We have a '21 Santa Fe Hybrid Limited and we love it! (It's the wife's car.) It is a very smooth ride in town and on road trips. Gets about the same mileage going to the grocery as a 4 hour trip on the interstate. (34 MPG) love all the helpful tech also like Highway Drive Assist, Smart Cruise and the 360 cameras. Better than the Highlander and $8,000 cheaper.
I have a 22 Santa Fe Limited (non-hybrid) for sometime now and it’s been going amazing😀! Great size SUV and goodies along w/ it. I would recommend this choice to anyone looking into fair sized SUV😀!! Great review Rati🙂!!
Hello Joe! For years I was driving a 2015 Toyota Tacoma, but last month I got t-boned in an intersection in Phoenix. My truck was totaled but I am safe and uninjured. I got my insurance check. And instead of buying another truck because they're so expensive. I bought a used Hyundai Santa Fe. And I am loving it because it has all those features you are talking about and it was on sale because it was used.
We’ve had ours for almost 3 months and love it. It’s quiet and pretty luxurious. It has good acceleration mainly because we don’t think everything has to so damned fast. The sound system is pretty good but could be a bit better. The SEL Premium is a good pkg but it just doesn’t make sense to me why all trims don’t have front parking assist as well as seat memory…especially when you have a pano sunroof. Great gas mileage for a large vehicle too…540 miles on 1 tank compared to coming from 311 miles in a RAV4.
@@RaitisRides the Santa Fe gets no zonks As for the Highlander though that’s a different story… 1. Exterior design and styling - zonk 2. Interior design - zonk 3. Materials quality - zonk 4. Build quality - zonk 5. Fit and finish - zonk 6. Technology - zonk 7. Luxury features - zonk 8. Interior space - zonk 9. Cargo space - zonk 10. Performance - zonk 11. Handling - zonk 12. Value - zonk So as you can see a Highlander gets zonks in every single category
We cross shopped all of them and there is such a difference in refinement, quietness, and power. The Santa Fe hybrid had more sound deadening equipment and is way more refined than the rivals. Not as good mpg as the others? ok, but quieter, drives better, and you save many thousands of dollars. Bonus? Best warranty in the business. Sold- Go drive and compare for yourselves.
I looked at what Toyota and Honda had in similar SUV'S but in the end went with the Santa Fe Hybrid Blue and saved some money as well. Definitely worth it. I like the way it drives and the interior room.
I’ve got the PHEV Santa Fe. Great car, lots of technology, good size for my needs. Tucson would be too small and the Palisade is too big/pricey. Always appreciate the car reviews.
Close, but no cigar... that "iPad super-glued to the dash" look is so old-school and really just kills the look of the interior. That was a zero-effort in cabin styling just gluing that infotainment screen to the top of the dash and looks incredibly dated in car design.
I would get this over the Highlander 2.4 now. Getting rid of the V6 on the Highlander was a huge step backwards for Toyota. Beautiful Santa Fe Hybrid so far!
GOAT! I’ll take this over the Toyota Highlander in a heartbeat. Santa Fe has more amenities and updated technology. It’s almost a premium luxury brand even. Toyota is lazy with their designs and technology. The biggest is dropping that bulletproof V6 for a 4-cylinder cvt. Also, the new Highlander looks almost identical to the new Lexus RX. They are obviously copying and pasting Toyota cars onto Lexus models and rebadging. A better matchup is the mid 2010 Highlander to this Santa Fe
I have a 2021 Santa Fe Hybrid Limited. Mine comes with a Spare Tire. The Highway Driving Assist is out of this world. Cruise Control with Stop and Go, is amazing. The Safety features are great. This vehicle beeps when in Reverse. The Highlander does not do it. I often get 44 mpg on my Sante Fe. I love my vehicle so much that in 18 months, I have driven 29K miles.
Hey navin, do you have any major or minor issues on your Santa Fe? I’m looking to get one and worry about the common issues. Please share your experience! Thanks
You didn't mention the power folding side mirrors. This is very important to me because I live in an older home and the entry to my double door garage is much smaller than the more recent homes. I have been waiting for a Santa Fe Hybrid limited for over a year, I am afraid that I might have another year to get what I want.
Overall pretty decent SUV, still dislike that whole split level headlamp system. Definitely love that blind spot system in the gauges. Wish Honda would have done that
Joe, hi. Another Great review. Comprehensive, informative, and fun. Thanks! I'm looking for a Goldilocks SUV, not to big and not too small. I bought a 2017 CRV new and just turned 50k miles. I love the CRV, but on longer trips, I would like a little more comfort. 2023 CRV is a little bigger and heard it was stiffer, more comfortable in seats and better sound dampening , so I will give it a look. I do love Hondas, but the Sante Fe Hybrid seems to be calling me for a little more space, comfort and great mpg. Would love a Passport or Pilot (I'm a Honda guy having owned several), but mpg isn't great and they are too big, like Telluride and Palisade. CRV gets around 31 overall and I don't want to go lower so Sante Fe and maybe Sorento are on the radar. Thank you again!
For people like me who doesn’t care about speed or how fast a car gets to 60. I love good looking cars with beautiful interior and comfortable styling. This is a ✅ for me.❤
I remember New Year's Eve 1999 and the start of Y2K well. My New Year's Eve dinner was a big sirloin at Cheddar's in Bedford (Fort Worth suburb), Texas, and apple pie a la mode for dessert. And I volunteered to work at my bank's Dallas office on New Year's Day to help alleviate the fears of all hell breaking loose, printing all the year-end reports and documents on the large Xerox 4050 laser printer. I was given the choice of OT pay or two days for my participation. I took the OT. It was a fun day. Nobody was on my floor so I had my rock n roll turned up as I worked. I miss those days. Speaking of Y2K, Mike Judge's "Office Space" is a great cult movie, and also prophetic for the downsizing years that were to come shortly.
The pros of this suv over the highlander hybrid is get better technology. Toyota has been slowly getting better at it but late to the game. you got more room here which is a plus for people. Just 2 rows. What Toyota shines at is their awesome hybrid technology that has been the leader for decades. Hyundai is new to it but not a bad second option
I already commented before, but wanted to answer the question about whether or not we need the Santa Fe. I would say yes (personally), because the Highlander, Palisade, and CX-9 are all too big for my garage. At the time when I bought mine the new model Tucson was not yet available, but it didn't matter. The Santa Fe has much better seats and driving position than the Tucson, for me, so the Santa Fe was the correct answer.
I am definitely thinking hard about the Santa Fe after focusing almost entirely on the Highlander. My big concern, though, is NO SPARE TIRE. I have had two occasions in the last three years where I would have been in trouble without a spare. That, sadly, could be a deal breaker for me.
Not a fan of the front end; the grille is taking a cue from BMW. lol I like the side profile, and the camera when you activate the turn signal is a great idea; I wish more manufacturers would do it.
Ick, no... that's the worst part... that "iPad super-glued to the dash" look is so old-school and really just kills the look of the interior. That was a zero-effort in cabin styling just gluing that infotainment screen to the top of the dash and looks incredibly dated in car design.
I have a 2022 Santa Fe Calligraphy in my garage. I call it my budget X5. Worlds better than any other option in this segment south of $50k. Actually got rid of a 2021 Lexus RX350 after being disappointed with the lack of space, bad gas mileage and slow acceleration. The Santa Fe Calligraphy is a better vehicle than the RX350, hands down. Nothing that Toyota makes competes with it at this price point or even for $10k more.
This year I test drove the Santa Fe and the Highlander. It wasn’t even close. The Santa Fe feels special while the Highlander was a big cup of boring. The Highlander had zero personality to me. The drive was lackluster, the interior was lackluster, the exterior was lackluster, and the amenities were lackluster. The Santa Fe is the only choice between the two as far as I’m concerned.
@@robertgrant4243 Admittedly, I was on pretty smooth roads when I drove it. I’ll have to give it another run on some of the bumpy stuff. Thanks for the heads up.
Maaaaaaaan!!!! Hyundai is absolutely killing it with this Santa Fe!!! My goodness!!! I'm still not totally sold on the front end but as a package, this thing is coming hard for Toyota's money!!! For everybody's money!!! I love it!!! Load this hybrid Hyundai on that expedited Massachusetts bound transporter please and thank you very much!!! Y'all stay working hard out there Joe and Lori and Steven!!! Literally nobody works as hard as y'all!!!
What turned me off about the Santa Fe was it didn't come close to the MPG of the Toyota Highlander Hybrid. The Kia Sarento is basically the same as the Santa Fe. It drove really nice and comfortable, the Panoramic sunroof is really nice to have as well. I did like that it was only 2 rows and the cargo space was extremely generous. The problem was I live in Alabama and the vehicle is made here, but the hybrid or plug-in was not available to purchase in our state at the time. Then I had dealers playing lots of games to get me to buy the non-hybird versions, even telling me Hyundai was getting out of that market. Imagine the horrified faces of Hyundai LTD in Montgomery, Alabama when I told them the date, time, dealership, salesman, manager and recording of them telling me that. The otherside was I could maybe order the car but it was going to cost me a premium of $8K to $12K above MSRP NO THANK YOU! I don't do business with liars and cheats. Then they had the never to tell me I could only do the finance with them and that I was going to have to finance 100% with no money down. I don't know about you, but Its MY MONEY and I have to make the payments and no SOB is going to tell me how to spend my money. As we were in our Highlander driving away from the lot, the salespimp and finance manager came running out and said they would be gracious enough to allow us to put up to 50% down. No Thank You and we drove off. This dealership was Mountain Hyndai in North Georgia. I told my wife, unfortunately we are going to get calls everyday with a new deal offered. We did, and the answer was a resounding NO! Had I not done my homework, I could have easily be convinced they had the right deal for me. DO YOUR HOMEWORK, Get your financing set up before you go to the dealer. I went to Listerhill Credit Union and had my banker on speed dial. I paid a bit more in interest, but it's worth it to have a local banker for me. Don't ever take 100% financing, it's never worth it in the long run. I went in to our local Toyota Dealer with my Finance already worked out, the money I wanted to put down. Made a deal for a 2023 Highlander Bronze Edition with all the bells and whistles. I made an offer they countered, and we came to an agreement. Put a deposit down, dropped off the paperwork to the Credit Union, the next day signed the papers and took a check to the Dealership, signed a few more papers and took delivery. No hassels, no fuss.
GOT A 2023, WORTH EVERY CENT. TRADED UP FROM A CR-V!WOULD HAVE BOUGHT THE CR-V, IF ANY WERE AVAILABLE, BUT HAPPY I WAITED & GOT THIS! ONE REASON--CONTENT!!!! HEADS UP DISPLAY ONLY ON THE REGULAR LIMITED, WOULD HAVE BEEN GREAT, BUT NOT A DEAL BREAKER! ONLY REGRET, THE QUILTED INTERIOR, WAS ONLY ON THE 2022'S!
Theres 4 things missing the head-up display,no fog lights, the exhaust should be both side is good there's a aivent at the center but mor good looking if they put more airvent in the passenger side like the santa fe 2018
Great wee midsized SUV. Here in Europe they come with 7 seats. Palisade not on offer. Pity. Hyundai is growing its brand well. At price / quality/ tech price points burning the competition.
Purchased a 2022 SEL with premium package. It is a great vehicle. The only complaint that I have is that my right-side rear seat shakes and vibrates a lot when driving at normal speeds/road conditions. Has anyone else had this issue?
If you are curious, it is [hyondeh] with the second syllable SHORT. It rhymes with the the proper pronunciation of the name Jose. Just select any Spanish-language cable TV channel (there are several) to hear how the "e" ending should be pronounced; hint: it is not "ay" or "ey."
It's HYUNDAI SANTA FE HYBRID LIMITED AWD, but Joe, I thought that the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Limited AWD was a 3 row SUV like the Hyundai Palisade what's up with that 🤨? Can you still get a SANTA FE HYBRID AWD but without the LIMITED emblem on it?
We get the Highlander in Europe, but only the hybrid AWD version. We have the Santa Fe hybrid in Europe as either FWD or AWD. Truthfully, I’d go for the AWD versions.
I think Hyundai Santa Fe is way better than Toyota rav4. Reason is rav4 only better on mileage’s. Sanata Fe luxury. Wanna drive with luxury and mileage or only with mileage? That’s it
J ~ we share the same OCD headrest traits. I like Hyundai products - they keep up with the times, often one step ahead & their warranty is second to none, great stuff. only one mode on any car > Raiti Mode = sports mode. tony
Yeah, I barely remember Y2K. I was too drunk from partying in college. I do remember when the Santa Fe first came out though, it had a bulbous, round body. Good times.
Just ordered a 2023 SEL Convenience in white. Coming from an Outback these really offer a lot for the money over the competition, the Outback has no hybrid, Highlander is too big, expensive and the captain's chairs are too mini van like, Same as Sorento, Venza is too small as is the Rav 4. Would have liked the plug in but cannot get them in Michigan. But you can get Detroit style pizza baby! and it's square and fits nicely into those door pockets. Great video as always... Joe, you crack me up!
With 1.6 L engine, mpg of 33 city/30 hwy for a hybrid is a joke. That's even lower than similar size non-hybrid competitors. Wouldn't consider even below 40city/37hwy.
Putting on my serious cap, I would definitely include this Santa Fe in my personal car fleet, that is if I had OCMotivator's or your new neighbor Racer X's money. I'd store my Flamin Hot Ruffles in the back, and plenty of Ozarka to wash em down. I'd use that little cubby by the lift gate to store my Pacqui chip, if I decided to do the "One Chip Challenge". Otherwise, I'd be on the highway with 1st Wave or Little Steven's Underground Garage on that stereo keeping me company.
