- Cool cabin with tons of technology in higher trims
- Amazingly flexible space for three rows of people or hauling stuff
- XRT trim adds real off-road ability without compromising everyday comfort
- Blocky exterior styling is polarizing
- You’ll need to go up a vehicle class if you need more room in the third row
– Franklin, TN
The COVID-19 pandemic left an indelible mark on the global community. Masks, Zoom life, an explosion of digital commerce, shortages of everything, deepening of already terrifying social and political divides – the works. The car design community wasn’t immune (pardon the pun) either.
Conceived and designed amid the pandemic lockdown, Kevin Kang and the Hyundai design team had a singular concept top of mind during the creation process of this new Santa Fe: escape. Capturing the zeitgeist of the moment in the form of a family SUV.
The goal, as ever with this vehicle segment, was to offer a vehicle that would meet the basic needs of a family and also allow for the kind of edge-case adventuring that Kang (and many of us) were dreaming about while scared to leave our homes.
Maximized Utility
When I was a kid, adventure and escape were personified behind the Victorinox case at our local outdoor outfitter’s store (shout out to The Outpost in Holland, Michigan). Swiss Army knives were a social currency when I was a middle schooler, and the fatter and more stuffed with tools the better. (I’m not sure if today’s big dog “Swiss Champ XXL” with its 73 functions and $395 price tag was sold back then, but it’s the kind of knife I dreamed about.)
Hyundai engineers have seemingly taken the Swiss Army approach to this radically updated Santa Fe, especially with the off-road capable XRT trim. Here, Hyundai offers would-be explorers wider, higher-profile Continental TerrainContact all-terrain tires on 18-inch wheels, reprogrammed traction control logic, and 8.3 inches of total ground clearance – up 1.3 over the other trims. And while the XRT doesn’t have a low-range transfer case, it does have a locking center diff that preserves forward momentum when wheel slip is detected.
On a day-to-day level, the all-wheel ability won’t be as impressive as the overall flexibility of the interior arrangements (more on that in a second), but the XRT adds are far from cosmetic. In much the same way your Swiss Army knife’s 3-inch saw blade can be incredibly useful despite its diminutive size, the Santa Fe’s off-road chops are going to be enough for most drivers in the vast majority of situations.
All that isn’t to say the XRT won’t get you up to your campsite, even if your camp is well off the proverbial beaten path. The Hyundai team gave us a far more aggressive off-roading course, winding through the Tennessee backcountry, than I’m used to for first drive programs of mass-market SUVs.
Through a muddy and rutted creekbed, a steep climb on a loosely surfaced two-track, and scrambling over and around large washouts, the Hyundai comported itself with surprising tenacity. There were a few occasions when I ran out of suspension travel before I powered through a deep rut, but nothing serious enough to leave a lasting scratch on the vehicle. Unless your family camp has a Moab address (and maybe even then), the Santa Fe XRT has got this.
Three-Row Multitool
I am a large human being – when you become a regular reader of CARiD Drive you’ll get used to me calling out being 6-foot-5 – with a normal-sized wife and two large baby boys. Believe me when I tell you that I’ve got a good eye for the size, spacing, and flexibility of a cabin. The Santa Fe rides on a 110-inch wheelbase, pretty standard for a midsize SUV and about 10 inches shorter than a fullsize three-row. The room afforded for passengers and cargo within that manageable footprint is impressive.
Even at my height, space in the first two rows was accommodating. I had to stoop and bend pretty deeply to get into the third row, but once planted back there I was just able to fit. Does a Jeep Grand Wagoneer L have more space in the back? Absolutely, but unless you’re packing in NBA shooting guards, chances are great that your passengers’ll be okay for short- and medium-length trips. There are even four cupholders and places to charge your devices all the way back there – score.
Like the old Swiss Champ, the Santa Fe can reconfigure based on the job at hand, too. If you’re like me it’s more likely you need to put a lot of stuff in your SUV, rather than a lot of people. Here, Hyundai has done incredible work by widening the interior space but not the external dimensions. The 2024 model has increased the rear cargo aperture by 5.7 inches, while the overall width stays steady from the 2023 car.
That impressive width, coupled with 3 inches more height and two rows of fold-flat seats, offers a ton of room to easily fit large, bulky things or just a ton of bags. The new Santa Fe’s max cargo figure of 79.6 cubic feet is only a little shy of that Sequoia’s 86.9 figure (though I’m admittedly cherrypicking my fullsize targets – the big Toyota is surprisingly cramped inside). But you get the idea.
Hyundai is also reaching Honda-like levels of interior cubby space here, with a commodious center console that has a bin, center passthrough storage, big cupholders, and optional twin wireless charging mats. There are also two gloveboxes, and on the top Calligraphy trim, one of ‘em has a disinfecting UV light feature that is obvious evidence that this car was a Covid baby. Parents will appreciate the second-row drawer storage, which could be used as an ad hoc garbage can or place to throw all the Lorna Doone wrappers and Happy Meal toys when you just don’t have the energy to properly clean. Real talk.
Whittling The Best Box
I’m going to zag on the thing you noticed first when you clicked on this article: the radically updated styling for the ’24 Santa Fe model. I applaud Kang and crew for taking some artistic risks here, and I won’t argue that they’ve brought real tension to a shape that was meant to be, "...the best-looking box ever.” What’s more, in scanning the coverage of the car so far, I think most reviewers love the blunt, angular shapes here. I’m just not a huge fan.
The color options are impressive – Earthy Brass and Rockwood Green being top-notch in my book – but “rounded square” wheel arches always make me cringe, and I think the very busy, many-box-shapes front fascia will be as hard to keep clean as it is to look at. And apparently the design team used up its allotment of flourishes on the front of the car, as the tailgate is a nearly featureless, slabby canvass for a Hyundai logo and an oversized wordmark. I’m not a designer and my wife is convinced I’m colorblind, so obviously your mileage may vary here.
I haven’t said much about driving the Santa Fe on road yet because, frankly, I’m far less opinionated on this topic. Hyundai’s 277-horsepower, 311-pound-feet of torque, turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder is telepathically matched to its eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, with the only untoward behavior a tiny bit of jerkiness launching when I was on the trail. On road the DCT dropped away into invisibility, and the power from the turbo’d engine was just enough to keep up with larger classmates like the Honda Pilot and Toyota Grand Highlander.
Form Or Function
The Grand Highlander and Pilot are the vehicles that three-row shoppers should have on the shortlist, along with the new Hyundai. My design critique notwithstanding, the Santa Fe has fresher vibes than both of those humdrum SUVs, but left-brainers will find the comparison compelling.
The Santa Fe manages 19 miles per gallon in the city and 26 on the highway with its turbo engine and all-wheel drive. Toyota ekes out 21/29 figures with a turbo engine and AWD, while the V6-powered Honda can only manage 19/25. Toyota doesn’t have a survivalist-inspired package to match the XRT or Honda’s Pilot Trailsport, but it does have the biggest cargo area at 97.5 cubic feet and the highest towing capacity at 5,000 pounds. Now we’re talking 4- to 5-inch foldable saws, folks.
Hyundai has the ultimate spec to trumpet however: price. An AWD Santa Fe SE goes for an all-in price of $37,145, where a similarly positioned Honda Pilot Sport is $43,395 and the comparable Grand Highlander XLE is $44,920. With that baseline, the $41,995 price for the Santa Fe XRT feels like an absolute bargain, even if you only go camping twice a summer like me.
With that kind of workload, I don’t think I’m ready to make the $400 investment in the Swiss Champ XXL. The $75 Ranger model, with a bottle opener, corkscrew, and of course a tiny saw, is more my speed. With that perfectly balanced tool, and another week with the unfailingly functional new Santa Fe, I feel up for just about any kind of family adventure.
Base Price: $40,600 + $1,395
As-Tested Price: $41,995
Engine: Turbocharged 2.5-Liter I4
Output: 277 Horsepower / 311 Pound Feet
Transmission: Eight-Speed Dual-Clutch Automatic
Drive: All-Wheel
EPA Fuel Economy: 19 City / 26 Highway / 22 Combined
Weight: 4,486 Pounds
Seating: 7
Cargo Capacity: 14.6 / 40.6 / 79.6 Cubic Feet
Max Towing: 4,500 Pounds
Ground Clearance: 8.3 Inches
