The Grover Wheel

I recently experienced my first car accident. Don’t worry, dear reader, I am fine. But my car sustained front bumper damage in the crash. Maybe crash is the wrong word. Maybe result is a better word. The result of a Prius driver backing slowly and inexplicably far past the point where he needed to turn out of his parking space and directly into my car as I yelled and waved for him to stop. But I digress. His insurance covered the damage (which was relatively minor) and provided me with a rental vehicle for a few days while my Honda Civic was in the shop. I was expecting a Hyundai compact with a gutless engine and soul-crushing interior but I was pleasantly surprised when Enterprise bumped me up to a mid-size SUV. It was still a Hyundai, but at least I wouldn’t be cramped.

What I ended up with was a practically-new (less than 4 months old) 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. Specifically, the All Wheel Drive, 2.4L model in a lovely burnt orange that Hyundai calls “Canyon Copper” but I call “lovely”. Frankly, my prior experiences with SUV’s were not stellar and tended to be centered around Jeeps from the early-to-mid-noughties with anemic engines and the reliability of pre-war plumbing. However, I found myself impressed with the Santa Fe. The interior was remarkably attractive and tasteful. Hyundai has a running obsession with symmetry and the Santa Fe’s dashboard bears witness to this compulsion. Everything flows from the top of the console to the center armrest with sweeping angles and a pronounced centerline. The effect is very upscale and tasteful, but the design is not without some little niggles. While most of the controls are well laid out and easy to reach, the feel of the temperature-control buttons reminded me of a cheap toy. And I can’t help but wonder why Hyundai felt the need for a button system instead of a knob when the buttons aren’t connected to a climate control system but to a standard hot/cold selector. This is, however, a niggling fault. The general layout of the dash is otherwise handsome. The Bluetooth system paired with my phone without a problem and the stereo impressed me with a better sound than I was expecting from a Hyundai. It must be noted that the Hyundai’s infotainment screen does feel a bit dated, but that’s something I will get into later in the review.

On the road, the Santa Fe provides a comfortable but sporty-ish ride that enjoys a bit of playing around on back roads. Highway manners are composed but not as solid as most SUVs. The Santa Fe tends to wander just a tiny bit at freeway speeds, but it’s nothing significant and I didn’t find it off-putting. However, I still can’t make up my mind about the Santa Fe’s engine. I drove the base 2.4L model, but the power was still enjoyable and hustled the SUV’s bulk around without straining. However, the power delivery was not in keeping with what I want out of an SUV. The engine lacked off-the-line torque and preferred to stay in the mid to upper section of the rev range. The noise, while sporty, intruided into the cabin more than I suspect the average driver would like and seemed off-character for the vehicle. I know it says “Sport” on the back, but the engine felt and sounded like it would be more at home in a sedan than an SUV. It wasn’t a bad engine, it was willing and eager, but I couldn’t help but feel like it was out of place in the Santa Fe.

And this dichotomy of character deepened the more time I spent behind the wheel. On the one hand, the Santa Fe Sport represents decent value for money. The model I tested runs around $27,595 plus the usual fees. However, that means it’s not as cheap as you might expect a Hyundai to be; the Honda CR-V EX runs about the same money. The rear seats were extremely comfortable, but the front seats felt like they were stuffed with crushed granite and were uncomfortable (at least for my big thighs) after only 20 miles. The interior packed all the usual toys like heated seats and bluetooth, but the dashboard display was small and felt like something from 2009. A similar story with the Automatic powertrain. It felt eager enough, but not always quick-witted about its shift points. In all, the Santa Fe Sport felt like a great SUV, albeit one from 5 years ago. Nothing about it really felt modern or particularly adept in any one area.
And that lack of cutting-edge feel or specialty almost had me writing off the Santa Fe as a “don’t buy” option. A vehicle that impressed me at first, but whose memory left me nonplussed about its charms a few days after I gave it back. However, further reflection has left me with a different impression. Perhaps I am too critical of the Santa Fe’s shortcomings. At the end of the day, the Santa Fe Sport caters to middle America. It’s a bit of everything: an automotive all-you-can-eat buffet. It does everything pretty well, and nothing exceptionally. It’s inoffensive with a broad appeal. Sure it’s not cutting edge, but it ticks all the boxes in a way that most people would find hard to fault. It’s not as ubiquitous as the Honda CR-V or as in-your-face as the Jeep Cherokee. And for that I can see why people would like it, I certainly appreciated many of its charms. But, at the end of the day, I am just happy to have my Civic back.