Before you give my review a thumbs down, please take the time to read through the reasons I am not satisfied with my Veracruz.

I won't waste time with trivial items such as looks and comfort of this SUV because those things are relative to each person. What I like may not be what you like. Enough said.
We purchased this Veracruz through a friend who is a manager at a dealership. He was able to get us a very good deal. One reason is the employee discount. Another reason was the huge '07 and '08 leftovers sitting on the lot for months. It seems these SUV are not in demand which is a good thing when looking for a new bargin but not so great when you want to resell it. Depreciation rates for all Hyundais are poor but high gas prices have made them even less appealing.

We put over 4000 miles on it in 9 weeks due to a family vacation. On the trip we found that the A/C works very good even in Florida's 100 degree heat. The interior is spacious and roomy. The DVD system kept the kids quiet but if the dealer would not have given it to us for free then we would not have purchased it. If you do have that option, skip it. It's not worth the nearly $2000 more for a DVD player. Buy a portable one at BestBuy for $149. Its better quality and a lot cheaper. On our trip of 3200 miles, we averaged 16.3 MPG. We didn't trust the car's computer but we did the math ourselves and found them both to be the same. Granted, we had a full load of luggage, and 3 kids but 16.3 MPG over mostly highway driving is horrific. In town we seemed to average less than 14 MPG! Also during the trip both key remotes somehow were deprogrammed and would not start the car. The doors opened but the car would not start. It took 4 hours for roadside assistence to reach us! Then, at the dealer, the car needed some special part for the A/C unit which we thought was working fine, until they told us it was leaking gas! So we had to rent a car for 3 days as no rental was provided.

Upon returning home, my husband noticed a strange squealing noise. The dealer check it out and found the power steering pump needed replacement. Not two weeks later, the drivers power seat motor burned out. This time, the dealer siad our car was due for service- the bill? Try $741.33! They claimed the brake pads needed replacement and charged us for the labor and parts, and they did an oil change and fluid topping.

We now have almost 7000 miles and its been a let down. We had high hopes it would replace our 2004 Ford Windstar as an upgrade but instead it has been more costly in a few months than for the 4 years we owned the Windstar which operated flawlessly. We sure do miss that minivan. Too bad they don't make them any more.

I would have to say if you are looking to buy an SUV skip the Veracruz- it is unreliable, horrible on gas, the dealers are rude and scam artists, the depreciation rates are the worst and price wise they cost just as much as an domestic brand. I would HIGHLY recommend test driving the Buick Enclave, Chevy Traverse, Ford Flex, Ford Taurus X, and the Toyota Highlander first before you waste your time driving the Veracruz. Also, read some of the "most helpful" reviews on this Yahoo page. They should would have been helpful if we would have read them first!

I looked at other makes and could not be happier with my choice. The seating of seven has proven useful, and I it has more than eneough room when the seats are folded down.

Only have 1700 miles, mostly around town, but some highway miles..19.7 MPG. Love the shifter which is great in the steep mountains.

I've had to replace a computer chip that controlled some part of the electronics; one front strut replaced, but the other needs replacement, too, because of a really loud creaking sound; when turning ignition off and on, the steering wheel doesn't automatically seek pre-programmed positions; the mpg indicator is amateurish; there's nothing to tell you how much gas you've burned since last fill-up; there should be a LOUD warning when the car is put into gear with the tailgate open; radio had to be replaced because local AM stations were too static-y to hear;

Great car for the money, quiet, solid and spacious. Would recommend to a friend. Gas mileage ok. Excessive wind noise on highway and the GPS system is slow.

This car is definitely better handled & made for off-shore dealers. Whatever the USA requirements are they detract from this vehicle.

I am very pleased with my 20+ MPG averaged in mostly city driving. What more can you ask for from an ample sized 7 passenger vehicle! Not only that but it has enough cajones to pass, something my Pathfinder trade-in did not possess.

I have owned this car for over a year (2007 model) have over 15K miles and never a problem, so far. I have been fighting with corporate over the availability of OEM trailer hitch to NO AVAIL! They apparently have no interest what so ever in offering accessories.

Still enjoy driving this car and have made a few long trips in it. After sitting in the drivers seat or front pass. seat for 11 hours, we felt relaxed and as fresh when we arrived, as if we had only gone to the corner grocery store.

Our other car is a 2007 Santa Fe, and we are also very pleased with it.

i have a 2007 and love the car! i went looking initially to get a senta fe but it did not have enough room for my needs. i am a therapist and travel at least 50-70 miles a day seeing kids for therapy and carry all of my materials and paperwork with me and the sf did not offer the room i needed. i also have bad back problems so comfort was a must with the amount of traveling i have to do. we test drove ford's edge, the pacifica, and my parents have a lexus crossover. the vera cruz is BY FAR more comfortable than the edge and pacifica if you experience back problems and roomier than the lexus. even the backseats are commfy. i do not understand what the person's problem was about not having a way to get into the hatch from the inside- JUST USE YOUR KEY FAB DUDE!!!! i'm fairly certain that i'm in and out of the back hatch more than the average person on a daily basis as i get my therapy materials out before each 30 minute session and then put them back in and having the automatic hatch or back gate, whatever you call it, if you have back problems is heaven sent.
the gas mileage is average for any crossover vehicle. i did not have unrealistic expectations regarding that when i purchased the vehicle.

We bought our veracruz limited edition six months ago. It has a little over 7300 miles. I just checked the gauge and it gets 16.2 miles per gallon. This is a family vehicle and we spend lots of time in car pool lines and making short trips to pick up the kids. Lots of city driving.

So far the car has been reliable with no problems. The dealership asked us to bring it in once for some recall work. I noticed dealership complaints in some of the reviews. Our dealership was also dirty with a crowded service waiting area. But everyone was nice and professional. Another thing about the dealership, they left out the cargo mat and would not give me one until I found the window sticker saying the mat was included in the sale. No apology for the extra trip I had to make. Also when we bought it, the lady told me that headphones for the dvd player were optional and I would have to order them. I thought that was silly since they should be included. When I got home, I found them in the rear storage area.

Everyone is capable of test driving and comparing features so I won't go into a lot detail. You do get a lot for your money. And a few things you may not notice in a test drive: the ac works really well, the heated seats work really well, the alarm works even when the windows are rolled down, the beige interior seems to get dirty fast, according to my cousin, roadside assistance is a joke and should not be relied on, the interior lights are really cool, the anti-glare rearview mirror is very dark, and the exterior paint seems to chip easily.

No car is perfect but overall, we are very satisfied.

If I had to do it over, I'd buy the Santa Fe. We had a rental Santa Fe and were impressed with its handling, roomy interior, and 20mpg on mountain roads in CO. When we saw the Veracruz, we thought that it would have comparable performance in a nicer, slightly larger car. WRONG! This car gets worse gas mileage than our '99 Suburban! We're lucky to get 15mpg on highways in the Veracruz. The car does handle very well, is very comfortable, and has some snazzy features including a sensor that lets you know when tires need inflating. However, there's no "hands free" way to automatically open the hatch, even in the SE and Limited! Also, there's no way to open the hatch from inside the car in the GLS - this is an option in the SE and Limited. And as far as features...the Koreans really don't understand American luxury. There's no way that this car will compete with the Lexus and others with no optional OnStar or rear viewing screen.

We just replaced my Wife's worn out Taurus wagon with an '07 Veracruz Limited...wow, what a difference! Hyundai has come a long way in quality and this vehicle beat everything in it's class! We drove most of the vehicles in the crossover, 7 passenger class and nothing came close to the value and quality of the Veracruz. The Highlander was nice, but only in the Limited trim and then it was almost $10k more for the same features! The Motor Trend article that compares the Veracruz to the Lexus RX 350 was very eye opening for us!

We were able to find one of the last '07 Limited models still on a dealers lot, so we got a fantastic deal...but I would imagine that the '08's will start to come down some in price soon. You cannot beat the warranty, and we decided to use some of the money we saved to extend it the bumper to bumper warranty for the full 10 years/100k miles. I know that everyone says not to do this, but it wasn't that much more and the warranty covers EVERYTHING on the car...and also includes roadside assistance!!!

Also, we found in doing our research that every component on the Veracruz has been designed, engineered and tested for 300k miles! Everything about this car feels good and it really has a quality feel to it. As for the previous reviewer who was a little disapointed in the performance from a dead stop...I have 2 bits of advice: One, try using the manual shifter and the perforance is impressive when you shift it correctly! Two, if you leave it in drive, start your acceleration gradual for the first 1-2 seconds, and then hammer the pedal...it seems to want the RPM's to get past 2500 and then will really kick in!

If you are looking at a 7 passenger crossover, I highly reccomend the Hyundai Veracruz!