I have upgraded from an Octavia 4x4 estate to this, as i now own a caravan and needed more poke.
This santa fe, with the 194bhp engine (2009 onwards) seems to meet this need fine. Mpg is no where near as good as the skoda, but then again its running weight is about 1/2 tonne more. My daily 7 mile commute seems to be giving an indicated 33mpg ish, taking it steady in partly moderate traffic levels. But when i brought it back from the Hyundai main dealer on purchase, some 220miles plus, i found it easily gave an indicated 42mpg around the national speed limit. However, if pushed beyond this, it was apparent that though the vehicle could handle it, the average mpg sank rapidly as you'd expect for a heavy not entirely sleek machine.

Performance is effortless and comfortable, it seems easy to drive it smooth and you barely hear the engine, so its a relaxed drive. It tows without missing a beat (mines a 540/6 large caravan) but i can't comment on the mpg towing as haven't done enough yet. I get the impression other drivers expect to pull in lane 2, next to me in lane 1, expecting a ponderous 4x4, but get a surprise.

I quite like the look of this version, with its soft curves, the newest going square edged) but personally think the colour is a big deal; a friend has a black one which doesn't look anything special compared with bright silver but perhaps that's just personal choice.

Build quality is good, with a reassuring clunk to all the doors and tailgate, i would have liked a few more soft touch plastics though (this is better on the 2012 onwards model), but then again, i didn't pay german 4x4 prices. But the seats are comfy and both front and rear easy to adjust. Though the skoda had a good solid door clunk etc, that wasn't without electrical gremlins in my ownership, so fingers crossed here.
The boot is quite large, so compared well with the octavia (though i missed the skodas baggage hooks, so where you place shopping bags has to be thought about, given its a large flat area). The rear seats give more space width wise, ie can properly accomodate 3 kids. I did consider the 7 seater, but never used this feature much when i had it on a zafira plus 5 seaters have a load more space in the boot area, where the extra seats would go. This will be where our holiday red wine stash will be.
It is softly sprung, so absorbs bumps pretty well, but can't be thrown around corners given this and its high ride height. I appreciate this and larger tyres though, so not as easy to kerb/damage on the UK's lousy road surfaces. My model also doesn't have the late 2011 onwards update with diamond cut 'mirror' finish alloys, which look good when new but quickly corrode and look bad after salt contact, which is a plus.
Some reviews complain about the hifi. I like the base/volume sound on this one, so perhaps it has been upgraded. It gives a good sound and i use both a usb and iphone with it no issue. The late 2011 revision has bluetooth too.
The blower/heater seems to need to be set on higher fan speed settings to notice much happening, which is unusual.

I haven't had the need for any maintenance yet, but as i service my cars myself, i was drawn to loads of access space under the bonnet, plus an accessible turbo at the top of the engine bay, which given this is the thing that tends to cause problems on modern diesels, put me right off skodas.... fine when new, but nigh on impossible to access.
Insurance cost me just short of £2 to change for the 2 months remaining, so not bad for a £12000 vehicle, compared with my old £3000 one.

So far, i'm very satisfied with my purchase; great value compared with more expensive prestigeous alternatives. I quite often get to drive X5's through work, which compare as being twice as much money to buy, insure, tyre and service. They do admittedly have a higher quality soft touch interior, though are thirsty and overrated. They are also overrated in winter conditions due to having such wide tyres, so hopefully the narrower tyres on the hyundai will prove its worth shortly!
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Well i've owned it 5 months now;
it's proved to be very stable and comfortable for towing
The mpg realistically is early 30's easily when not towing, but when towing early 20's upwards. When taking it a bit steadier on my last caravan trip it seemed to averaging about 27mpg.

However i have become aware of a fatigue crack in the drivers seat side bolster (the outer side of the bit you sit on). The same happened on my parents 2012 model. Both the local dealer and Hyundai UK didn't want to know, putting it down to wear and tear, on a mint 49000 mile car!
In essence i don't think the warranty is worth anything....it's good as a towing machine but don't choose it for the claimed all inclusive 5 year warranty; perhaps other makes give better aftersale care