We've been behind the wheel
of our 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport for about two weeks now. Shoppers of
compact-to-midsize SUVs should have the newly redesigned Santa Fe on their
list, but pay special attention to the detail of the Santa Fe and it may
surprise you.
In a way, the Santa Fe Sport
kind of has a split personality. Compare it to the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4 or
even the Subaru Forester, and the Santa Fe comes off like a luxury SUV. Imagine
if Lexus made an SUV that's lower priced than the RX350 and you can picture the
Santa Fe being exactly
that.
Not a Compact
But the Santa Fe is also an
odd mixture of size, features and quality. As nice as the Santa Fe is, it's
hard to categorize -- and driving it only reinforces that.
The natural comparison seems
like CR-V/RAV4, but the Santa Fe
is bigger. Compare the Santa Fe to a midsize car-based SUV such as the Ford
Edge and the Santa Fe feels a little smaller. That the Santa Fe is available as
a 2-row/ 5-passenger or 3-row/7-passenger SUV means it's like combining
Toyota's Highlander with the 5-passenger Venza under one name. The Santa Fe is
a right-sized SUV, and it may be exactly what many shoppers are looking for.
The Santa Fe and Santa Fe Sport will not appeal to those looking for a $20,000
compact SUV.
Interesting Features
The Santa Fe Sport has a weird
combination of features. Our Sport does not have map-based navigation
(Hyundai's Blue Link does give turn-by-turn directions) or a sunroof. But it
does have push-button start, leather seats, a color display between the gauges
for info such as fuel economy and vehicle status/warnings. There is a color
touchscreen display for the audio system, but the size of the screen is very
small. Our Sport 2.0T has LED lights behind the door handles and driver
selectable settings for steering feel, clearly high-end features. And yet our
Santa Fe lacks a power rear lift gate.
You can see the Santa Fe
Sport one of two ways: an odd, cobbled together midsize SUV or a right-sized,
right-priced SUV that hits shoppers exactly where others slightly miss the
mark. We think it's probably the second one.
In terms of driving
dynamics, the 2013 Hyundai
Santa Fe Sport gets it right. The ride is smooth and boasts decent handling.
The way the engine, transmission, steering, brakes and overall feel of the Sport
work together is clearly a strength of this SUV.
It's still early in our
year-long relationship with the Santa Fe Sport. Check back frequently for more
updates on the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport 2.0T.
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