New York 2012: Hyundai Santa Fe

by Jack Baruth

Published: April 4th, 2012

The original Santa Fe used a 2.7-liter V-6 that was supposedly developed by Porsche — and the joke went that the Germans traded that engineering for the Santa Fe’s styling so they could “Design” the Cayenne.

That story no longer applies. The new Santa Fe has homegrown world-class engines and styling that beats the Porker six ways to Sunday.

The Santa Fe now “plays” in the seven-seater “space”, leaving the Tuscon to fill the compact five-seater role. Of the four Santa Fe trim levels, however, only one — the GLS — is a true seven-seat, three-row player. The rest are five-or-six-seaters. The interesting entry is the 2.0T, which slots the near-ubiquitous four-cylinder turbo into a five-seat sporting variant. Six-speed automatics are standard across the board. Hyundai’s SUV lineup was the weakest link in its American plans, and with this Santa Fe, thirty-three percent of this problem has likely been rectified.

Jack Baruth

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Schmitt trigger on Apr 05, 2012

Please correct me if I'm wrong...but doesn't turbo-boosted engines require PREMIUM gas? Would the more expensive fuel offset the slight MPG gains? That, the weaker low-end torque and the added complexity of the turbo I would still choose the V6. But that is only me.

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TheHammer on Apr 05, 2012

Rest assured this thing will ride and handle poorly. Hyundai has perfected pirating cues from others and throwing together a cheap platypus of a vehicle. Boring

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Tassos Isn't this just a Golf Wagon with better styling and interior?I still cannot get used to the fact how worthless the $ has become compared to even 8 years ago, when I was able to buy far superior and more powerful cars than this little POS for.... 1/3rd less, both from a dealer, as good as new, and with free warranties. Oh, and they were not 15 year olds like this geezer, but 8 and 9 year olds instead.
ToolGuy Will it work in a Tesla?
ToolGuy No hybrid? No EV? What year is this? lolI kid -- of course there is an electric version.
Tassos No, this is for sure NOT my favorite Caddy. Very few Caddys with big fins work out as designs.FOr interiors, I much prefer the Caddys and other US luxury cars from the 30s, Packards etc. After the war, they ditched the generous wood veneer (without which no proper luxury car) for either nothing or the worse than nothing fake wood.For exterior, I like many Caddys from the 60s and early 70s, when the fins slowly diminished and finally disappearedEven the current " Art and Science" angular styling is quite good and has lasted a quarter century (from the first CTS). They even look better than most Bangled BMWs and even some Mercs.- from outside only.
ToolGuy Good for them.