Yahoo Autos 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe Delivers Practical Virtues
For 2019, Hyundai’s mid-size two-row crossover, the Santa Fe Sport, is renamed as the just-plain-old Santa Fe, while the brand’s mid-size three-row crossover, formerly called the Santa Fe, becomes the Santa Fe XL. Which is confusing, yes, but also logical. The smaller Santa Fe has been redesigned (the larger XL gets its turn next year), and it launches with two carryover engines: a naturally aspirated 2.4-liter inline-four and a turbocharged 2.0-liter four. Sometime during the model year, a 2.2-liter turbo-diesel will join the party, and that version will offer a third row of seats-thus muddying the waters again.
The for-now-two-row Santa Fe’s overall proportions are slightly more SUV-like than before, with a longer hood, a more upright windshield, and a trimmer front overhang. The front end has squinty daytime running lamps and a prominent grille that might have been fashioned from egg cartons. Dimensionally, the Santa Fe has grown in wheelbase (by 2.6 inches) and overall length (2.8 inches). Place it in an SUV hierarchy arranged by size, and it would find itself parked alongside the Subaru Outback and the Ford Edge.
Inside, the Santa Fe provides roomy accommodations for five. The rear seat, which slides fore and aft and also reclines, is particularly spacious, and a nearly flat floor makes three-across seating a credible proposition, while wide door openings permit easy access. Up front, there’s lots of elbow room, and cabin stowage is plentiful. Thin A-pillars and door-mounted side mirrors aid visibility. Hyundai has yet to get the memo that modern car interiors must use touchscreens for nearly every interface, so it continues to employ multiple knobs and physical buttons, which are logically arranged and easy to use. There is, of course, a central touchscreen with menu logic and graphics familiar from other Hyundais; a second display screen sits within the instrument cluster. It’s a practical interior, but the design and materials of even the Santa Fe Ultimate, the apex of the five-tier lineup, aren’t anything to worry Audi.
All Santa Fes come standard with the 2.4-liter, which makes 185 horsepower and 178 lb-ft of torque, and front-wheel drive; all-wheel drive is available for $1700. The top two trims can be had with the 2.0-liter turbo for a $1600 upcharge (with Hyundai throwing in 19-inch wheels). That engine is good for 235 horses and 260 lb-ft, and it, too, can be paired with front- or all-wheel drive. Both engines mate to an eight-speed automatic transmission in place of the previous six-speed.
Despite the additional ratios, though, the Santa Fe’s fuel economy barely budges-and it wasn’t top of the pack to begin with. According to the EPA, the base-engined Santa Fe doesn’t go as far on a gallon of unleaded as a 2.4-liter Jeep Cherokee or a 2.5-liter Subaru Outback. Comparing 2.0-liter turbos, the Hyundai trails the Cherokee and the Ford Edge. In our 75-mph highway fuel-economy test, a 2.0-liter all-wheel-drive Santa Fe got 27 mpg, which is considerably better than the previous Santa Fe Sport's 21 mpg but not as good as the 28 mpg we saw with the six-cylinder Outback. Overall, however, we averaged just 18 mpg.
We spent most of our time in a Santa Fe Ultimate with the 2.0T and all-wheel drive. Our drive started in Park City, Utah, at roughly 7000 feet above sea level and climbed from there. The high elevation sapped the turbo’s vigor, and the Santa Fe’s off-the-line acceleration was languid. On the move, response was better, and the transmission’s shifts were both smooth and well timed. Back home in Michigan, and closer to sea level, the 2.0T AWD recorded a 7.8-second zero-to-60-mph time, which is respectable although not as quick as six-cylinder competitors such as the Outback, the Cherokee, and the GMC Acadia. And it hustled through the quarter-mile in 16.0 seconds at 88 mph.
We had only a brief run behind the wheel of a 2.4-liter version, this one with front-wheel drive, and it, too, was dulled by the thin mountain air. It also exhibited some coarseness at higher revs, where the engine spent considerable time.
Aside from the straining 2.4-liter, the Santa Fe was extremely quiet, and its structure felt solid even over miles of washboard dirt roads. Compared with the outgoing model, the suspension has repositioned dampers with revised valving, redesigned bushings, and new knuckles and carriers, and it delivers a composed ride and minimal body roll. The steering is quicker than before and is nicely weighted and confidence-inspiring.
Of more concern to crossover shoppers, perhaps, will be the long list of safety features. Forward-collision warning with pedestrian detection and automated emergency braking, lane-keeping assist, blind-spot warning, rear cross-traffic alert and intervention, adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go capability, and automatic high-beams are standard on all models. Long on features and room, if short on luxe, the practical Santa Fe was probably right to jettison the Sport label.
Note: We originally drove the 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe in August 2018. We have since updated this story with our test results and photos of the turbocharged 2.0-liter vehicle we tested.
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