Sometime after the turn of the millennium, crossover utility vehicles started to shed their image of implied ruggedness. The Nissan Murano and Infiniti FX led the charge of minimal cladding and complex curves, and the formula spread across the industry for well over a decade. However, over the past few years, the winds have started to shift. The current crop of crossovers has seen a resurgence of squared-off lines, and one manufacturer is taking it to the extreme. The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe asks what boxy can do for you, and it uses that straight-edge form to be a genuine three-row crossover with a proper midsize footprint.
After all, if you’re moving, you don’t put your stuff in orbs, you put it in boxes. The humble box or crate has been the preferred shape for carrying stuff for centuries, and when you’re trying to cram all the people and belongings and electronic devices that come with being a modern parent into a vehicle, it should help a great deal if that vehicle were shaped like a box. Add in some clever touches of design, and the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe is exceptionally promising indeed.
[Full disclosure: Hyundai Canada took me on a multi-vehicle trip to British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast to drive the new Santa Fe, with jets, a seaplane, a ferry, and a bus all involved in the transportation process to and from a gaggle of yurts. Yep, that’s B.C. for sure. In addition to transportation and accommodations, Hyundai provided food and hydration. -TH]
How Does It Look?
Someone call Huey Lewis and the News, because it’s once again hip to be square. Although the previous Santa Fe looked nice, it wasn’t quite sized or packaged correctly to gain an edge over the Tucson compact crossover, which resulted in something weird happening on sales floors. According to Hyundai Canada, the previous-generation Santa Fe attracted an older clientele than the much larger Palisade, and empty nesters probably aren’t the ideal main buying group for a family crossover.
So, Hyundai went back to the drawing board and attacked it with a ruler and a marker. The result is the boxiest midsized three-row family hauler we’ve seen since the Land Rover LR4 — pragmatism as a fashion statement to the extreme. The new Santa Fe looks huge, but it isn’t some 200-inch behemoth. At 190.2 inches long, it’s 5.8 inches shorter than the larger Hyundai Palisade, 4.8 inches shorter than the Toyota Highlander, and 5.5 inches shorter than a Honda Accord midsize sedan. I’d say that’s right on the money. Oh, and despite the blocky silhouette, this thing has a drag coefficient of 0.294, down from 0.33 in the previous model. Neat.
Beyond the striking silhouette, the new Hyundai Santa Fe gets more interesting the more you look at it. While the hand grips for getting up to the roof rack in the C-pillars are generating buzz, there’s plenty more to notice here. Unlike every other Hyundai crossover, the rear turn signals aren’t in the rear bumper, but are instead in the taillight assemblies, exactly where you’d expect them to be. Speaking of lighting, the headlights and taillights both feature H motifs, although thanks to a little extra negative space, they also look a lot like dog bones. Less ambiguous is the giant H in the front bumper grille, a design element that, once noticed, is hard to unsee.
What’s The Interior Like?
Sliding inside the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe, you’re greeted by a sweeping dashboard featuring a driver-centric screen arrangement and an interesting mix of physical and virtual controls. There’s a physical home button for the infotainment and hard keys for frequently used functions along with volume and tuning knobs and HVAC temperature control knobs, although controls for the heated seats are in a separate climate control touchscreen. Thankfully, said virtual controls are always top level, and they seem to exist for a surprisingly dignified reason. For instance, if a new Santa Fe isn’t a trim level with cooled seats, the touch panel means there are no blanked-off physical buttons in the center console. It’s an affordable way of doing something upscale, and I can’t be mad at that.
Speaking of interesting decisions, by mounting the electronic shifter to the steering column, Hyundai’s made space for up to two wireless smartphone charging pads. Also worth noting, the oddly funky steering wheel that features dramatically thicker rim circumference near the two horizontal spokes than anywhere else around the rim. That’s definitely an ergonomic quirk, although the scroll wheel for the steering wheel mounted volume control is genius, and the difference in rim thickness is surprisingly easy to get used to.
Every 2024 Santa Fe gets three rows of seating, and before we get to third-row seat room, it’s worth noting that the first is extremely comfortable. The cushions have just the right amount of give, and a little curve in each seatback really supports your upper back well. No risk of numb butts in this thing. As for the second row, it’s either a bench or a pair of power-adjustable captain’s chairs and is also surprisingly plush. With nice seat foam, a high seating position, and plenty of legroom, it feels like the second row in a bigger vehicle. Moving to the all-important third row, the boxy silhouette of the Santa Fe allows it to boast some impressive figures. Hyundai’s claiming 2.32 inches more third-row legroom and 1.3 inches more second-row legroom than a much longer Toyota Highlander, while only giving up 1.4 cubic feet of cargo room behind the third row.
It’s still enough cargo space for a handful of backpacks, and a welcome tradeoff for a genuinely useable third row. I probably wouldn’t want to put two taller adults in the third row for a long trip, but for hour-long journeys, it’s not just doable, it’s comfortable. Oh, and did I mention that those third row seats recline? It’s an unexpectedly nice touch, but then again, the Santa Fe is all about nice touches.
If you’ve ever been around kids, you know that kids have stuff and stuff eventually needs to be put away. Well, not only is there a slide-out center console bin for second-row passengers, the lid of the center console hinges both fore and aft for easy access by adults in the front seats and anyone in the second row. It’s a clever little trick that really makes us wonder why more automakers aren’t doing it. Oh, and if your kids’ stuff does take up the entire center console storage area, there are dual gloveboxes for occupants up front. On the top trim, the upper glovebox is even a UV-C disinfecting chamber, because the stuff we carry around on a daily basis gets gross sometimes.
Speaking of gizmos, every 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe gets a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen running Hyundai’s latest software, which means it comes with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto that works remarkably well. All trims but the base model also get a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, and while configurability isn’t quite as thorough as on previous Hyundai digital clusters, simple readouts and clean fonts go a long way. Add in up to two available wireless smartphone charging pads, digital key capability, an available household outlet in the third row, and oodles of USB-C ports, and the new Santa Fe has all the electronic gadgets you could reasonably want.
While more expensive Santa Fe trims get a 12-speaker Bose sound system that’s competitive as far as branded systems in the segment go, the unbranded stereo in the XRT I drove is still good enough for most people’s needs. Sure, it scoops the mids a touch, but with a little EQ tweak, you end up with a perfectly respectable stereo with ample power for most buyers. Bass notes hit with some jaunty little punch, treble notes aren’t shrill, and the soundstage is totally reasonable. It’s not a bad listening experience by any measure.
How Does It Drive?
Let’s get a little asterisk out of the way first. Hybrids are hot right now, and the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe will soon be available with a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine and a 1.49 kWh lithium-ion battery pack both feeding a six-speed torque converter automatic transmission with an integrated 59-horsepower electric motor. Total output? A cool 231 horsepower at 5,600 rpm and an impressive 271 lb.-ft. of torque from 1,000 rpm to 5,100 rpm. Yep, that plateau starts at 1,000 rpm. It’s impressive on paper, and I’ve experienced both the engine and the transmission in the Tucson Hybrid, but I haven’t driven the new Santa Fe Hybrid yet. See, all hybrid models come from Ulsan, in Korea, and they aren’t here yet. Expect them to arrive in showrooms this summer.
However, the other powertrain certainly isn’t a consolation prize. In fact, it absolutely rips for the segment. See, Santa Fe models built in Alabama get a 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine mated to an eight-speed wet clutch DCT. You might recognize this combination from the Hyundai Santa Cruz compact pickup truck, and it makes 277 horsepower and 311 lb.-ft. of torque on 87 octane gasoline in the Santa Fe. This turbocharged ripper is a strong, willing powertrain with incredibly refined DCT behavior. There’s no oddly fast low-speed creep or clunkiness in slow driving that you may expect from a DCT, and if it weren’t for the remarkably quick shifts, you’d have no idea it wasn’t a conventional torque converter automatic. While this transmission did have some initial teething issues when it launched a few years ago, hardware and software revisions in late 2022 seem to have sorted those out, including in demanding applications like the Elantra N sport compact car. If it can take back-to-back launch control starts without complaining, it should be able to handle life in a family car just fine.
Starting out in the top Ultimate Calligraphy trim (just Calligraphy in America), light parking lot-friendly steering is the first thing I noticed when putting tire to pavement. Sport mode adds desired heft, as the Pirelli Scorpion tires fitted to the Ultimate Calligraphy model are generally known for quick response at the expense of linear steering weighting. Still, thanks in part to those rubber band sidewalls, the Santa Fe manages to shrink around you when the roads get twisty. Okay, it doesn’t do a hot hatch impression, but until you glance in the mirror or need to make a U-turn, you’ll completely forget that you’re driving a cinderblock-shaped three-row crossover with more third-row legroom than a Toyota Highlander.
As for suspension tuning on the top-trim model, it’s pretty good. You won’t find cetacean body roll in the bends or dismaying flaccidity over whole-lane bumps, although you might get some extra body motions if one rear wheel hits a massive divot in the road. For the most part, the package feels just right, planted without ever feeling harsh. Sure, minor road cracks are faintly telegraphed through the chassis as hushed murmurs on models with 21-inch wheels, but how many Santa Fe buyers are opting for the big rollers? Sidewall is suddenly sexy again, and there’s a trim level that washes away low-profile sins.
Say hello to the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe XRT, a soft-roady trim that has the Honda Pilot TrailSport right in its crosshairs. Not only does it get a front skid plate, extra vents, and a towing capacity increase from 3,500 pounds to 4,500 pounds with the 2.5-liter engine (the hybrid can tow 2,500 pounds), it also gets a 1.3-inch lift from different springs and dampers, along with a set of 245/60R18 Continental TerrainContact A/T all-terrain tires. While these meats aren’t three-peak mountain snowflake-rated, they do offer up some serious perks on the beaten path.
For a start, those little whispers you get if you opt for 21-inch wheels are Thanos-snapped with this 18-inch wheel and tire package. Pattern noise? Nonexistent, and these tires’ management of potholes make them library quiet, noticeably more hushed than the top-spec Pirelli highway tires. It’s genuinely remarkable that Continental made a set of all-terrain tires that rides this well, and as an added perk, steering weight builds far more naturally on these tires. Sure, there may be a 4.34 percent combined cycle fuel economy hit from 23 mpg to 22 on the all-terrains (detailed mpg breakdown: 20 mpg city, 28 highway for AWD models on highway tires, 19 mpg city 26 highway on all-terrains), but looking around the richly appointed cabin with big screens, a stitched dashboard, supple leatherette seats, a household outlet in the third row, and a sunroof makes you wonder if anyone actually needs the top trim. After all, $7,700 ($6,500 in Canada) buys a lot of fuel.
What’s The Verdict On The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe?
Going into the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe, we already knew that Hyundai put some good stuff into it. Prior experience tells us that the 2.5-liter turbocharged engine is pleasurably strong, the eight-speed DCT is quick, the new infotainment system is fluid, and the N3 platform is stiff and well-insulated. What I didn’t expect was this three-row crossover to be greater than the sum of its major parts. From the Mensa-grade center console to the properly comfortable seats to the awesome interior space for the footprint to the monolithic styling, Hyundai didn’t just plan a midsize three-row crossover, it executed the concept exceptionally well. It feels to have been designed not just with care, but by people who have children, meaning it’s about as practical as most people could realistically want.
It’s also priced competitively. In America, the base SE FWD model stickers for $35,345 including a $1,395 freight charge, the SEL FWD lists for $37,845, the all-wheel-drive-only XRT trim costs $41,995, the Limited FWD will run you $44,745, and the top-banana Calligraphy trim with FWD goes for $47,895. All-wheel-drive will run you an extra $1,800 on all trims save for the XRT, and the hybrid powertrain pulls a $500 premium on top of AWD on SEL AWD trims and up, excluding the soft-roady XRT trim.
In Canada, things are a little different. All models come with all-wheel-drive, trim level names are slightly different, and the hybrid powertrain is only available on the lower two trims, with XRT trims and up being 2.5-liter exclusively. In Canadian dollars and including a $2,000 freight charge, the base Preferred trim lists for $42,999, the Preferred with Trend package (20-inch wheels, dual-pane sunroof, digital cluster) lists for $46,999, the XRT lists for $48,999, the Luxury (equivalent to the American Limited trim) costs $51,999, and the Ultimate Calligraphy trim stickers for $55,499.
No matter which market you’re looking at, those figures are on the less expensive end of the true three-row crossover spectrum, significantly undercutting the Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot, and Mazda CX-90. Money talks, and the new Santa Fe is saying all the right words. With non-hybrid models in showrooms now, it’s only a matter of time before you start seeing these squared-off CUVs in your neighborhood, adding some unique style to the suburbs.
(Photo credits: Thomas Hundal)
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Boxy? We like boxes! David Tracy’s Jeep cats
That only applies to US/Canada spec models, because they use a combined red brake light/signal. Sigh. Another victim of tail light enshittification.
Every other country does get them lower in the bumper, but at least they are amber and distinct from the brake light as god intended. TBH I would much rather have those.
Ngl, I think this thing is kind of fugly. Those wheel arches are not doing it for me at all.
Kinda want, ngl
I would never buy it because they build it in Alabama. I’m so sick of car companies putting factories in crappy Southern union busting states just so they can use child labor and avoid paying a union wage.
Maybe you should take a tour of a car plant in the US South. They are clinically clean and pleasant places to work. And not a child in sight.
Hyundai in Alabama was busted recently for using child labor. And we have such lousy enforcement of labor laws in this country that I’m sure it wasn’t the only case. And clinically clean and pleasant and union busting is still union busting.
Fair enough, but that also puts Mazda, Toyota, Honda, and Mercedes-Benz into question—Hyundai are far from the only ones manufacturing in Alabama. And if you count the entire South you have to include Kia, Nissan, VW, Volvo, and BMW as well. Efforts are underway to unionize at a lot of them though, so there’s hope yet.
I wasn’t aware of Mazda. Knew about the others. Hoping the UAW is able to win the election in Chattanooga — it’ll be a start.
Any word on when the plug-in hybrid version will be released (if it’s being released at all)?
I was behind, beside and in front of one on I-85 outside of Greensboro NC yesterday–strange that the US media embargo is still in effect. I don’t think the one I saw had manufacturer plates. In plain white, apparently a low trim version, it didn’t look as garish as I expected. The body contouring around the wheel openings is overdone and obnoxious, but I approve of a boxy shape for an SUV and I may wind up liking the rear.
Hyundai Santa Flex?
Curious how they will differentiate this from the Palisaide–seems like very similar market space imo
My guess is the new Palisade is gonna go way up in size and bling—think Grand Highlander.
Palisade was already and remains a size up; the Grand Highlander was more Toyota catching up to it and others in size.
For the money some of the Santa Fe trims go for, I tend to think people might be more inclined to just step up to the Palisade actually, but I don’t think Hyundai will care either as long as you’re in their showroom.
Right, but the Santa Fe growing means the Palisade has room to expand too. I don’t think we’ve seen the full extent of the unibody CUV quite yet. I’d wager that by the end of the decade we’ll have unibody-sized Suburban and Expedition XL rivals for folks who want the space but don’t tow or want a van.
I wouldn’t be surprised either on unibody crossovers reaching new forms. My point is more the Palisade wasn’t waiting on the Santa Fe in order to grow, not like say the Kona and Tucson were both on the small end before. The tweener segment that the Santa Fe is in, between the Tucson and Palisade, is a tricky one since most buyers just step up to the larger model for similar pricing with no downside. Honda snags some sales of the Passport even though it’s still based on the ‘old’ Pilot, but then others like the Edge and Murano have just been withering. The new Santa Fe seems different enough to stand on its own in the Hyundai lineup although I actually could see sales flatten or decrease for the new one simply since the price went up with the standard NA motor dropped – but I imagine they hope to steer those buyers on the lower end to the Tucson, the two were maybe a couple grand apart in base MSRP before.
I think there’s currently growing interest in the middle segment between ‘compact’ C-segment based CUVs and the full-size three rowers. The Sorento manages fairly well for itself despite the ever-popular Telluride, and Toyota seems to move more Venzas than I’d expect for a two-row crossover that wears the same badge yet costs a lot more than a RAV4.
The Blazer, Murano, Edge, and Passport are definitely getting long in the tooth, but I fully expect each one to warrant a replacement with how CUV-crazy Americans are. And don’t forget the regular Grand Cherokee which has traditionally sat in this ‘midsize’ tweener segment—even with the L now available I definitely see more of the short (aka ‘traditional’) GCs.
Ironically one of the biggest customer bases of this size class are empty nesters who no longer ‘need’ the third row of a ‘family CUV’ yet think the small one is too ‘cheap’ or ‘small’ for them. It’s interesting that this new one is marketed more towards families as the outgoing model was a favorite with retirees.
In the latter half of the 2010s it seemed like it was a segment primed for growth, but I think we’re seeing a shift in what the segment is so there’s no one key blueprint, not like there is in the segments on either side. Like a free space on the bingo card.
Sorento is established but was the key crossover/3-row offering for Kia for the longest time, and even now has an advantage of price on the lower end where (like the outgoing Santa Fe) it’s not too much more than the Sportage still. The paths seem to be divulging between outdoorsy (4Runner I’d throw in too, GC, Outback; Honda leaned in here with the Passport, and now Sorento/Santa Fe seem to be too) and eco-minded – heavy on electrification like EV Blazer, Prologue, Ariya, but hybrids too like the Crown Signia that replaces the Venza (which I always liked the current one because once you load up a RAV, it actually isn’t really that far off in price, just sacrifices some space for plushness). Especially on that latter group, I think it’s tricky because a Model Y even fits in pretty close in the size and pricepoint. In general you need a stronger brand to have an entry rather than say the segment below, where there’s not a ton of variation in specs and dimensions and all in most models and you can pretty much just crank out.
Mazda seemed to be entering it too with the lead-up to the CX-70 though they’d probably be better off from the start just saying “hey we’ll do a version of the -90 with a 3rd row seat delete” rather than hype it up as a whole new model.
I can. They compromised everyone’s user interface because some people might be insecure about their frugality in car purchases. It’s yet another crappy excuse for touchscreen controls. At least if they were doing it for cost-cutting reasons (which I suspect is the real driver here anyway) everyone benefits from a theoretically lower cost car.
Touchscreen seat controls suck and I will die on this hill.
Agreed, but the fact that they’re on their own screen and not buried in a submenu and that the car has four knobs is a minor miracle in 2024.
Saw one in person yesterday briefly on the highway. I typically like the quirky Korean styled cars but I didn’t love it coming up from behind. I agree that the XRT seems to be the one to get. I currently have the 2.5T in my Sonata N Line along with an 8 speed wet dual clutch, it is a beast and should move this along nicely, always thought that should have been offered in the Palisade/Telluride to get better power/torque and mpgs vs the 6 cylinder. Not only is it quick, I typically exceed EPA numbers or at the very least meet them, all on 87 octane which for me driving 20k miles per year equals a $1k+ savings annually for fuel alone due to not needing premium.
This styling is Bob Boxbody approved.
What I want to know, where in the range does this fit against the Tulluride/Pallisade? Is this smaller/cheaper? Maybe I missed it.
“At 190.2 inches long, it’s 5.8 inches shorter than the larger Hyundai Palisade…”
“In America, the base SE FWD model stickers for $35,345 including a $1,395 freight charge…”
Yep missed it, thanks!
Saw one in white, looks great BUT IT JUST NEEDS A REAR MOUNTED SPARE TIRE
WHY IS NO ONE SAYING THIS BUT ME? IT WOULD SOLVE EVERYTHING, LOOK AT A G WAGON WITHOUT A SPARE TIRE.
Maybe if it had a split tailgate but a hatch door with spare is a little complicated?
Swing out arm is all you need
I’ve just seen one, and it’s fantastic looking. Too big for what I want (almost everything is), but I enjoyed seeing it.
Someone get Adrian a Xanax before he reads all these Explorer/Flex/Element/Land Rover comparisons!
Sounds like a solid offering! Shame they never finished designing it. If only someone had finished the rear end, rather than just use some AI auto-fill tool, I think this could have been a real hit.
Bingo. That rear end just completely kills it for me. With the tail lights being so low and the roof being so high, the vertical slab of nothingness between them looks like it was never completed.
I’m getting serious 90’s minivan vibes from that end, and that’s not a good thing.
The rear end reminds me of a first gen Geo Metro hatchback
Yuri from Straight Pipes photoshopped the lights higher in the rear in their YT review and it really fixes things.
Apparently the tail lights are mounted that low because because of the mounting points for the massive struts holding up the hatch.
https://autos.yahoo.com/heres-why-2024-hyundai-santa-144000627.html
If that A pillar was vertical, and you squint, it might look like a supersized Honda Element. Maybe.
Much as I don’t care for Hyundai’s model names, this would be tempting (were I in the market for this kind of car right now).
Am I the only one who sees New Toyota Land Cruiser? I mean Land Cruiser look with Telluride space and functionality. This could be a winner.
Ford made the Flex for a few years. Ford flex owners will trade for these. Boxy and cool!
This vehicle would be 100% up my alley for my next purchase in the next 6-12 months… Except that it isn’t offered in a PHEV or EV form.
I’m done with vehicles that I need to use gas for my day to day commute. Will never go back to a 100% ICE.
They had a pretty decent PHEV setup in the last generation Santa Fe. I imagine that it will eventually carry over. They’re just starting with the upgraded ICE powertrain because they’re easier to produce and they can charge more for them.
Those square lines bring to mind Toyota Tundra/ Sequoia models. Not loving the square lines and strange, Lego like wheel wells. The whole car is like a Lego kit..Not a compliment.
I see the a Big new Landcruiser- like 3 row Landcruiser. it has very similar looks and it will be interesting to see if in a year or two people give it a 2-3 inch lift and some great aftermarket mods….
Agreed, the front looks alright but the side and rear views are awful.