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After being the small kid in the Hyundai lineup for six years, the compact Santa Fe sport-utility has grown up.

Tucson will hold down the compact segment as the 2007 Santa Fe moves into the midsize segment.

And in March, after a January debut at the Detroit Auto Show, the Vera Cruz goes on sale. It’s slightly longer than Santa Fe and will be built in South Korea to give Hyundai a trio of sport-utes.

Santa Fe is the first Hyundai vehicle designed at its studio in Irvine, Calif. It is built alongside the midsize Sonata sedan at Hyundai’s U.S. assembly plant in Alabama.

With Santa Fe and Sonata, Hyundai’s goal is to produce in the U.S. at least half of the vehicles it sells here. Hyundai will sell about 400,000 vehicles in the U.S. this year, and Alabama can assemble about 300,000.

Santa Fe is offered in base GLS, SE and Limited versions with a choice of front-wheel- or optional ($2,000) all-wheel-drive. We tested the top-of-the-line Limited with FWD.

Santa Fe borrows the front-end treatment from the HCD9 Talus concept on this year’s auto-show circuit. With the remake, Santa Fe has grown bolder–and by 7 inches in length, 2 inches in width and 1 inch in height.

That allows Hyundai to offer an optional third-row seat for the first time. Our test vehicle had only two.

However, you get lots of cargo room behind the second row seat or a third seat and just a little space in back. The choice is yours–add $1,200 for the seat.

Inside, there’s lots of space to flail arms and head in the front or second row, but second-row knee room is a tad confined unless you recline the seat backs. That takes the knees back away from the front seats.

The front seats are soft, but side bolsters designed to keep you in place in sharp corners or turns are nearly invisible. So ease off the pedal in such maneuvers.

Engines separate the Santa Fe trio. The GLS comes with the same 2.7-liter V-6 from the previous version, but with variable valve timing to deliver 185 horsepower, up from 170. It also offers better mileage, 21 m.p.g. city/26 m.p.g. highway, up from 19/25.

The SE and Limited offer a new 3.3-liter, 242-h.p. V-6 to replace the old 3.5-liter, 197-h.p. V-6. Vera Cruz will get an even larger 3.8-liter V-6.

The 2.7 comes with a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic, the 3.3 with a 5-speed automatic with Shiftronic for manual mode shifting.

The 3.3 is rated at 19/24, up from 17/23 for the 3.5-liter despite producing 42 more h.p.

The larger Santa Fe isn’t a speedster, but it’s far more lively off the line and into the passing lane than its predecessor.

In addition to different engines, the SE and Limited sit on larger 18-inch all-season radial tires; the GLS comes with 16-inch radials.

No complaints with ride harshness or wobble in the Santa Fe. As an added benefit, all Santa Fes come with electronic stability control as standard benefit, along with four-wheel anti-lock brakes.

Stability control monitors the driver’s intended course versus where the vehicle appears to be heading based on steering angle and vehicle speed. Automatically applying brakes to the individual front or rear wheels and/or reducing engine power helps prevent loss of control.

Just in case, side-curtain air bags are standard as well.

About 70 percent of Hyundai vehicles will offer electronic stability control as standard for 2007.

The test vehicle lacked the optional full-time all-wheel-drive, the choice in the Snow Belt. It automatically routes power to the wheels with the best traction to prevent a skid.

But the system doesn’t have a low setting, so Santa Fe will keep moving on the road, but not through sand, water and slippery slopes.

Quiet cabin

On the road, Santa Fe is quiet. Thanks to a more rigid body and increased use of laminated steel and triple-sealing body and door panels, you can carry on a conversation in a normal voice.

Quiet, it has been said, is the sound of a well-made vehicle. Squeaks and rattles and lots of cabin noise aren’t.

Hyundai has done a lot in recent years in terms of solid, quiet construction and loading the vehicle with safety features.

Noteworthy features include a pull handle to open the rear hatchlid and a spacious cargo hold, where the flat floor provides stable hauling. There are two lids in the cargo floor that open, one to expose the tire jack, the other, much larger one, to reveal three deep storage containers.

Upfront, there’s storage space under the center armrest and in the top of the dash as well as lower dash in front of the gearshift.

Another nice touch is that all interior gauges, switches and buttons feature blue backlighting, a soothing color that’s easy on the eyes and doesn’t tend to blur at night like orange or red. Even the dual cupholders in the center console are ringed with the subtle blue, like adding a little jewelry to complement an outfit.

Other convenience features include a driver’s seat with power lumbar support, trip computer, heated side mirrors and a windshield wiper deicing system. All but the deicers are options, however.

Attention to detail finds a pair of holders for glasses in the roof and active headrests upfront that prevent whiplash by moving toward the head in a rear impact.

Base price of the Limited is $25,945. Standard equipment includes air conditioning; AM/FM/CD/MP3 audio system with steering-wheel controls; power windows, locks and mirrors; power and heated driver’s seat; cruise control; tilt wheel; leather seats; and fog lights. Only options on the test SUV were a rear cargo pull-out screen at $100 and carpeted floor mats at $95.

A premium package with power sunroof and heated front driver and passenger seats with lumbar support runs $950; an ultimate package, which also adds power passenger seat, DVD entertainment system, a 115-volt outlet for a laptop computer, and an audio upgrade, costs $3,550.

The first-generation Santa Fe arrived in 2000 and has sold more than 440,000 copies since. Now that it’s grown in size and power without sacrificing fuel economy, there’s no reason to suspect it won’t do even better.

TEST DRIVE

2007 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited

Price as tested: $26,140

THE STICKER

$24,945 Base

$100 Rear cargo screen

$90 Carpeted floor mats

* Add $580 for freight

THE NUMBERS

WHEELBASE: 106.3 inches

LENGTH: 184.1 inches

ENGINE: 3.3-liter, 242-h.p. V-6

TRANSMISSION: 5-speed automatic

CITY: 19 M.P.G

HIGHWAY: 24 M.P.G.

PLUSES

Bigger, quieter, peppier.

Optional three rows of seats.

MINUSES

Knee room in second row

Read Jim Mateja Sunday in Transportation and Tuesday and Thursday in Business. Hear him on WBBM Newsradio 780 at 6:22 p.m. Wednesdays and 11:22 a.m. Sundays.

jmateja@tribune.com