Topic: Road Trip: 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe XL to New York City

[Autos_Editor]

Hyundai's mid-size family hauler earns its stripes as a TV production vehicle, surviving rush hour on New York City's busiest streets.

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[Solstice2006]

Glad you survived New York, not sure I could.  Good Article.  Although this quote makes me laugh 'Normally when filming on location with a four-man team, we’ll rent a full-size SUV or even a van.  This time, we thought we’d go for something a little more svelte and stylish (not to mention efficient) and loaded our Santa Fe XL’s cargo hold to near max capacity."

I am sure the Santa Fe XL is more stylish than any van.  But efficient, never!  Vans will always be king for that.  For passenger comfort, cargo capacity, fuel efficiency, and price.

[DriverJeff]

Glad you survived New York, not sure I could.  Good Article.  Although this quote makes me laugh 'Normally when filming on location with a four-man team, we’ll rent a full-size SUV or even a van.  This time, we thought we’d go for something a little more svelte and stylish (not to mention efficient) and loaded our Santa Fe XL’s cargo hold to near max capacity."

I am sure the Santa Fe XL is more stylish than any van.  But efficient, never!  Vans will always be king for that.  For passenger comfort, cargo capacity, fuel efficiency, and price.

I expect the fuel efficiency would be close to a wash for the XL vs most of the current minivans.  Compared to the Tahoes / Yukons we usually use, the XL was a fuel sipper though.

[MJMontreal]

I spent this past weekend in NYC and I didn't find the driving that scary. Trying to change lanes can be a game of chicken though; you really just have to shove your way in. On three separate occasions we were looking at our map when locals eagerly offered to help us find our way, asked where we were from, etc. I was surprised how friendly they were.

[DriverJeff]

I spent this past weekend in NYC and I didn't find the driving that scary. Trying to change lanes can be a game of chicken though; you really just have to shove your way in. On three separate occasions we were looking at our map when locals eagerly offered to help us find our way, asked where we were from, etc. I was surprised how friendly they were.

Indeed, parts of the city surprised me.  It was really only the chaos of Manhattan during rush hour that was most trying.  It made Brooklyn seem like a piece of cake by comparison. 

Of course, your name suggests you're in Montreal -- the most lawless and terrifying of all places to drive on earth, no? 

[Solstice2006]

Glad you survived New York, not sure I could.  Good Article.  Although this quote makes me laugh 'Normally when filming on location with a four-man team, we’ll rent a full-size SUV or even a van.  This time, we thought we’d go for something a little more svelte and stylish (not to mention efficient) and loaded our Santa Fe XL’s cargo hold to near max capacity."

I am sure the Santa Fe XL is more stylish than any van.  But efficient, never!  Vans will always be king for that.  For passenger comfort, cargo capacity, fuel efficiency, and price.

I expect the fuel efficiency would be close to a wash for the XL vs most of the current minivans.  Compared to the Tahoes / Yukons we usually use, the XL was a fuel sipper though.

The fuel efficiency would be close to a wash, in the winter, the van would do better, the AWD would kick in more often on these SUVs.  But the other 3 categories, the van wins.

[Golly]

Some great photos of the Big Apple!

I have the same vehicle except it is a 2013.  What did it cost to reinstall the passenger side mirror that popped out and was it an easy fix?

[Patrick_D1]

Can't say I'm surprised about the mirror. It was smacked in the parking lot prior to your booking and some of the tabs broke inside the housing. We re-installed the glass in the existing housing given the time constraint, but apparently our quick-fix wasn't sufficient for the mother of all potholes.

[Bartholomew]

My wife and I drove Montreal to New York a couple of weeks back (Mazda CX7 AWD turbo) for the Aretha show & "Kinky Boots".

Had the same problem with my voice-activated Garmin and one of my buddies has the same thing going on with his GPS unit, different brand.  We assume it's due to the tall buildings blocking reception or someone needs to send up an astronaut to do adjustments - it isn't only the Hyundai.  Was ok again once we got onto the George Washington bridge on the way out.

Always indicated a couple of blocks away from where we were.  My Rock band in the Sixties (Bartholomew plus Three) with Corky Laing on drums did The Peppermint Lounge when it existed open on 45th Street so am no stranger to the traffic and anyways have enough power with the CX7 to blow-off taxis anytime.   Traffic was not really much worse than it was then - "he who hesitates is lost".

[DriverJeff]

Can't say I'm surprised about the mirror. It was smacked in the parking lot prior to your booking and some of the tabs broke inside the housing. We re-installed the glass in the existing housing given the time constraint, but apparently our quick-fix wasn't sufficient for the mother of all potholes.

Aha!  We thought it was a surprising black mark on the otherwise good build assembly of our vehicle. 

We simply popped it back in each time it dislodged itself.  Never popped out again over the several hundred km drive home, so presumed it wasn't an issue anymore.

[Patrick_D1]

Can't say I'm surprised about the mirror. It was smacked in the parking lot prior to your booking and some of the tabs broke inside the housing. We re-installed the glass in the existing housing given the time constraint, but apparently our quick-fix wasn't sufficient for the mother of all potholes.

Aha!  We thought it was a surprising black mark on the otherwise good build assembly of our vehicle. 

We simply popped it back in each time it dislodged itself.  Never popped out again over the several hundred km drive home, so presumed it wasn't an issue anymore.

That's probably my bad. It happened a day before your test and we didn't have a replacement housing painted the correct colour. The technician did his best re-installing it despite the broken tabs, but as noted above, this apparently wasn't sufficient for a major impact. If I thought it was at risk of popping out again I'd have given you a heads up.

[blotter]

great article!

love the road trip road tests. 

[Noto]

Can't say I'm surprised about the mirror. It was smacked in the parking lot prior to your booking and some of the tabs broke inside the housing. We re-installed the glass in the existing housing given the time constraint, but apparently our quick-fix wasn't sufficient for the mother of all potholes.

Aha!  We thought it was a surprising black mark on the otherwise good build assembly of our vehicle. 

We simply popped it back in each time it dislodged itself.  Never popped out again over the several hundred km drive home, so presumed it wasn't an issue anymore.

That's probably my bad. It happened a day before your test and we didn't have a replacement housing painted the correct colour. The technician did his best re-installing it despite the broken tabs, but as noted above, this apparently wasn't sufficient for a major impact. If I thought it was at risk of popping out again I'd have given you a heads up.

Jeff, you may want to note something about this in the main article - I thought, hmm, interesting Hyundai.  Reading on...um, mirror came off, dangling by wires?  Pass.

...if there was pre-existing damage, you likely shouldn't note that the mirror fell off without specifying that the press vehicle was damaged previously, otherwise it damages Hyundai's reputation for build quality that it's been striving so hard to...build (? no pun intended).

[jyarkony]

Can't say I'm surprised about the mirror. It was smacked in the parking lot prior to your booking and some of the tabs broke inside the housing. We re-installed the glass in the existing housing given the time constraint, but apparently our quick-fix wasn't sufficient for the mother of all potholes.

Aha!  We thought it was a surprising black mark on the otherwise good build assembly of our vehicle. 

We simply popped it back in each time it dislodged itself.  Never popped out again over the several hundred km drive home, so presumed it wasn't an issue anymore.

That's probably my bad. It happened a day before your test and we didn't have a replacement housing painted the correct colour. The technician did his best re-installing it despite the broken tabs, but as noted above, this apparently wasn't sufficient for a major impact. If I thought it was at risk of popping out again I'd have given you a heads up.

Jeff, you may want to note something about this in the main article - I thought, hmm, interesting Hyundai.  Reading on...um, mirror came off, dangling by wires?  Pass.

...if there was pre-existing damage, you likely shouldn't note that the mirror fell off without specifying that the press vehicle was damaged previously, otherwise it damages Hyundai's reputation for build quality that it's been striving so hard to...build (? no pun intended).

Fair point - it's been noted. or would that be NoToed?

[Noto]

Fair point - it's been noted. or would that be NoToed?

Good one, I think...