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Just last week, we reported that the all-new 2024 Chevrolet Traverse will see a large price jump. In what is looking to be an industry trend, Hyundai just reported significant price increases for its large mid-size 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe. The new 2024 Santa Fe base price starts at $33,950 plus a destination charge of $1,395, bringing the out-the-door MSRP to $35,345. That is $5,260 more expensive than a 2023 Santa Fe SE at $28,750 plus $1,335 destination. The middle-of-the-road "rugged" trim XRT sees the largest jump in price, climbing $6,350 from $34,250 to $40,600 before destination charges. Buyers of the base hybrid trim see the least of the increase, only $2,540 from the 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Blue trim to the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid SEL AWD trim. New for 2024 is the availability of the hybrid in front-wheel drive which brings the hybrid cost back down to around the 2023 AWD Hybrid base price. That said, these price increases aren't without merit. The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe has increased significantly in size, adding a third row. The base, naturally aspirated 4-cylinder has been dropped and all non-hybrid models now have the 277-horsepower 2.5-liter direct-injected 4-cylinder turbo as standard. Hybrids are powered by a 1.6-liter turbo with 231-horsepower combined system output. Gasoline models come with an 8-speed automatic while hybrids get a 6-speed unit. All trims, except the all-wheel drive only XRT, are available in front-wheel or all-wheel drive. The plug-in is absent for now, but mules have been spotted, so it could be coming. View full article

It's not really the same class of vehicle. Kia wants to call it a crossover, but its a sporty hatch.

The inline-6 is about smoothness and luxury feel. 280 horsepower is plenty for the class. They feel like butter. No one is counting 0-60 times running to the Real Estate Brokerage and back, but they want the experience to be nice.

Compass sales have cratered because they've jacked the price way up. Pick any options on the base model besides color, and you're instantly catapulted into a Latitude and to about $32k. Another thousand dollars gets you into a vastly superior Honda CR-V EX AWD. The Compass isn't a bad vehicle, but it doesn't have the room or interior to go up against the big players in the segment. They also lease horribly. Who's paying $548 a month for a 48-month lease on a Compass with $3k down? They'll use the poor sales as an excuse to cancel it. An EV replacement for the Cherokee is coming, but it will get a new name and, I'm sure, a hefty new price tag.

No one cares about 0-60 anymore. Fast enough is fast enough. If you want speed, trade in the horse and buggy and get an EV.

Except the CX-70 wheelbase is longer than a BMW X7 or a Chevy Traverse. This is a 202 inch long vehicle that only seats 5. I don't get the point of making a CX-90 with 2 less seats. Why spend the R&D and marketing and certification budget to just cannibalize sales you are already getting with the CX-90? I appreciate Mazda making rear drive, inline six, the long hood and short overhang rear like a German car. If you want performance that is the formula to follow. Although the other mystery to me is how a 3.3 liter turbo 6 makes 280 hp when any garden variety NA V6 from 10 years ago was making over 300 hp. The 340 hp variant should be the base tune, and if they were even going to have a high output they should be making 440 hp easily. If they really want to take on BMW they better step their game up, but I think no one is cross shopping a BMW and a Mazda, and Mazda's quest to go up market is probably just going to accelerate their demise since they are way behind on the EV game and they don't have the money to really get into it. Who is really buying $60,000 CX-90s? Go buy a Lexus for less money if you want reliablity and resale value. You can see it now, go drive a CX-90 and remove the 3rd row seat. LOL

I cannot figure out what they are doing with the Wagoneer brand. They make the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer "not Jeep", but style them like Jeeps. Seriously, go to the Jeep page, and Wagoneer is treated as a separate brand. And now the new EV (which looks great) is a Jeep Wagoneer S. So my suspicion is that Jeep has some weird crush on Land Rover / Range Rover, and now we're going to get these weird brand mashups that happened before the JLR consolidation where you'd buy a Land Rover Range Rover, Land Rover Range Rover Sport, Land Rover Range Rover Velar, and Land Rover Range Rover Evoque.

It's exciting to me LOL.. I like woodgrain interiors. Frustrating... one of the problems with my LaCrosse is it's a tight squeeze when getting in... I can only duck so much.

I dunno if I'd call open-pore wood "exciting", but for the price difference between the X3 and what this will likely come in at, I could overlook that anyway. The instrument cluster is fully digital and reconfigurable.

Also, all of these SUV/CUVs look deceptive from the outside, meaning you'd have a decent rearward view from the inside. Not. They each require at least a "test sit."

You can actually price a Compass Limited well over $45k without even going to a Trailhawk. But here is the problem with the Compass in one screen shot with similar equipment and features:

Kia is also moving up market, dropping the Rio, K5, the Soul is dying too. They want you to buy Tellurides and EV's for $55k. They are all moving up market because they think there is an endless amount of people that can afford $55k new cars, but there aren't. Tesla if they really deliver on the sub $30k compact crossover before tax credit will take massive market share since by then people won't be able to afford Kias and Mazdas anymore.