Excellent small SUV

Author's Rating:

Pros: Great car. Dependable, comfortable, inexpensive, handy.

Cons: My one criticism is that the back seat does not fold flat.

The Bottom Line: 
If you need a dependable, inexpensive, comfortable ride, you couldn't do much better than buying one of these used.

Author's Review
I traded my Chev Suburban on a new 2006 Santa Fe (2-wheel drive, 2.7 L V6 engine) in June, 2006, and (except for the one time I wanted to haul 4x8 sheets of plywood) I've not been sorry. I'm don't put a lot of commute miles on a car, and in the 15 months I've owned it have only racked up 11,000 on the odometer - which includes a 3,800-mile trip.

The Suburban was great for the once in every year or two I might wish to carry something big, but it's a little tough to justify moving that 13 MPG gas hog around all year just on the off chance it was necessary. Other benefits I've discovered (that I hadn't really thought about before the Santa Fe) is the ease of parking, the ease of driving, and the over all comfort of this little SUV.

I bought the Santa Fe a short while before the announcement of the all-new 2007 Santa Fe, and I guess that explains why I got a total of $4,000 off the sticker price, plus a fairly generous trade in on the Suburban. One thing that pre-sold me on the Santa Fe was that my wife drives a 2004 Sonata, has put 50,000 miles on it, and we've never had the slightest problem with it. So far our Santa Fe has the same trouble-free record. I was aware that the new Santa Fe was coming, but a friend had an older Santa Fe and I liked it, so didn't worry that mine would shortly become "obsolete." I wasn't at all sorry as the new one seems a hulking monster compared to the '06 model, and is not even available with the small V6 engine, and hence does not get quite as good mileage. (Plus I've heard rumors the new one isn't as trouble-free.)

I had been told that the small (2.7 L) engine made the car under powered, but I test drove both the 2.7 and the bigger engine (3.5 L) before buying, and could hardly tell the difference. I do a fair amount of mountain driving and freeway merging and have never wished for a bigger engine. In fact the 2.7 Santa Fe does better in the mountains than my old gas hog Suburban ever did. My friend with the 3.5 Santa Fe gets about 1 to 2 miles per gallon less than the 21 city and 27 country that I get.

Hyundais are now famous for initial quality and dependability. Deservedly. My Santa Fe has been back to the dealer for oil changes (free) and that is all, since the day it was new. My wife's Sonata has had two headlamp bulbs replaced in 50,000 miles. And that's all.

If you add the 10-year 100,000 mile drive train, and 5-year, 60,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranties, and 5-year roadside assistance (plus my dealer gives free oil changes for the first 60,000 miles) I don't see how you can beat the Hyundais..... In spite of one epinion reviewer who seemed to feel a rental Santa Fe "felt" less safe than his Cherokee. To the uninformed, smaller vehicles do feel less safe. That doesn't mean they are.