KevinMD

2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport
Standard SUV (SRAR)
21/27 mpg
FWD
2.4L 4cyl inline engine
Six speed shiftable automatic transmission
190 hp
6-way manual driver seat with power lumbar
4-way manual passenger seat
Cloth seats
17.4 Gallon fuel tank
Cargo Capacity in back 35.4 cubic feet
Cargo Capacity with rear seats down 71.5
Six speaker audio system with USB, AUX, CD, and Bluetooth
Comes with SXM
5” screen
Backup camera

Pros
Real world MPG was better than advertised
Power lumbar is a nice feature
Lots of room for longer trips

Cons
Suspension is a little rough
Bluetooth audio skipped a lot

Summary: A better than average SUV, but still not comparable to the Grand Cherokee or Explorer Limited



I picked up this SUV for a weekend road trip out to western OK. I needed a little more room, and a comfortable ride. It was definitely roomy, and was comfortable when the roads were smooth. There were a few times when I hit a construction zone or detours off the main roads due to flooding last week, and onto roads that were less than ideal. The suspension did not absorb the bumps as one would like for a SUV.

Hyundai makes two different Santa Fes, this was the Santa Fe Sport, which is strictly a five seater, and the standard Santa Fe, which is a seven seater. The Santa Fe Sport starts at $25,350, and this one had no additional packages or options installed.



The SUV is powered with a 2.4L 4-cylinder inline engine. It does not have a lot of get up and go, but is fine once you get up to speed. Much of the trip the speed limit was 70 or 75, and the car had no issues at that speed, and it was not straining at those speeds.

I was surprised at the MPG. The advertised MPG is 27 for the highway. I put about 600 miles on it, and the average MPG I had was 31, and that was with the AC on.



I would place this SUV in the middle of the pack. It is better than the Nissan and the Equinox, but cannot compete with the features of the Grand Cherokee, Explorer, and Edge, especially when those can be found nicely equipped

Closingracer

I've rented one of these last summer and Meh. It was comfortable but has no acceleration so passing on the highway can be a chore but otherwise is a good suv.

qs933

With non-base models of Nissans now abundant, is Hyundai one of the last hold-outs on selling higher trim levels to rental fleets?

To be fair, I suppose, it could be the other way around: Hyundai wants to sell more expensive trims (higher average selling price per unit, higher margins), but hasn't been able to get the fleets to buy. When you're buying thousands of units, even a seemingly inexpensive option package could add a million dollars or more.