2017 Hyundai Santa Fe
The refreshed 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe addressed its Achilles heel by investing in a stronger front end and a host of advanced safety technologies. The payoff is the nameplate’s first-ever Top Safety Pick+ rating from the IIHS.
Meanwhile, key design upgrades and a bigger standard infotainment touchscreen make the 2017 Santa Fe an even betterrounded offering in the competitive midsize SUV segment.
Hyundai has kept the design of the Santa Fe essentially the same as it was in 2016, save for a few tweaks to the front end that give the 2017 model a more robust presence. The headlights are wider and feature an LED light strip along the bottom and, likewise, vertical blocks of LEDs replace the teardrop-shaped running lights of 2016. The grille is narrower and uses a five-bar design similar to the one used by the 2017 Elantra in lieu of the four-bar design seen on last year’s Santa Fe.
With its fixed-height and low-mounted seats, last year’s Santa Fe was not friendly to long-legged front passengers. For 2017, Hyundai has added power height adjustment to its front passenger seats making for a comfortable ride on both sides of the center console.
Big, cushy seats with just-right head restraints and driver’s side power adjustable lumbar support come standard. Upgrade to the Limited or SE Ultimate trim levels and the seats come wrapped in soft leather and outfitted with multi-level heating.
Hyundai ditched last year’s standard 4.3-inch touchscreen in favor of a 7-inch display screen on the SE and Limited models and a standard 8-inch screen in both Ultimate trims.
The Santa Fe features Android Auto as well Hyundai’s proprietary Blue Link connectivity system, which allows owners to start, stop, lock and unlock their vehicles remotely using their smartphone or smart watch. Blue Link comes in three packages: Connected Care, which includes a variety of vehicle diagnostic features; Remote, which includes vehicle controls and location services; and Guidance, which includes Google-powered destination searching. Hyundai offers a year-long trial for the Connected Car package and three-month trials for the Remote and Guidance packages. All three can be renewed annually for $99 each.
Since the IIHS began examining small overlap crashworthiness in 2013, the Santa Fe has not scored better than a “Marginal” on the test. The 2017 model is also the first to featured crash avoidance and mitigation technology, so it’s clear Hyundai made safety a priority for this refresh.
When the Santa Fe gets up and running on the freeway, it’s surprisingly fun to drive and a lot sportier than its plump proportions would suggest. With 290 horsepower and 252 lb.-ft. of torque, the 3.3-liter V-6 engine is as strong a power plant as you’ll find in this market segment aside from the Dodge Durango and the Kia Sorento, which shares the same engine with the Santa Fe.
Available with front- and all-wheel drivetrains, the Santa Fe is not beating many cars off the line thanks to a sluggish six-speed automatic transmission, but once it gets up to speed, it runs fine, even up the rolling hills of the New Jersey Palisades. It also offers a standard drive mode select feature that allows the driver to adjust throttle and steering responsiveness between Eco, Normal and Sport settings.
The EPA estimates an average fuel economy of 17 mpg city, 22 mpg highway and 19 mpg overall.