DRIVEN: 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe SEL 2.4 AWD and 2.0t Limited AWD

[regfootball]

DRIVEN: 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe SEL 2.4 AWD and 2.0t Limited AWD

HIGHS: 

-Pleasant new shape, and a new larger size. Not a tweener anymore.

-Value for the dollar.  Sticker prices comparable to Equinox / Terrain in a much larger package.  Lots of standard safety equipment that is not yet standard in even near lux or lux makes.

-Nice space inside, both rows, Nice cabin width, ample leg room, nice driving position with really comfortable seats, even the back seats comfortable.  Super hot heated seats.

-Not a luxury interior but nice fresh design, and some interesting new materials for non-luxury.  Dash plastic is nice, door plastic decent, even the fake wood in the SEL trim, even though its obviously fake, is unique and interesting; blends in to the overall level of design nicely.  Fresh and interesting looking seat cloth which looks nicer than a lot of other competitors average seat cloth these days.  Some of the roof / liner material simulates a linen and is a nice change from the normal stuff you see from everyone else.  Excellent and precise fit of interior dash and panel pieces.

-Nicely effective center stack and gauge layout.  Maybe too simple for some, but very easy to use and identify.  Gauge / display are crisp and look good when lit in blue.  Touchscreen in a nice spot up high.

-Sport drive mode is available and actually is a noticeable change in engine shift points and aggressiveness.

-Nice size cargo area, very usable.  Seats easily can fold down when at the passenger door.

-Steering wasn't objectionable.  The average consumer would be good with it.

-Turbo 2.0 engine is fairly pleasing in noise and smoothness.  While not much quicker seemingly than the 2.4, it does feel like a choice most owners would be far more happy with over the life of a lease or payment book.

LOWS:

-Lane keep assist is too damn determined to keep you in the lane; it's very aggressive to point of being creepy.  Makes me concerned how well Hyundai does the safety systems in terms of reliability and proper functioning.

-Really hated how the gauge lighting changed to Pontiac Excitement! red when you selected the sport drive mode.

-Touchscreen is pretty small by today's standards.... it could stand to be angled up a little more to the eye, too, actually.

-Even with as decent as the interior is, it clearly remains a non luxury / non aspirational interior.

-2.4 engine is spunky, but pretty noisy and maybe average smoothness or below at best.  In combination with a power sapping all wheel drive, it's not an endearing powertrain combo.  It takes a lot of coaxing to get decent motion out of it.

-2.0 engine as mentioned above is better, and is smoother overall.  The issue with the 2.0 and AWD combo is that it maybe isn't as much faster than the 2.4 that it should be.  I almost think they should make the 2.0t standard on all trims but the base trim.  And they should try to get more tune of the 2.0 if they can.  In both cases, overall, the powertrains just don't feel anything besides average or a below average in overall feel and performance.

-I mentioned creepy above, in fact at the end of the day there is just an overall little bit of a creepy feel to each Hyundai I drive and this has that in spades as well.  Something that is slightly unfinished and unpolished about it.  But maybe it's because I am so used to driving domestic vehicles that Hyundai just feels weird each time.  Sort of like, this is reverse engineered greatly sort of feel.

SUMMARY:

Perfectly pleasing and a more than adequate for most of Hyundai's buyer base.....those who want cheap payments, easy credit, value, good list of standard safety features, and lots of warranty.  It's hard to know where this sits compared to Hondas and Toyotas etc. The size upgrade to the Sante Fe really makes it a good 'value' choice vs. a Ford Edge, for example, although I am guessing i would much prefer the Edge each time.  The SF is definitely no longer a tweener you'd compare to something in the compact SUV class.  The perfectly acceptable interior and the space it affords will also be seen as a plus among buyers.  Drivers seeking class leading driving dynamics may not go for the Santa Fe, but those who don't really care will be absolutely fine with how it drives.

It's what I call a B, scoring lots of points for value and being appealing to a wide buyer base, and having lots of space.  There are many of those buyers out there.  But be sure to look at other choices, many of which would be a more satisfying rig overall.  the Santa Fe is still nothing aspirational for sure.  It's nothing that is a great disappointment though, either.

Edited December 30, 2018 by regfootball