Brian Douglas
For just a moment or two, I thought the press fleet team had delivered a Range Rover instead of the Hyundai Santa Fe I was scheduled to evaluate. Later, a neighbor volunteered the same opinion. The similarity of the shape and persona of the two different brands caused me to recall the story of the press introduction in 1975 for the new Cadillac Seville, when GM’s legendary chief designer Bill Mitchell was asked if he “borrowed” the sharply creased rear roof line from Mercedes-Benz. Mitchell scowled at the reporter and replied “I might plea to lifting the style from Rolls-Royce, but if I’m going to steal, I’ll rob a bank, not a gas station.”
I’m not suggesting that the Santa Fe’s designer SangYup Lee was necessarily inspired by the wellknown British sports utility brand, although he previously applied his skills in England with Bentley where I’m sure he encountered a few Rovers. SangYup, who has done a masterful job refining Hyundai Motor Group’s Genesis marque, offered that the new, upright style better defines the utility people want from these conveyances. And what the heck, if your $50-grand Hyundai is mistaken for a $100-grand Range Rover, that’s not a bad car day.
The new Santa Fe hardly hides its Hyundai heritage. Under the logo badge, the front and rear lights create an unmistakable “H” that prominently imply the brand. It’s cool and I trust that we’ll see more of this refinement in Hyundai’s other models.
The new Santa Fe has gained plenty of substance to accompany its fresh appearance. It’s grown to a three-row SUV and a bit closer to its big brother the Palisade. In fact, if you’re not towing a trailer that weighs more than 3,500-pounds (Palisade can pull 5,000), the Santa Fe is a pretty compelling choice in this big family-friendly segment.
Along with added size, there’s a bit more girth to move about with the scales now tipped at 4,486-pounds curb weight. So our Santa Fe Calligraphy model tasked its turbocharged, 2.5-liter engine with its eight-speed transmission to deliver respectable performance, and with 311 lb-ft of torque, it’s up to the task. I wouldn’t recommend drag race challenges with most fellow motorists, but come-on you’ve got the whole family on board and that’s why you didn’t buy the Challenger Hellcat Redeye. You may just have to curb your racing enthusiasm ‘till the kids are grown up.
Our Santa Fe was nicely finished in an Earthy Brass Matte paint that communicated a contemporary, upscale demeanor along with its fresh styling. The top trim Calligraphy edition continues to impress inside with heated and ventilated Napa leather seating along with a host of attributes most often found in luxury brands. All Santa Fe models incorporate a Panoramic Curved Display, a large, high-resolution screen that displays the instrument cluster and infotainment.
Although I didn’t press the new Santa Fe into hauling friends and family or a load of gear during my week’s evaluation, I have little doubt that it was more than up to the task. And if you want to take your adventure a bit off-road, there’s an XRT version for that duty. In fact a Santa Fe model exists for nearly all budgets, from the front-drive SE at $33,950 to our luxurious Calligraphy edition with its $50,905 window sticker. Other rivals include Ford’s Explorer Limited and for a interesting mix of economy with utility, Mitsubishi’s Outlander PHEV.
Brian Douglas has driven everything with wheels during his career in automotive technical, marketing and journalism professions. If you have a question or story to share, he can be reached at brian@autoeditor.com