Topic: Day-by-Day Review: 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport; Day 1

[Autos_Editor]

The Santa Fe is brand new, but has already won a few awards. James aims to find out what the fuss is about.
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[Winterpeg]

Mmmmm.......front windshield de-icer...could of used that this morning here in the 'Peg.
Why more autos don't have this as an option will never understand. In most parts of Canada it just makes perfect sense.   

[Danno001]

Fuel economy reading will be interesting. I was in a local Santa Fe AWD 2.0T that the dealer used as a shuttle. Dash indicator showed 13.1 L/100Km. Driver seemed to drive to keep up with traffic - in other words normal real world situation.

[nlm]

Front de-icers are good; front AND read de-icers are the shiznit - does the Sante Fe have them?

[Danno001]

Front de-icers are good; front AND read de-icers are the shiznit - does the Sante Fe have them?

http://www.guideautoweb.com/en/galleries/17795/?im=12

[Solstice2006]

Mmmmm.......front windshield de-icer...could of used that this morning here in the 'Peg.
Why more autos don't have this as an option will never understand. In most parts of Canada it just makes perfect sense.   

Probably because very few car companies design cars where it is cold.  What baffles me even more, is why Canada doesn't have a small car company, the size of Mazda for example, focus on things that we Canadians would find useful, good gas mileage, hatchbacks and wagons, a midsize truck, small crossover, focus on equipment like windshield de-icer, heated seats and wheel all around.

I don't think it would be unrealistic, even though Canada has small volume, some sales would go to the US, maybe even Mexico.  Of course, we would have to partner with a company to get their powertrains and share the cost, but to have the design, type of vehicle, and features consumers want would be great for our economy

[nlm]

Front de-icers are good; front AND read de-icers are the shiznit - does the Sante Fe have them?

http://www.guideautoweb.com/en/galleries/17795/?im=12

But is there a rear wiper blade de-icer to go with the rear defogger?

[Winterpeg]

Front de-icers are good; front AND read de-icers are the shiznit - does the Sante Fe have them?

http://www.guideautoweb.com/en/galleries/17795/?im=12








Yes that IS the question here....we know all vehicles have RWD (as pictured) but does the rear wiper also have it? 

But is there a rear wiper blade de-icer to go with the rear defogger?

[Brig]

Isn't the rear defogger a heating element?  Why add one that's wiper-blade specific?   

[Jaeger]

Cool.  Looking forward to this one.

[carcrazed]

On the outside, 19-inch wheels, a front windshield de-icer, twin-tip chrome exhausts and side-mirror mounted turn signal indicators finish off the Santa Fe’s agressive looks nicely.

Should this be a front windshield wiper de-icer instead?  I doubt the front windshield has a heating element all over like the rear hatch window.

A rear wiper de-icer would be great, but I don't think this car has it.

On the car itself, I too look forward to what wing thinks of it after a week.

[wing]

Yes, it should be, I guess I should clarify that.  Thanks.

[Weels]

This is a very nice vehicle that I quite enjoyed in my time behind the wheel.  Does lots of things right (simple, easy to use controls, nice materials, etc..)
Only real negative is a pretty stiff ride.

If I were in the market for such a vehicle i'd be scheduling back to back tests of this and an Acura RDX to see if the Acura is worth the price premium.

Oh yes, the heated steering wheel would ROCK... i'd rather have that than the heated seats.

[carcrazed]

This is a very nice vehicle that I quite enjoyed in my time behind the wheel.  Does lots of things right (simple, easy to use controls, nice materials, etc..)
Only real negative is a pretty stiff ride.

If I were in the market for such a vehicle i'd be scheduling back to back tests of this and an Acura RDX to see if the Acura is worth the price premium.

Although I didn't drive the RDX and this back to back, these are the two vehicles I test drove recently.
I found the materials used in RDX to be more luxurious.  The ride was also more compliant than the Santa Fe SE from what I could feel.
And like I said in other threads, Santa Fe's steering wheel just feels too smooth to convince me that it's a decent quality leather.

Wing, how do you like the Santa Fe's 'leather' steering wheel?

[aaronk]

Yes, I believe they are reffering to a WIPER de-icer. It's a thin strip of heating elements (similar to what you'd find on the back window) that are underneath the resting spot of the wiper blades on the front windshield. It works only in tandem with the rear window defroster, which also activates the side mirror heaters.

It is mildly effective on our Santa Fe - it's a good feature, but it's not warm enough, nor does it penetrate the blade enough, to be 'revolutionary'. A heated wiper arm + blade would be the cure-all but that would be complicated and expensive. The de-icing windshield wiper fluid does a good job at removing ice build-up and it's a no-brainer addition to your winter maintenance regimen.

[Fobroader]

Yes, I believe they are reffering to a WIPER de-icer. It's a thin strip of heating elements (similar to what you'd find on the back window) that are underneath the resting spot of the wiper blades on the front windshield. It works only in tandem with the rear window defroster, which also activates the side mirror heaters.

It is mildly effective on our Santa Fe - it's a good feature, but it's not warm enough, nor does it penetrate the blade enough, to be 'revolutionary'. A heated wiper arm + blade would be the cure-all but that would be complicated and expensive. The de-icing windshield wiper fluid does a good job at removing ice build-up and it's a no-brainer addition to your winter maintenance regimen.

Do you know what the replacement cost of your windshield is?? Im just wondering because I figure the addition of the elements will drive the cost sky high.

[conwelpic]

Mmmmm.......front windshield de-icer...could of used that this morning here in the 'Peg.
Why more autos don't have this as an option will never understand. In most parts of Canada it just makes perfect sense.   

Probably because very few car companies design cars where it is cold.  What baffles me even more, is why Canada doesn't have a small car company, the size of Mazda for example, focus on things that we Canadians would find useful, good gas mileage, hatchbacks and wagons, a midsize truck, small crossover, focus on equipment like windshield de-icer, heated seats and wheel all around.

I don't think it would be unrealistic, even though Canada has small volume, some sales would go to the US, maybe even Mexico.  Of course, we would have to partner with a company to get their powertrains and share the cost, but to have the design, type of vehicle, and features consumers want would be great for our economy

the importers like Hyundai Canada specify how the vehicles are to be equipped to be brought into this market, so they can put these features you mentioned that are geared to our conditions and climate.  You will generally see that the same vehicle in the US will not be equipped the same as the one we get.
They test there vehicles in extreme cold areas around the world - Hyundai/Kia do a lot of there cold weather testing in Norway and Sweden for there various models, hot weather testing is done a lot in Death Valley.

[conwelpic]

Do you know what the replacement cost of your windshield is?? Im just wondering because I figure the addition of the elements will drive the cost sky high.

why do you replace it frequently?    I had that feature in my '08 Rondo and I think it was about $75 to $100 more than one without it, it wasn't a massive increase.

[Fobroader]

Do you know what the replacement cost of your windshield is?? Im just wondering because I figure the addition of the elements will drive the cost sky high.

why do you replace it frequently?    I had that feature in my '08 Rondo and I think it was about $75 to $100 more than one without it, it wasn't a massive increase.

Because the "sand" that the City of Edmonton lays down during the winter is actually gravel, and windshields here are replaced quite frequently.

[Cord]

It is mildly effective on our Santa Fe - it's a good feature, but it's not warm enough, nor does it penetrate the blade enough, to be 'revolutionary'. A heated wiper arm + blade would be the cure-all but that would be complicated and expensive.

Yes, it's one thing to keep the blade from sticking to the windshield. However, the real issue is to keep ice from freezing to the blade making it useless. The only thing I've seen that works is the "wiper shakers" that I've seen on some trucks where a small electric motor rapidly vibrates the blade against the windshield, breaking up the ice build up.