Topic: Test Drive: 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport 2.4 AWD Premium

[Autos_Editor]

Lesley Wimbush finds that Hyundai has offered a practical, warm vehicle, with plenty of features in the new Santa Fe.

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[carcrazed]

May it wasn't broken-in at the time, but the 2.4L I test drove seemed pretty sluggish to me.

I'm still considering whether to keep my Altima after its lease runs out, or to keep it ($9,300 buyout) & trade it in for a CX-5 or another worthy crossover.

Maybe test driving a few candidates over the next few months will make the decision easier for me

[blotter]

it's a pretty impressive list of features at that price.
I do think the Kia is still a nicer looking SUV (IMO)

[dragonfly]

 I have this vehicle with leather, 8 inch nav, and panoramic sunroof..Same engine and tranny...The red one pictured is shown with the standard 17 inch wheels..Big fat tires..Mine has these also..I've taken two long trips in the last month and a half...to Myrtle Beach, SC and Port St. Lucie, Florida, and have about 6000 miles on it...I averaged about 31 MPGs on the trips and 24-25 around town...About the same as listed by the manufacturer...I agree with the steering, but leave it in sport all the time, and it's okay...I think it's fairly quick, but then I recall when 0-60 in under 10 seconds was fast..(now sluggish).. Very comfortable , economical car..Huge inside. Drives compactly...Good on gas...Just what I wanted.
   Thanks for a nice review   Jack

[Fobroader]

The 2.0 turbo would be right up my alley if I was looking for a CUV, wooohooo. Nice little car though, even with the base engine.

[redman]

"We’d recommend Normal or Comfort for downtown and parking lot maneuvers, but much preferred Sport’s secure heft while at highway speeds."

Isn't this the intent of the setting anyway. Sport for highway and comfort for slow and bumpy roads ?

Sounds like the Santa Fe inching closer to the Japanese in quality/reliability and surpassing many in value features.

[Northernridge]

Not my segment of interest but I think this new Santa Fe is a very solid pick...lots of features, good price, nice packaging and really looks good in the category. I bet it's owners will report to being very satisfied in surveys to come. Although it doesn't get mentioned much anymore the Hyundai warranty is still near the top as well...I think.

[Patrick_D1]

May it wasn't broken-in at the time, but the 2.4L I test drove seemed pretty sluggish to me.

I'm still considering whether to keep my Altima after its lease runs out, or to keep it ($9,300 buyout) & trade it in for a CX-5 or another worthy crossover.

Maybe test driving a few candidates over the next few months will make the decision easier for me

It's quite possible that it wasn't broken in. The automatic transmission is adaptive, so over time it would adjust its shift patterns to suit your driving style. While the 2.4L definitely isn't a powerhouse like the turbo engine, in normal driving it's always felt more than adequate to me.

Not my segment of interest but I think this new Santa Fe is a very solid pick...lots of features, good price, nice packaging and really looks good in the category. I bet it's owners will report to being very satisfied in surveys to come. Although it doesn't get mentioned much anymore the Hyundai warranty is still near the top as well...I think.

You're correct - at 5 years/100,000 km comprehensive and powertrain, it's one of the best in the industry.

[jaari]

As ticked off as I am with HM Canada's lack of care ,this thing is gorgeous...

[G.Bombay]

We replaced our aging Escape with the same trim level Santa Fe.  The 2.0T is a hoot but we got the 2.4 to keep overall cost down and avoid speeding tickets hehe.  Strong resale numbers on the last gen Santa Fe and Hyundai's warranty made it an easy decision for us.  I also found other dealers didn't want our trade in or offered next to nothing.  Hyundai was eager to get us the best return on our trade. So far it's been a great!

[aaronk]

The old 2010/2011 V6 was cheaper than this 'premium' 4-banger. It would be nice if Hyundai offered a cheaper base turbo model for those that want the power without the frills.

[Patrick_D1]

The old 2010/2011 V6 was cheaper than this 'premium' 4-banger. It would be nice if Hyundai offered a cheaper base turbo model for those that want the power without the frills.

We do - the 2.0T Premium FWD model is just $200 more than the example tested here.

[SaskSpecV]

You're correct - at 5 years/100,000 km comprehensive and powertrain, it's one of the best in the industry.

Is it still 7-years, 100K miles in the states?  Was that just powertrain, or was it comprehensive?

[Frontier1]

I see these SF all over the place, they sure have caught on.  As for reliability against the japanese, time to move on people, thing of the past.  I think this red unit is absolutely gorgeous, I can see myself owning that, I really dig the face of that thing.

[mrthompson]

I think this red unit is absolutely gorgeous, I can see myself owning that, I really dig the face of that thing.

+!

[blotter]

As for reliability against the japanese, time to move on people, thing of the past.

agreed.  my 2009 RAV-4 V6 had one warranty issue, 1 recall and 1 TSB fix.
none of it was a big deal, but it's not what you'd expect out of the "Japanese Quality"


I do see a ton of these new SUVs.  great looking, but i still think the Kia looks just slightly better.

[Fobroader]

As for reliability against the japanese, time to move on people, thing of the past.

agreed.  my 2009 RAV-4 V6 had one warranty issue, 1 recall and 1 TSB fix.
none of it was a big deal, but it's not what you'd expect out of the "Japanese Quality"


I do see a ton of these new SUVs.  great looking, but i still think the Kia looks just slightly better.

I agree, in fact pretty well the entire Kia lineup looks better than the Hyundais.....except for the Genesis Coupe/Sedan....those are sexy!!

[ipolski]

Checked one out at the dealer the other day:
- The back seat was claustrophobic because of a crazy high windows - and I'm almost 6ft!
- Continuing with high windows, horrible visibility. Styling gets often in the way of practicality, but this is safety. I think it goes too far.
- Not a huge fan of a ninja dashboard.

Otherwise it looked fine, I really like the front end.  I'm sure we'll see tons of them around in no time.

[Jaeger]

I'm sure we'll see tons of them around in no time.

I'm already seeing tons of them.  Very nice overall package.

[S. Aureus]

I wish it had a proper AWD system. I drove a previous generation Santa Fe (rental) in the winter, and the slip-n-grip was a disaster - no comparison to our Subaru