2022 Hyundai Santa Fe

It's pretty apparent that the suspension setup was tuned for comfort more than anything else. It does have light, responsive steering, and powerful brakes, however. That makes it easy to handle around town and a pleasure on the highway. It doesn't like being chucked into a corner, but that's hardly what it was built for. The main thing is that it provides a relaxing ride on all surfaces, and you need a reasonably big bump to upset the suspension.

Now that Hyundai introduced the adventure-ready XRT, it's worth discussing how the Santa Fe behaves off-road. Let's start with the obvious. The Santa Fe is not equipped with low-range gearing or any sort of differential lock. It has a basic HTRAC AWD system that activates the rear axle when the front wheels start slipping. That's ideal for snow and gravel, but not much more than that. The Santa Fe is easily defeated by a gravel road with a washboard surface, but it has all the necessary electronic nannies to keep it in a straight line. You can feel the rear-end go light, but the electronics interfere way before you even get a chance to start worrying about it. This applies to the FWD model as well. The only reason to opt for AWD is snow. For everything else, the FWD car is good enough.

The Hyundai Santa Fe is a good SUV, but not a great one. It doesn't have one unique selling point you can point at, which will make its life extremely difficult. The problem is not the car but rather the segment and price range it competes in. There are a plethora of capable SUVs for sale in the $30,000 to $45,000 price bracket. For roughly the same price, you can get the larger Hyundai Palisade or the Kia Telluride. Kia's version of the Santa Fe, the Sorento, is also newer, and that's before you get to Japanese rivals like the Mazda CX-9 and Toyota Highlander. Similarly priced US rivals include the Jeep Grand Cherokee L, Ford Explorer, and even the all-new Ford Bronco Sport. We do like the hybrid's exceptional fuel consumption, affordable price, and quality. Not to mention the stellar warranty, which proves that Hyundai has lots of faith in its products. The Santa Fe is perhaps perfect for non-gearheads who simply want an affordable, dependable SUV that will get them where they need to go in comfort. We think the Santa Fe is a good car, but there are better options out there.

圣达菲和索兰托本质上是相同的car with the same engine options. There are notable differences to help choose between the two, however. The Sorento is newer and, to our eyes, the more handsome of the two. Styling is subjective, so we'd instead focus on the areas that matter. The Sorento hybrid is more frugal, managing 39/35/37 mpg compared to the Santa Fe's best of 36/31/34 mpg. You can also have the Sorento with 3rd-row seating, though we don't think it adds anything to the package. Like the Santa Fe, the Sorento is also handsomely equipped across the range. Finally, at $29,490, the base Sorento is more expensive than the base Santa Fe. The top-spec EX hybrid retails for $38,290, which is a healthy saving over the Santa Fe hybrid Limited's $40,160 price. The Santa Fe is a great SUV but we'd pick the newer Sorento instead.

The Tucson is one of the latest Hyundai products, and it's a sensational car. It has an exciting exterior and a beautifully crafted interior. In a battle between the Santa Fe vs the Tucson, can the older and more conservative model match its stylish little brother? The Santa Fe is a size up from the Tucson, but it's not as clear-cut as that. While the Santa Fe has a 108.9-inch wheelbase, the Tucson's 108.5-inch wheelbase isn't that behind. The differences in headroom and legroom are hardly worth mentioning, but we should take a closer look at the cargo capacity. The Santa Fe has 36.4 cubes, and the Tucson has even more. ICE and hybrid models have over 41 cubes with both rows in place, while the plug-in hybrid still offers 31.9 cubes. Essentially, you're not giving anything up when it comes to space. The Tucson is also more affordable, another factor that makes it our choice in this match-up.