2023 Hyundai Santa Fe

Pros:

• Several essential features at a price you can afford
• Easy-to-use driver assistance systems with the latest technology
• For quick acceleration, you can get a 2.5-liter turbocharged engine.
• A better guarantee

Cons:

• A soft suspension makes driving less fun for the driver.
• The speed at which could make the 10.25-inch touchscreen response better.

How is driving in Santa Fe? We put the 277-hp turbocharged engine of the Santa Fe through its paces. Our test car went from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 6.6 seconds, faster than most small and medium-sized SUVs. Its power supply is random and well-tuned unless you ask for full speed. Also, Hyundai changed the eight-speed automatic transmission to get the fastest top speeds possible.

When turning, the Santa Fe leans a lot, making it less stable than a Mazda CX-5. Not for racing but for going slowly down the highway. On the other hand, the steering of the Santa Fe is well-tuned, which makes it easy to control at low speeds and stable enough on the highway.

How easy is it to live in Santa Fe? The Santa Fe suspension smooths out most bumps in the road, but sometimes the ride is too soft and squishy. But the front seats are very comfortable and can be adjusted in many ways. They can also be heated and cooled if you want. Even though we’d like the armrests to have firmer padding, the back seats are also comfortable and easy to adjust.

The Santa Fe is very well insulated because it has front windows with two panes and a lot of soundproofing. Road, wind, and background noise are all much quieter. The climate controls are easy to use and do a great job of keeping the inside of the car at a comfortable temperature.

How does the inside look? Most of the time, Santa Fe has enough room, especially for legs. Even though the panoramic sunroof that comes with the car cuts into headroom in both rows, the rear seat’s ample recline helps make up for it. Most controls are physical buttons and knobs arranged in a way that makes sense and is easy to use.

The front and back rows have a lot of space and legroom, and the big doorways make getting in and out easy. Visibility is also good because the rear window is a good size, and the back headrests don’t get in the way too much. The optional surround-view camera system makes parking more accessible, and the side-view mirrors on the doors help you avoid blind spots.

How good is the tech? Our test car had a 10.25-inch screen as an option. Unfortunately, responding to what we typed sometimes took a long time, and the graphics could have been more exciting. The premium audio system in Santa Fe plays loud, clear music, but we wish it were more immersive. With smartphones, you can use Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and CarPlay takes up about two-thirds of the 10.25-inch screen.

To save space, the wireless charger has a spring-loaded groove that can swallow small things like loose change and is hard to get out. There are a lot of power ports and USB ports.

Hyundai makes some of the best technologies that help drivers. The adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assist work well to make rush-hour driving less stressful. Even though some drivers might find blind-spot monitoring and forward collision prevention too sensitive, they work very well.

What about putting things away? The Santa Fe has a good-sized cargo area behind the back seats (36.4 cubic feet) and some functional storage under the floor. You can fold down the second-row seats by using the remote seat releases in the trunk and the back passenger doors. This makes good use of the space and makes it possible to store the cargo cover.

There’s plenty of storage space in the cabin for you to bring all your belongings. The electronic gear selector in Hyundai’s cars makes a lot of room behind the center console. There is space in and around the glovebox and in the armrest bin, and the cupholders won’t fall over if you put something in them. The Santa Fe can pull up to 3,500 pounds when properly equipped. It can pull more than most small SUVs, but not as much as bigger SUVs like the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport and Honda Passport.

Do you have little kids? It’s easy to get to the anchor points, and there’s a lot of room for child safety seats.

How well does it use gasoline? The EPA says that the Santa Fe, with its upgraded turbo engine and all-wheel drive gets a combined fuel economy of 24 mpg (21 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway). On our 115-mile test route, we got 27.3 mpg, which shows that the Santa Fe can meet EPA standards. This is impressive since Santa Fe’s engine has more power than the V6 engines of some competitors.

Does it make sense to go to Santa Fe? The Santa Fe is still a great choice in terms of price and features. Even though there are a few small things that aren’t perfect, like the thinly padded door armrests, the overall quality of the materials and design is excellent. On the other hand, the top-of-the-line Calligraphy trim level is less expensive than competitors with similar equipment, has a faster powertrain, and uses less fuel.

Hyundai has added three years to its industry-leading basic warranty of five years or 60,000 miles and powertrain warranty of ten years or 100,000 miles. All Hyundai cars have a strong sense of value.

Santa Fe does its primary job well: to get people from one place to another in comfort and at a reasonable price. Even with the improved turbo engine, it’s a bit fun to drive, and the latest design change makes it look like Hyundai is trying too hard to make its cars stand out.

As of this writing, Hyundai has yet to make official statements about the 2023 Santa Fe. If anything changes, we’ll change our recommendation, but based on the Santa Fe from last year, we’d recommend upgrading to the SEL trim, which adds several nice extras without making the price go up by a lot.

Hyundai Santa Fe models

The Hyundai Santa Fe SUV can fit up to five people. It has five models: SE, SEL, XRT, Limited, and Calligraphy. All Santa Fe grades come standard with front-wheel drive, and all-wheel drive can be added as an option. There are also the Santa Fe Hybrid and the Santa Fe Plug-in Hybrid, each described separately on the Invoice Pricing page.