Some test vehicles impress right away and others sneak up on you. When I first started driving the 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe, I thought it was a good family hauler quiet, smooth riding and enough room for six with the optional captain's chair second row of seats. But because of a scheduling mix up, I had to make a quick trip across town one morning. The Santa Fe sliced through downtown traffic and made easy work of the freeway leg, allowing me to make my appointment with minutes to spare. It was only after I parked and stepped out that I remembered I was driving a full-size SUV, not a sportier compact.
It's not the Santa Fe hides its performance potential. The styling is much sleeker than most other three-row crossovers, which tend to be boxy. But it only comes with a 3.3-liter V6 and a six-speed automatic transmission, while some competitors offer turbocharged and even V8 engine options. Hyundai engineers have figured out how to maximize the potential of such a conventional power train, however, and the handling is more precise than you might think under speed.
The interior is also well designed, especially the refreshingly simple dash that features a limited number of knobs and large buttons that are easy to find and operate. The quality of the materials is surprisingly high for a vehicle not made by a luxury manufacturer, and the ride was almost as quiet as much more expensive premium models.
Our test Santa Fe also came with all-wheel-drive, a desirable option in the wet Pacific Northwest. Although not designed for serious off-road driving, it included a button for locking the center differential electronically, which helps even more in heavy snow and muck.
Just a few years ago, only the largest SUVs offered three rows of seats. Today, there are so many to choose from that consumers might feel a little overwhelmed. In addition to the Santa Fe, affordable options include the Chevy Traverse, GMC Arcadia, Dodge Durango, Ford Explorer, Kia Sorento, Nissan Pathfinder, and Toyota Highlander, among others.
To make matters even more confusing, Hyundai also sells the Santa Fe Sport, a five-passenger compact crossover that is basically a short wheelbase version of the Santa Fe that is available with a punchy turbocharged inline 2.4-liter engine. And strangely, Jeep, which only makes SUVs and is setting all kinds of sales records, doesn't have a model with a third row of seats, although something is rumored to be in the works.
The 2015 Santa Fe is definitely one to consider, however, especially if you can afford the top-of-the-line Limited version, like the one I drove. It included an aptly named Ultimate Package that helped pack it with every conceivable options, including a panoramic sunroof, rear parking sensors, a heated steering wheel, ventilated front seats, heated second-row seats, driver memory settings, a navigation system, 8-inch touchscreen and a 115-volt outlet and a 12-speaker Infinity surround-sound system. That pushed the price to over $41,000, although base two-wheel-drive versions can be had for around $25,000 and still come with a lot desirable features.
2015 Hyundai Santa Fe
Base price: $24,950.
Price as tested: $41,875.
Type: Fullsize SUV.
Engine: 3.3-liter V6 (290 hp, 252 lbs-ft).
EPA estimated mileage: 18/24.
Overall length: 193.1".
Curb weight: 4,084 lbs (as tested).
Final assembly: West Point, Georgia.
