2003 Hyundai Santa Fe

Brian Moore

Hyundais have been known to be short on personality.

But that can't be said about the Korean firm's first sport-utility for North America, the Santa Fe, an offspring of the Sonata sedan.

This spunky ute, which bowed as a 2001 model, has a surface excitement -- curves and bulges inside and out -- that lifts it out of the me-too class.

I drove a tan GLS AWD, with liver-coloured leather and gray cladding. Headroom was good, despite the moonroof, as was forward visibility.

Heavy tint on the back glass made things a bit murky after dark.

Fit and finish were exemplary for the most part, although the power rear windows were noisy.

I never did learn how to turn off the Clarion radio/CD, short of removing the DCP (detachable control panel).

Wisely spurning the one-size-fits-all approach, Hyundai offers Santa Fe in a variety of garb: the GL FWD, with a 2.4 L, 149hp four; GL FWD, with a smooth, 2.7 L, 181hp, aluminum V6; GL AWD, with V6; top-drawer GLS AWD, with V6.

A five-speed manual is the only gearbox for GL FWD. The other three only come with a competent four-speed automatic.

Base prices: $21,050, $23,495, $26,795, $29,250.

Only the GLS AWD has leather, heated front seats and keyless entry.

Infiniti Q45 has lux and might, but its lines lag.

One of my favourite features on Infiniti's third-gen Q45 flagship sedan (base price: $73,000) is the manual screens on the rear doors.

Excellent for keeping out prying proletarian eyes.

You also get a power shade on the back window for that Euroflair.

The silver tester's 4.5 L, 32-valve, 340-horse V8 (premium fuel only, of course) was masterful, the ride hushed and coddling.

Amenities included full-auto up and down on four windows, voice-activated controls for climate and audio, and heated rear seats with power-adjustable seatbacks (mine was the $79,800 Premium model).

Then there are those HID (high intensity discharge) headlights, whose main unit is an intimidating, seven-lens, Gatling gun affair.

Infiniti brags it's "the most powerful headlight system in the world."

The all-new Q's lines are "dramatic" and "avant-garde," its maker asserts. To me, cautious and derivative would be more les mots justes.

My Premium's dash was functional enough but lacked that $80,000 sheen.

The trunk lid had a tinny sound, and the driver's mirror thumped alarmingly rather than dipping, to aid in parking, when the silky five-speed automatic was put in reverse.

The rear-drive Q is built in Tochigi, Japan.