Santa Fe crossover a real Sport
Starting in 2013, Hyundai decided to offer two different versions of their popular crossover, the Santa Fe Sport. The Sport is a five-passenger family truckster, available with either a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine or Hyundai’s excellent 2.0-liter turbocharged four. I drove the 8.5-inch longer Santa Fe, which seats either seven or six passengers, depending on the trim level. My Frosted Mocha Santa Fe LTD FWD had the dual captain’s chairs in the second row.
I spent most of my 286 test miles doing my weekly chores, but I did press it into duty for a nice dinner out with my wife, as well as for some homeowner errands. I liked how easy it was to fold both rows of seats. In a matter of minutes, my tester swallowed up my XXL bicycle to go for its spring tune-up. It even got dragged into a Home Depot run for a new toilet. See? The life of an automotive journalist is not all glamour and fun.
I was struck by how much I enjoyed my time in the Santa Fe. The new body style is pleasing, but not a real standout in this crowded market segment. The interior did a better job of wowing me. The door panels in particular drew my eyes across their pleasing shapes. The lookslike metal trim and door handles were actually plastic, but it was a good enough imitation to make me touch it to be sure. The dashboard is nicely laid out. An eightinch touch screen for the backup camera and navigation is easy to use. Beneath are a refreshingly simple knob for the volume, and a surprisingly huge knob below it for the fan speed.
Under the hood is a 3.3-liter V6 engine with direct injection, rated at 290 hp. and 252 lb-ft of torque. The EPA says that with the FWD Santa Fe, you’ll get 18 mpg in the city and 25 mpg on the highway, for a 21-mpg combined rating. I found the engine to be appropriately powerful for this class of vehicles. It’s not blazingly fast or too slow, more like just right. Power flows through a six-speed automatic transmission with the ability to slide the lever to the side and then select the gears on your own with a nudge up and down.
Prices start at $29,900 for the Santa Fe GLS. While it comes with lots of safety features and conveniences, the $33,800 Santa Fe LTD piles on the goodies like dual-zone climate control and keyless entry with pushbutton ignition. My tester came fully loaded with the $4,500 Technology package, which added a bunch of items including heat for the second row seats, vents for the front buckets, rear parking assist, memory for the front seats and my favorite, a heated steering wheel. While the $39,540 total price isn’t cheap, it does include most of the features you could want in a family crossover.
I won’t go on for long about how far Hyundai/Kia vehicles have come along, but a recent test in a second-tier Japanese crossover left me amazed at how much better finished the Santa Fe was than its unnamed competition.
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