, and better than the new model that came before it.

The newest model in Hyundai’s so-called “7/24″ (seven new vehicles in 24 months, starting with the Tucson in fall of 2004 and ending with a new Elantra later this year) rapid-fire barrage of new models is the 2007 Santa Fe SUV. The original Santa Fe, which arrived here in 2000 as a 2001 model, has been a big deal for Hyundai, selling lots of copies (52,000 since its introduction) and helping to further the company’s quest for quality. For sure, Hyundai had a lot riding on this new SUV, which for 2007 has grown, both in size and into itself.

2007 Hyundai Santa Fe. Click image to enlarge

Gone are the quirky looks of the original, whose oddly creased sheetmetal and goggle-eyed headlights polarized onlookers. In its place is a more substantial- and mature-looking vehicle. The impression of increased size is well founded: the new model rides on a wheelbase that’s 80 mm longer (to 2,700 mm), and the new Santa Fe is 45 mm wide and 65 mm taller than the first-generation model. The biggest difference is in overall length, where the 2007 Santa Fe is 175 mm longer than its forbear, at 4,675 mm.

If those numbers are close to those of the Toyota RAV4 (which underwent a massive transformation of its own for 2006), it may come as no surprise that Hyundai freely admits to benchmarking that smallest of Toyota ‘utes in creating the new Santa Fe.

2007 Hyundai Santa Fe. Click image to enlarge

At the product walkaround prior to our drive of the new truck, Hyundai had parked a RAV4 next to it for comparison’s sake. We’ll let you decide which is the more attractive of the two, but the most striking thing we noticed in a quick side-by-side glance between the RAV4 and the new Santa Fe is that the Hyundai has smaller gaps between body panels. Traditionally, narrower panel gaps speak to better build quality, so we found this especially telling of how hard Hyundai has worked on the Santa Fe, considering the examples at the press event were supposed to be pre-production models.

2007 Hyundai Santa Fe. Click image to enlarge

While the view on the outside is all-new, Hyundai has incorporated a few styling cues to link it to the original. Key among these is the exterior tailgate release handle, once again conspicuously located and very easy to use. The rear-three-quarter aspect and the B- and C-pillars also recall the old Santa Fe. A key exterior feature is the integrated roof rack whose tracks are part of the roof panel. It’s very handy – the rails can be moved fore and aft with one finger, and its slick design avoids the ungainly look of some aftermarket pieces.

Move inside, and the new interior is as impressive as those in other recently-introduced Hyundais we’ve sampled. Gaps between the bits and pieces that make up the dash are small or non-existent, and the materials feel like quality to our fingertips. Otherwise, what the new Santa Fe’s looks – inside and out – confirm is that Hyundai has finally established a cohesive design language. Look at any of their current line-up (excluding the soon-to-be-replaced Elantra), compare it to another, and there’s a definite family resemblance, even between disparate models like the bargain-basement Accent and top-shelf Azera. As Hyundai’s chief designer Joel Piaskowski put it, “we are creating our own design history right now.”

We got a good look at Santa Fes with both a fake wood trim (much improved over the “fwood” in previous Hyundais) and a nifty, glossy grey trim, sporting a subtle tiger-stripe pattern in its grain, for lower-end models. Whichever you choose, the theme is continued throughout the cabin with matching strips in all four inner door panels.

2007 Hyundai Santa Fe. Click image to enlarge

The other big news inside the new Santa Fe is the availability of seating for seven. Like many mid-size SUVs – and even some large ones – with three rows of seats, the third row is best suited to kids. Hyundai admits as much, but points out that a seven-seat Santa Fe offers more third-row legroom than an Acura MDX, Volvo XC90 or Honda Pilot, while providing as much legroom as the Mercedes-Benz GL-class.

That’s impressive enough, but we’d still buy a minivan for hauling seven people around. Not to mention that five-seat Santa Fes get a handy under-floor storage compartment in the cargo area, which we think is much more useful than two extra seats that rarely serve to do more than add dead weight. At least those two extra seats are very easy to stow and use: each half of the third row can be folded up or down with one hand. Also notable among interior features are a couple of handy rear-seat storage compartments in the rear face of the centre console.

2007 Hyundai Santa Fe. Click images to enlarge

Further improvements are to be found under all that shiny new metal and plastic, where the base engine is now the 2.7-litre V6 that served as mid-range motor in the old truck. The ancient 2.4-litre four-banger is gone, but a five-speed manual transmission is still standard equipment in the base, front-wheel-drive Santa Fe GL. A four-speed automatic is a $1,300 option with the smaller engine, and 3.3-litre versions get a five-speed automatic as standard equipment. Both automatics feature Hyundai’s “Shiftronic” manual shifting capability. An on-demand all-wheel-drive system is optional on 2.7-litre Santa Fes, and a front-wheel-drive 3.3-litre model is available too.

While the 2.7-litre engine is a carry-over from the old truck, it’s received some upgrades in the form of Hyundai’s CVVT variable valve timing system and a variable intake manifold. Those help boost power output by 12 horsepower (to 185) and five more pound-feet of torque for a total of 183.

2007 Hyundai Santa Fe. Click image to enlarge

The other available engine is a 3.3-litre V6, also found in the Sonata; in this application, it makes a healthy 242 horsepower and 226 lb.-ft. of torque.

We didn’t get to sample a 2.7-litre version – they were in short supply at the preview event, and there were none with the manual transmission – but the 3.3-litre is up to the task of hauling around 1,724 kilograms of Santa Fe. As in the Sonata, this engine makes pleasant sounds when pressed, and when allowed to relax, falls almost silent. The five-speed automatic is a willing co-conspirator, moving between cogs with a smoothness that matches the upscale Azera.

Fuel economy is much improved, too, according to Natural Resources Canada’s numbers: 11.3 L/100 km city and 8.4 L/100 km highway for 2.7-litre/automatic models, and 12.2 L/100 km city and 8.8 L/100 km highway for 3.3-litre models. That’s great compared to 11.7 city and 8.1 highway for the old four-cylinder/manual tranny model, and the new V6 matches the old 2.7-litre’s ratings. And both clobber the ratings for the old 3.5-litre engine, which used 14.2 L/100 km city and 9.5 L/100 km highway while producing only 200 horsepower in return.

While road and wind noise are well-hushed at speed – Hyundai claims a cabin quieter than that in either the Volvo XC90 or Toyota Highlander – more impressive is the Santa Fe’s handling. Even with the smaller 16-inch wheels and tall 235/65R16 tires, turn-in was crisp and body lean was surprisingly well-controlled (sixteen-inch wheels are standard, and slick-looking 18s are found on GL Premium and higher trims). Interestingly, front-wheel-drive models felt a little less balanced in the twisties.

2007 Hyundai Santa Fe. Click image to enlarge

We can only guess that the all-wheel-drive version’s handling prowess was due to a lower centre of gravity created by the heavier drive system. The ride is equally well-controlled, with well-matched spring and damper rates. This is a welcome change even from certain other recent Hyundais, which tended to ride far too softly for our tastes. All of this adds up to create an SUV that’s almost – remember, this is no sports car – fun to drive on roads that make you wish you were piloting a Boxster or Miata.

Pricing for the 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe starts at $25,995 – a big $4,000 increase over the entry-level 2006 model, but one which includes a bunch more standard equipment: six airbags (two front, two front-seat side airbags and side curtain airbags for all three rows of seats), active front head restraints, electronic stability control with traction control, and anti-lock brakes with brake assist and electronic brake force distribution, all of which were either not available in the last generation truck or offered only in top-end models.

Pricing continues upward to $27,295 for a base 2.7-litre Santa Fe with the four-speed automatic. Move up to the GL 3.3-litre and you’ll pay $28,295; all-wheel-drive ups the price of admission here to $30,095.

The least-expensive seven-seat Santa Fe is the GL Premium, at $31,295, while a five-seater GL Premium with a leather package rings in at $31,445. A GL Premium AWD costs $33,095, and the top-dog GLS model, which combines the best from the lesser trims, costs $35,995. All that’s missing for now is a five-seat GLS model, but Hyundai officials assured us that one is in the works for a mid-model year introduction.

With every new model that Hyundai has launched in the past couple of years, the company has raised the bar, as if daring itself to do better with each new vehicle it introduces. This new Santa Fe follows in that trend – this is arguably the best vehicle Hyundai has ever produced. If SUV buyers like this truck half as much as we think they will, 2006 could wind up being the “Year of the Hyundai” after all.