This
year the Hyundai Santa Fe is
basically two different vehicles; one seating 5, and the other up scaled to
seat 7. The smaller being called a Sport, and the larger taking the place of
what was formerly the Veracruz, now named just Santa Fe. The Sport is being
built here in America in Hyundai’s
Georgia plant, with the larger Santa Fe being imported from Korea.
Our
week was spent inside the American made Sport model equipped with a turbo
charged engine and exterior looks, that in our opinion are the best yet to come
from the Hyundai
designers. The sheet metal that wraps the vehicle is now more masculine and
well defined that which ever should in effect turn the heads of more men….
encouraging them to take a look at this new crossover.
Up
front, the Sport features a hexagonal grill that has become synonymous with the
Hyundai brand; with this
they have two toned the sport model grill to add a more aggressive and sporty
look. Accented on each side with fog lights, new HID headlamps and LED daytime
running lights that rounds out the new look. We were very impressed with the
new look up front on the Santa Fe, as it tied the whole vehicle together with
the new lines running down the sides to a now lower rear roofline that produced
one fine looking crossover that will have other manufactures taking note of
this strong new design.
We
really enjoyed the peppiness of the 2.0 liter turbocharged power plant that
produced a very nice 265 horsepower and 269 ft.-lbs. of torque. It was
surprising to us how much power that small of a motor provided to a midsized
crossover like the Santa Fe. This should have come as no surprise as our test a
couple of weeks ago in the Kia Sorento proved to be quite the same in a
similarly sized crossover, but with no turbo charger. EPA put the Santa Fe at
21 mpg combined, we however hit 22.9 combined for the week of normal driving
with one trip to Salt Lake.
The
Santa Fe had no problem getting up to speed on the freeway or having all the
passing power we could have asked for when overtaking other vehicles. We had
the opportunity to retrieve our son JaCaoby and his wife Hailey from the
airport and even loaded up with 4 adults that sport at no problems with the
drive home.
The
folks at Hyundai have
included a three different steering setting on the Santa Fe, called driver
selectable steering modes, they were comfort, normal and sport, we found the
sport setting the best setting to drive in as the steering response was
stronger and more defined, normal was okay, but comfort just seemed a bit
sluggish to us.
The
Santa Fe Sport comes with all kinds of standard features, many of which we
would not have expected to be standard as they are usually an upgrade of some
kind. Leather seating surfaces are usually not a standard option, but with the
sport they were and included heat, there was also blind spot monitoring and
rear cross path detection to add to the safety of the drive, also not a usual
standard feature.
There
were also windshield wiper deicers included, but with the warm winter we have
been having, we didn’t’ have the opportunity to try them out, the heated side
mirrors come in quite handy on a frosty morning. Push button start and keyless
pushbutton doors are becoming more expected, and included standard on many
vehicles, but the exterior illumination when approaching the vehicle certain is
not…. but the Santa Fe had it standard.
Our
favorite option included in the standard package was also something we had
experienced with the Sorento, if your hands were full of bags, boxes whatever,
just approaching the rear of the vehicle and standing the for a second or two
would start the rear hatch opening automatically! There are vehicles out there
that will open the hatch with a wave of the foot underneath, but this was even
easier. The designers had also included a large storage compartment under the
rear carpet that was full of different sized bins, turned out to be the perfect
place for groceries, and they wouldn’t roll or slide around the back on the way
home from the store.
There
were some other standard features that caught our eye, manual sunshades that we
could put up in the two rear doors, a great feature for those with little ones
to help keep the sun out of their eyes, and more than that something we have
only seen in very luxury oriented vehicles, and yet it is such a simple thing
to add. There were also the standard Bluetooth connections to phone and music,
although the voice commands were a little cumbersome to make a phone call,
mostly the system just asked too many questions before actually making the
call.
Both of
the front seats were powered and the rear seats did adjust with a slide forward
and back, and would recline some to help with rear passenger comfort. Another
design element that we noticed was that the rear seat split 40-20-40, not the
usual 40-60 as most vehicles. This allowed for the center to be folded flat and
longer objects transported, while still allowing plenty of room for two adults,
we had to give this idea two thumbs up for being very unique and innovative.
The
only addition to our Santa Fe was what Hyundai called the Ultimate
package, and at over $4000 it added pretty much everything else we could have
wanted to make it stand out. The wheel size went to 19 inches instead of 18,
LED taillights appeared in the rear, and a huge panoramic sunroof dominated the
roof and was very nice even in February with the warmer weather we experienced
a definite must for summer driving.
Both of
the front seats upgraded to have ventilation with the drivers actually
acquiring a memory function to accommodate two different drivers, and the rear
seats go heated! A new 8- inch touch screen replaced the 4- inch screen, and
came with navigation and a new Infinity surround sound system. We felt the cost
was definitely worth it with all the creature comforts that came making driving
that much more enjoyable.
Hyundai also comes with one
of the best warranties in the business, with a 5 year 50,000 mile new vehicle
warranty along with a 5 year roadside assistance warranty, really a great deal
when most manufactures are only offering 3 year 36,000 miles, say that Hyundai is ready
to back up their products with more than just talk. They do take care of their
customers, as our son Landon found out 3 years ago when his Sonata had a
problem down in the Payson area, and Hyundai paid to have
it towed back to the dealership!
See the
new Hyundai
Santa Fe Sport today at Murdock Hyundai at 452 S Lindon
Park Dr, Lindon (866) 623-1120. You won’t be disappointed in what has gone into
this new vehicle, it is a must see.
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