2019 Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate 2.4 AWD Test Drive And Review: Compact And Mid-Pack
In the sea of compact crossover vehicles, it’s tough to maintain an identity. That’s part of the challenge for the 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate 2.4 AWD that I drove for a week recently. Hyundai has shuffled its SUV name deck several times during the life of the Santa Fe. The two-row Santa Fe has been known as the Santa Fe and Santa Fe Sport at various times, while the three-row midsize was first released as the Veracruz, then was the Santa Fe, and for 2019 is the Santa Fe XL. The name changes haven’t helped with identity, but Santa Fe sells well for Hyundai, nevertheless. Hyundai identifies the competitive set for Santa Fe as Ford Edge, Nissan Murano, Jeep Cherokee, Subaru Outback, Kia Sorento and Chevrolet Blazer. I’d add Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, Mazda CX-5 and Volvo XC60 to the deck before you shuffle.
Santa Fe’s strengths are many, and several key strengths can be attributed to the Hyundai brand in general. Hyundai’s warranty, which they call “America’s Best Warranty,” is built of a 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain limited warranty, a five-year/60,000-mile new vehicle limited warranty, and a seven-year/unlimited-mile anti-perforation warranty. The Hyundai SmartSense suite of standard safety features is comprehensive, including: Forward Collision Avoidance Assist with Pedestrian Detection; Blind-Spot Collision Avoidance Assist; Lane Keeping Assist; Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Avoidance Assist; Safe Exit Assist; High Beam Assist; Smart Cruise Control with Stop & Go; and Driver Attention Warning. Rear Occupant Alert is also available. A long list of available convenience features approach luxury levels, including head-up display, wireless device charging, heated front and rear seats, ventilated front seats, surround view monitor, rain-sensing wipers, LED illumination, rear-window sunshades, hands-free smart liftgate and more.
Santa Fe’s exterior design doesn’t really light my fire. More than once during its week with me, the Santa Fe managed to get lost in a parking lot. I just couldn’t pick out any distinctive features that set it apart from the crowd, which made it hard to find without landmarks. Inside, my reaction was similar. I didn’t have any specific likes or dislikes – I found the design and layout very middle of the road, on a par with most of its competitors in terms of layout and ergonomics, but not rising above the crowd. The infotainment system, centered on an available 8-inch multimedia navigation system in my well-optioned test car, worked intuitively and with few hitches, while the Infinity Premium Audio system with 12 speakers, QuantumLogic Surround Sound and Clari-Fi Music Restoration Technology delivered very good sound.
Which brings us to Santa Fe’s 2.4-liter gasoline direct injection (GDI) inline four-cylinder engine. It is tuned to produce 185 hp and 178 lb-ft of torque, and to achieve 22 mpg city/29 mpg highway/25 mpg combined, and mates with a new eight-speed automatic transmission and either front-wheel drive or available all-wheel drive, like my test vehicle. Three drive modes are available: Normal; Smart; and Sport. I found Normal and Smart modes delivered sluggish acceleration, upshifting early to maximize efficiency at the cost of performance. Sport was somewhat better, holding gears and improving throttle response. The only challenge was that the Santa Fe defaulted back to Smart mode with every ignition cycle, so I had to remember to select Sport at each restart, or be faced with unsatisfactory acceleration. All-wheel drive performance was good, especially during cornering maneuvers where torque vectoring technology came into play.
Hyundai offers an optional 2.0-liter turbocharged GDI inline four-cylinder engine, too, and I’d bet that its 235 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque would be more my style. Fuel economy is a little lower with the turbo (20 mpg city/25 mpg highway/22 mpg combined with front-wheel drive), but I’d make the trade-off.
Santa Fe prices start at $25,750 for SE 2.4 FWD; $27,600 for SEL 2.4 FWD; $29,800 for SEL Plus 2.4 FWD; $32,600 for Limited 2.4 FWD; and $35,450 for Ultimate 2.4 FWD. Add $1,700 for AWD on any trim level, and $1,600 for 2.0-liter turbo engine on Limited and Ultimate models.
If you shop for a vehicle based on spreadsheets and statistics, you’ll find that the 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe scores a lot of wins on paper, or at least measures in the middle of the pack with its key competitors. But if you start with spreadsheets and then make your buying decisions based on emotion – which car makes you feel the best about your choice – you may have a harder time pulling the trigger.
2019 Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate 2.0T AWD — Tackling The Midsize Crossover Segment
2018 was a very important year for Hyundai. After a decade of steady growth and increasing critical acclaim for its design and quality, the Korean brand had stalled in recent years. The cars were still very good, but given the aggressive market turn toward utility vehicles, Hyundai simply had too many car models in its lineup. This past year was when that all began to turn around with a refreshed Tucson, all-new Kona, redesigned Santa Fe and the late year introduction of the Palisade.
The debut of the fourth-generation Santa Fe last summer also brought with it another change in the branding strategy for Hyundai’s mid-size utilities. A dozen years ago, the brand launched its first three-row crossover as the Veracruz, slotting in above the already successful Santa Fe. The Veracruz never took off though and the next-generation three row adopted the Santa Fe nameplate with the shorter two-row version getting the sport suffix. This time around, the Santa Fe is back to being just a two row with the old three-row still in production for a few more months until the new Palisade arrives.
2019 Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate 2.0T AWD
The 2019 Santa Fe as is usually the case with generational changes, slots in neatly between the the two previous models with the 187.8-inch length being closer to the old Sport and the 108.9-inch wheelbase closer to the three-row. The result is shorter overhangs than before and combined with the new blockier design, giving the whole thing a more assertive stance. The two-part front lighting setup with an upper slim horizontal cluster and a more squared-off lower lamp echos the smaller Kona but it still looks distinct.
There is enough design DNA in the Santa Fe to indicate that this is a modern Hyundai, but the brand is no longer going for cookie cutter designs that simply look like they’ve been zoomed in or out. Instead, each new Hyundai models looks distinct enough to stand on its own while still being part of the family.
Gallery: 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate 2.0T AWD
Inside, the family resemblance continues with the same sort of stand up central touchscreen for the infotainment system that we’ve come to expect in cars like the Elantra GT and Veloster. This is a familiar approach that is becoming common across the industry. While some complain that it looks like an iPad tacked on to the top of the dashboard, this location keeps it closer to the driver’s line of sight so you don’t have to look away from the road as much.
2019 Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate 2.0T AWD
It has the same familiar user interface that has been standard across all Hyundai and Kia models for the past several years. It’s not particularly glitzy and doesn’t have any fancy animations, but it is functional and responsive and Hyundai always has displays that remain clearly visible and glare-free in bright sunlight or through polarized sunglasses. Of course it also has support for both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay as well as a Qi wireless charging pad in the Ultimate trim.
2019 Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate 2.0T AWD
The extra wheelbase on the 2019 model has gone directly into passenger room with almost three-inches added to front legroom and 1.5 inches to the rear passengers. The space behind the rear seat has grown slightly to 35.9 cubic feet, plenty for the road trip needs of a family of four or a pair of couples. Visibility is quite good in all directions and all models get heated mirrors and all but the base SE get heated front seats which was quite handy as a polar vortex descended on Michigan. The Ultimate trim adds ventilation to the front seats and heating for the rear as well as the steering wheel.
All 2019 Santa Fe models get Hyundai’s eight-speed automatic with a direct injected 2.4-liter four-cylinder being standard and adequate for most uses. The optional 2.0-liter turbo four raises the power bar ot 235-hp but more importantly increases torque to 260 lb-ft. If you plan to tow anything, you’ll want the more powerful engine which increases capacity from 2,000 to 3,500 pounds. Even at that level the Santa Fe is still pretty limited. The new Honda Passport offers 5,000 pounds when equipped with all-wheel-drive.
2019 Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate 2.0T AWD
Like most modern crossover utilities, the Santa Fe has a pretty sophisticated system for managing torque distribution front to rear although it does lack the side to side torque vectoring of the Passport. It does however have a choice of 17, 18 or 19 inch wheels depending on trim level which will provide a bit more ride compliance on road and more ability to absorb rock impacts off pavement compared to the standard 20-inch wheels on the Honda.
Under hard acceleration the turbo engine does make a bit more noise than some of the similarly configured engines in competitors and it’s definitely less refined than Honda’s veteran V6. Nonetheless, it’s not too objectionable and it provides plenty of thrust. The steering is fairly precise and well weighted and every Santa Fe trim comes standard with a full suite of driver assists. That package includes radar-based adaptive cruise control, blindspot monitoring and lane keeping assist with forward collision alert. Honda also offers a similar suite as standard. The Ford Edge gets the camera based lane keeping, collision alert and the blindspot sensors standard but the radar cruise control costs extra. On the new Chevrolet Blazer, everything costs extra.
2019 Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate 2.0T AWD
For larger families of more than four members, the upcoming three-row Palisade is probably the better choice for Hyundai buyers. But for smaller families or those that travel with a couple of friends and/or a need to haul a variety of gear the Santa Fe is a very good option. The front-drive Santa Fe SE with the 2.4-liter starts at $26,545 while the loaded Ultimate 2.0T I drove comes to $39,845. With its fresh lineup including three all-new utilities and an updated Tucson, plus the electric Kona, Hyundai should be in a much better position to take advantage of market trends in 2019.
Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate 2.0T 2019
Hyundai is on a good track. For starters, the new ute looks more grown-up and handsome. The rear glass is more vertical, a boon to headroom for the sort-of-optional third-row seats (more on that later) and cargo space. With shorter overhangs, a longer wheelbase, greater length, and slightly more girth than the ’18 Santa Fe Sport, interior space is up, too. Hyundai increased visibility by employing what it claims is 41 percent more glass area than in the outgoing Santa Fe Sport to nurture the target markets of empty nesters and families moving up from a sedan.
Pros
Sharp looks,
bigger inside and out than the Sport it replaces,
packed with features.
Cons
Some low-rent plastics inside;
small fuel-economy bump;
so which one is this, again?
The 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe is a convincing crossover SUV with room for families and cargo.
Pros
Smooth ride
Compelling value trims with plenty of features
Standard active safety features
Spacious interior
Sharp style
Cons
No available options from the factory
8-speed automatic could use a finishing touch
Average fuel economy
Thin-feeling cloth and leather
The 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe is redesigned
New interior and exterior look
New two-row design
Part of the fourth Hyundai Santa Fe generation introduced for 2019
Pros
Abundant standard features for the money
High-quality interior materials
Generous warranty coverage
Several standard and optional active safety features
Cons
High-quality interior materials
Base 2.4-liter engine’s power and mpg are subpar