WITH the four-by-four market growing, manufacturers have to keep up with the competitors, or lose their hold on a very important position in this particularly high earning market.

Hyundai is one such manufacturer keen to retain its hold, and its Santa Fe sports utility vehicle is designed to keep its friends as well as attract new ones.

This week, it arrives with a stylish facelift.

Now available in two versions, the 2.0 CRTD CDX manual and automatic and the 2.7 V6 automatic, the Santa Fe features detailed restyling inside and out, and a significant amount of additional equipment.

The 2.0-litre CRTD CDX, producing 111bhp at 4,000rpm, costs £17,995 for the five-speed manual or £18,995 for the four-speed automatic. The new 2.7-litre V6, producing 170bhp at 6,000rpm, is £18,995 - £5,600 less than the Land Rover Freelander 2.5-litre SE five-door, which would cost a further £6,600 to bring it up to the same equipment levels as the Santa Fe 2.7-litre V6.

Every Santa Fe now comes with cruise control, front windscreen de-icer, heated door mirrors and heated front seats.

Already a four star Euro NCAP rated car for its safety features, the new Santa Fe adds side airbags as standard.

Both Santa Fe models feature a new front grille, restyled side moulding and rear tailgate, new 16-inch alloy wheels, rear light clusters and rear bumper.

Inside, the instrument panel features a smarter binnacle and a trip computer as standard.

The Santa Fe also now comes with a smart light grey leather interior as standard.

The 2.0-litre CRTD CDX features £2,250 worth of extra equipment for £1,000 more than the outgoing 2.0-litre CRTD GSI's list price.

The 2.7-litre V6 adds colour coded reversing sensors, auto dimming rear view mirror and overhead compass to this standard equipment list.

Fuel consumption figures show that the manual 2.0-litre model returns 39.8mpg at the combined rate, while the automatic is naturally less fuel efficient, returning 30.7mpg, while the 2.7-litre returns 24.8mpg.

In common with the rest of the Hyundai range, the Santa Fe comes with the company's pioneering five-year, unlimited mileage, fully transferable warranty as standard.

Hyundai is the only manufacturer in the UK to offer this level of warranty on its entire 4x4 line-up, including the recently launched Tucson SUV and Terracan.

Updated: 12:40 Friday, December 10, 2004