New Hyundai Santa Fe
Should you buy the new Hyundai Santa Fe? That’s what we’re going to find out. Hyundai has completely redesigned the Santa Fe for 2024, reshaping it into a completely different type of vehicle in many ways.
I’m going to provide five reasons why it’s actually a very tempting suv to buy, and also a few reasons why it’s not.
New Hyundai Santa Fe Seating Capacity
Now, the first reason why the all new Santa Fe is a very tempting vehicle to buy is the fact that it’s now a six or seven passenger, three row suv, as opposed to the previous generation Santa Fe, which was just a normal five seater two row.
Hyundai has made the Santa Fe a lot larger in terms of its dimensions.
It’s a lot longer than the previous generation, giving it a lot more interior space.
Now, it’s still not quite as spacious as a proper large three row crossover, such as the Toyota Grand Highlander, the Honda Pilot, or even Hyundai’s own palisade.
So if you’re looking for minivan levels of interior space, this is not going to be the vehicle for you. New Hyundai Santa Fe
But if you’re a family of, say, three or four people, and you’re looking for a vehicle that can carry one or two extra passengers, maybe when family comes into town, this might be the perfect option to go for.
There is plenty of room in the first and second row seats. And even though the third row seats are a little bit on the tight side, you can make them work for shorter trips, even for shorter adults.
And as for the cargo area, well, it’s obviously not that spacious, but you can fit a decent amount of stuff back there.
And of course, you can fold down the third row seats and the second row seats to give you a ton of room for size reference, picture something like the Toyota Highlander.
Now, it’s not going to be the most spacious vehicle that you can buy, but for someone that wants to have a vehicle that’s a little bit on the smaller size, but still needs to carry more passengers, up to six or seven people, this is going to be ideal.
Engine & Performance In New Hyundai Santa Fe
Now, the second reason that makes the Santa Fe a very tempting vehicle to buy is the fact that it’s available with two different drivetrains, a powerful turbo four cylinder engine, or a more fuel efficient hybrid engine.
The wheel of a new Hyundai Tucson hybrid, which uses the exact same hybrid system.
Now, I wouldn’t put it quite on the same level as the best hybrids out there from say, Honda or especially Toyota. New Hyundai Santa Fe
But it’s still a very good hybrid system. It produces plenty of power, it’s relatively smooth and refined, and the fuel economy is impressive.
In Santa Fe, the hybrid is rated for around 35 miles per gallon, or seven liters per 100 km. Not bad for a vehicle of this size.
And the other nice thing about the hybrid is that you don’t have to spend much money in order to get it.
It’s only a $500 option on most of the trims In the US and in Canada the hybrid comes standard on the lower trims, so it’s actually the less expensive option to go for.
But if, for whatever reason, you’re not interested in the hybrid, and you want to have a more powerful engine option, then you might be interested in going for the 2.5 liter turbocharged four cylinder engine.
Now, this engine does produce more power than the hybrid it produces 277 Hp & 311 torque, which is quite a bit.
And it certainly does feel like a fairly powerful suv. And because of that, you do have the benefit of a much higher towing capability compared to the hybrid, which is able to tow up to 2000 pounds.
With this engine, you can tow between 3500 to 4500 pounds, depending on the trim, which is pretty good.
But aside from the additional performance, I really don’t see much of a reason to go for this drivetrain, for a few important reasons.
The first one is the fuel economy, which is really not very good. This engine is only rated for around 20 to 28 miles per gallon, or nine to twelve liters per 100 km.
The other concern I have with the 2.5 turbo engine is the transmission that it comes with compared to the hybrid, which just has a conventional six speed automatic transmission, the 2.5 turbo engine has an eight speed dual clutch automatic, which is a transmission type that I have criticized quite a bit in the past.
The issue with dual clutch transmissions is that they have a habit of being a little bit jerky and unrefined when shifting, especially when driving at lower speeds.
They are also a lot more complicated, which could lead to potential repair issues and a huge expense out of warranty if this transmission were to fail.
It’s just not the best type of transmission to use for a regular suv like this.
Now, to its credit, I haven’t really noticed any drivability issues when using it, it seems to shift perfectly smoothly and just fine. New Hyundai Santa Fe
But there have been some reliability issues that have been reported already.
This transmission does have a history of having serious recalls and failures with owners, and even a major YouTube channel recently experienced transmission failure for themselves right after taking delivery of a brand new Santa Fe and that’s enough cause for concern.
So that combined with the much better fuel economy and the better price, would be more than enough of a reason to go with the hybrid version of the Santa Fe, which seems like the much better choice.
Now, while on the topic of reliability, some may be wondering, what about engine issues, especially given Hyundai’s pretty significant history with having severe engine problems in many of its four cylinder models.
And yes, it is true that Hyundai, next to its sister company Kia, have had a terrible history of having severe engine problems in a lot of its vehicles over the past decades, especially those with the 2.0 liter and 2.4 liter engines, which have been known to completely fail or catch on fire.
Now, fortunately, it seems that Hyundai finally seems to be moving on from these issues, and neither the 2.5 liter engine, which is part of the newer smart stream engine family, or the hybrid engine, seem to be affected by these issues.
Of course, buying one of these really means that you’re really buying it based on faith in Hyundai’s predicted reliability, which admittedly is rather spotty.
And all I have to say about that is, well, it’s a really good thing that the Santa Fe, along with all Hyundai’s, come with a really good warranty.
You get a five year 100,000 km or 60,000 miles comprehensive warranty and in the US you get a ten year 160,000 miles powertrain warranty, which is really impressive.
Having that long warranty that provides a lot of peace of mind is a really good thing because this really is a fantastic vehicle to drive.
It has excellent ride quality, it’s incredibly smooth, it’s very quiet, and a really big part of that enjoyment is how much you get for your money with this vehicle.
New Hyundai Santa Fe Features and Technology
Which brings me to the third reason why this is a very tempting suv to buy, and that is the incredible features and technology.
It’s no secret that Hyundai has really been a leader when it comes to tech for quite some time now, but the interior of this new Santa Fe is really quite impressive.
Much like the exterior design, it just gives off this upscale feel that really does make it feel quite expensive. New Hyundai Santa Fe
You have really nice dual screen infotainment system which has an incredible user interface.
It’s very snappy, looks fantastic and has a great menu structure, fantastic to use.
And what’s really nice is that Hyundai still gives you plenty of conventional controls for the sound system and the climate controls, which is great to see.
There really isn’t much of a learning curve with this vehicle, despite how many features you get.
The functionality and usability is fantastic, and you also get plenty of interior space and storage space.
There are a lot of great storage compartments, including a rather unique one right above the glovebox, which offers a rather unique option, uv sterilization, where you can sanitize your devices like your phone or your wallet, which is rather interesting.
And the incredible features that you get is really a big part of what this suv is all about, especially if you go for the top of the line calligraphy trim, which includes other great features like dual wireless smartphone charging pads,
tons of connectivity options, a fantastic 360 camera system with excellent resolution, every parking and driving assist feature, including highway driving assist, which Hyundai does a fantastic job with. New Hyundai Santa Fe
You get high quality materials, including really nice nappa leather upholstery and even a micro suede headliner, giving you a really nice luxury feel.
And even the rear seats come with a lot of great features, including usb connections and climate controls.
For the second and third row seats, you have window privacy shades and electric seat adjustments.
And I should also mention that accessing the third row seats is incredibly easy and very well thought out.
This is really all the type of stuff that Hyundai does a fantastic job with, making you feel like you’re getting a lot for your money.
New Hyundai Santa Fe Price
Which brings me to the fourth reason why this is a very tempting suv, and that is the pricing for a fair sized three row SUV With this much tech and performance, the pricing really isn’t too bad.
It’s priced from around 35 to 50,000 US or around 43 to 56,000 Canadian. And again, you don’t need to pay a huge premium for the hybrid.
It’s only a $500 option on most trims in the US and it comes standard on the lower trims in Canada. New Hyundai Santa Fe
So the fact that you can get a three row hybrid SUV with this much performance, this much technology and features for around 38,000 US or around 45,000 Canadian, that’s really not too bad.
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Design
And of course we have the final and fifth reason that makes this a tempting SUV, which is the design, one of the main things that almost everyone seems to be talking about.
I have to admit, it is a rather striking design that makes this look like a much more expensive vehicle than it really is.
There have been many comparisons made to Land Rover, especially the defender, which I can definitely see.
Although I also see some hints of the old Ford Flex, which is no longer made whatever it resembles.
It’s hard to argue that Hyundai did quite a great job with it.
They’ve even added some really nice touches like a handle that allows you to access the roof rack and it’s even available in some really nice and unique color options such as this matte bronze paint, which does give it a rather sharp look.
Now as for the reasons why this might not be the best SUV to go for, well I already touched on one of the major ones, which are the potential reliability concerns.
Hyundai does seem to be improving in that area and they do give you a very good warranty, but if you want something that has that proven reputation that you don’t have to think twice about, that’s going to last you upwards of 10 to 15 years or longer, there’s no question you would be safer going with a different brand instead such as Mazda or Toyota.
And that somewhat spotty reputation for reliability does have an impact on Hyundai’s resale value, which it needs to be said even though it does seem like you’re getting excellent value when you’re buying one of these brand new, the resale value weighed down the road is not the best in this class.
And then you have the other smaller issues which I already touched on, such as the not so great fuel economy with the 2.5 liter engine and these somewhat if transmission that it comes with, both of which however, can be addressed by simply going with the hybrid engine with its more attractive pricing, much better fuel economy, fewer reliability concerns.
It really is an attractive package. And I think doing a comparison with other hybrid SUVs, perhaps the Honda CR-V hybrid, but especially the three row Toyota Highlander hybrid would be a really good idea to see how they compare.