HYUNDAI'S Santa Fe large off-road offering is very reasonable to buy secondhand and comes with an unbeatable five year warranty.

The Koreans are really getting things right these days and the quality of their cars is almost up with the Europeans and Japanese.

The Santa Fe is big but not intimidating and it is also better looking than many others in the large off-road class.

Best buy is the 2.2-litre turbo diesel with five-speed manual gearbox, which has more than enough power for the weight.

It pulls from low revs and, even in fifth gear, gives a good turn of speed while staying reasonably quiet.

It has a very comfortable ride, decent cornering ability with less roll than some other large mud-pluggers and, with economy in the high 30s, it has to be excellent value.

There are loads of airbags and it comes with alloy wheels, alarm, air conditioning, height and reach adjust steering and, in the CDX, full leather upholstery. There is also a seven seat option, which was a £1,000 extra in all models.

The Santa Fe is very easy to drive and four wheel drive comes in automatically whenever its needed.