The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Is The Crossover To End All Crossovers

A little less than a year ago, I had the opportunity to get up close and personal with the fifth-generation 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe in its namesake city in New Mexico. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to drive it at the time, but now that has changed — I just got back from driving Hyundai’s latest “compact” crossover in Tennessee, experiencing how it conducts itself both on and off the road as well as how all of its features work in the real world. And I’ve gotta say, damn this thing is good. No matter what situation you find yourself in with the new Santa Fe, it is more than up to the task, especially if that task is delivering Land Rover Defender styling for about half the price.

Few vehicles really deliver on what their looks and spec sheets promise, but the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe is absolutely one of those cars.

Full Disclosure: Hyundai flew me out to Franklin, Tennessee, put me up in a very nice hotel and fed me delicious food all so I could try out their newest vehicle that was already on sale.

If I were a different kind of guy — someone who didn’t know his audience — I’d probably bury how the Santa Fe drives at the end of this story. After all, who the hell cares how a crossover with a turbocharged 2.5-liter inline-four engine and six comfy seats actually drives? Well, nerds, I know we all do.

Starting with the boilerplate facts, the new Santa Fe’s standard engine is the aforementioned turbo four, which is good for 277 horsepower and 311 pound-feet of torque. All that torque is routed through an extremely responsive 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. If you’re looking to go electric (sort of), you can also opt for a turbocharged 1.6-liter inline-four hybrid paired up with a 6-speed automatic transmission. Both powerplants can be had with either front- or all-wheel drive (an $1,800 option) on every trim level in the lineup other than the off-road-focused XRT trim.

I drove two Santa Fes during my testing, a top-of-the-line Calligraphy ($50,375 as tested) on-road and a middle-of-the-range XRT ($43,205 as tested) off-road. Both vehicles were fitted with the 2.5-liter engine, and it proved to be a super strong power unit no matter the terrain. I wouldn’t exactly call it fast, because it isn’t, but it’ll get the job done for anyone who is buying this type of vehicle.

On pavement, the Santa Fe is extremely quiet and relaxing. You hear the grumble of the 2.5-liter engine from time to time — it’s the nature of a four-popper, after all — but it’s not exactly intrusive. Wind and road noise is kept to a minimum, even when the surface is less-than-ideal. The eight-speed dual-clutch was surprisingly snappy for this type of application. It fired off up- and down-shifts as quickly as you could ever really want them to be, even when using the steering wheel–mounted paddle shifters.

The Santa Fe’s cornering isn’t anything to write home about, but what exactly did you expect? This is a 4,500-pound crossover after all. It isn’t offensive by any means, but a corner carver the Santa Fe is not. I suppose you feel something through the leather-wrapped steering wheel, but it isn’t the road. There’s a Sport mode you can select, but it’s mostly just there for vibes. I suppose the steering gets a little bit heavier and the throttle response is a bit snappier, but that’s about it. Again, what did you expect? Leave it in the “Normal” and you’ll be fine.

When it comes to leaving the pavement, the Santa Fe really surprises. Hyundai built the XRT trim to be able to hold its own off-road, and it did — I’m not going to sit here and tell you the XRT is better than something like a Jeep Wrangler, Ford Bronco or Defender off-road, but it’s solid, and I did a way more intense off-road course than any Hyundai Santa Fe owner would ever dare to do.

All of the Santa Fe’s off-roading is done without fancy modes. There are only two things you can change to make the Santa Fe more off-road ready: locking the all-wheel-drive system and enabling hill descent control. Everything else is accomplished through the Santa Fe’s pure willpower.

The XRT does get a number of actual modifications to better attack the trails. It’s fitted with 18-inch wheels and chunkier all-terrain tires, and its overall ride height is raised to 8.3 inches, a 1.3-inch bump over the standard Santa Fes. Hyundai also says the XRT can tow up to 4,500 pounds, while regular Santa Fes can only muster 3,500 pounds.

On the outside, the Santa Fe has gone through one of the biggest generational glow-ups I’ve ever seen. The previous-gen crossover wasn’t bad-looking, but the new car just looks exceptional. Gone are the curved lines and soft edges of the previous Santa Fe. In their places are boxy shapes, hard lines and right angles. Damn, does it look good, and the fact it’s so solid off-road is a relief — I’d hate if this thing didn’t deliver on what its looks promised.

Aside from the styling, the Santa Fe’s size is the biggest (I’m so sorry) change. It has grown in every dimension over the fourth-generation car, and it’s now only six inches shorter than its Palisade stablemate, but Hyundai is adamant the two SUVs do not compete with each other. Please disregard the fact they have similar prices, seat the same amount of people and are now basically the same size. Okay, to be fair to Hyundai, the next-generation Palisade is rumored to be getting both bigger and boxier to make room for the new Santa Fe. Still, Hyundai doesn’t even consider the Santa Fe to be a mid-size crossover. It still classifies the vehicle as a “compact crossover.” Sure, Jan.