March 9 was the three year mark for my bought new '23 Santa Fe, 2.5T with AWD. It's been a great experience so far and I plan to keep it for a while. So if you're a Hyundai hater you may want to move on. In three years I've accumulated 35,191 trouble free miles. There is a little asterisk that goes along with that 'trouble free' part. The horn did stop working a few months ago but I really don't count that. It was fixed under warranty and the car drove just fine while the horn didn't work .
I enter all of my fuel purchases in Fuelly and according to them I'm averaging 25.7 mpg. I'm pleased with that. The engine is the 2.5 four turbo that makes 277 hp and 311 lb./ft. of torque with AWD. Of course those aren't super car numbers, but the car will get out of it's own way and I have no trouble passing or merging onto the interstate. The power delivery just feels effortless to me. The transmission is an 8 speed double clutch affair that I have to say works well. Don't ask me why this SUV needs a double clutch, but that's what it's got. The transmission is also push button. I'm not fond of it but it works. I'd prefer a normal shifter, but when I push the 'D' button it goes forward and when I push the 'R' button it goes backward. It works.
I have the Limited version of the Santa Fe which is the mid level. But it gives me a heated steering wheel, and heated and ventilated seats. The heated steering wheel and seats I love. Ventilated seats depend on the temp inside the car. It sucks air from the floor and blows it up your butt, so if the car is close to a million degrees inside, you're not getting much cooling effect. But I would imaging most cars work similarly.
The car came with no spare tire but I bought a package that gave me a donut and necessary tools for changing. I also bought a Kia carrier/hoist to mount the tire under the car. That's not the most convenient location to deal with in an emergency so I also bought a can of Fix-a-flat for a quick and dirty fix if the tire allows.
The driving experience is not exciting. It's not an enthusiasts car. But other than that it has done everything that I have wanted and never let me down. It does have a Sport mode which I use occasionally. The Santa Fe is sort of a Goldilocks size. Not too big and not too small. Same with the 55 series tires. Not low profile but not too tall.
I think that it's a decent looking car that has given me zero trouble and gets me where I want to go comfortably. Can't ask much more than that. I don't have the German car driving experience but I didn't pay the German car price either.
I enter all of my fuel purchases in Fuelly and according to them I'm averaging 25.7 mpg. I'm pleased with that. The engine is the 2.5 four turbo that makes 277 hp and 311 lb./ft. of torque with AWD. Of course those aren't super car numbers, but the car will get out of it's own way and I have no trouble passing or merging onto the interstate. The power delivery just feels effortless to me. The transmission is an 8 speed double clutch affair that I have to say works well. Don't ask me why this SUV needs a double clutch, but that's what it's got. The transmission is also push button. I'm not fond of it but it works. I'd prefer a normal shifter, but when I push the 'D' button it goes forward and when I push the 'R' button it goes backward. It works.
I have the Limited version of the Santa Fe which is the mid level. But it gives me a heated steering wheel, and heated and ventilated seats. The heated steering wheel and seats I love. Ventilated seats depend on the temp inside the car. It sucks air from the floor and blows it up your butt, so if the car is close to a million degrees inside, you're not getting much cooling effect. But I would imaging most cars work similarly.
The car came with no spare tire but I bought a package that gave me a donut and necessary tools for changing. I also bought a Kia carrier/hoist to mount the tire under the car. That's not the most convenient location to deal with in an emergency so I also bought a can of Fix-a-flat for a quick and dirty fix if the tire allows.
The driving experience is not exciting. It's not an enthusiasts car. But other than that it has done everything that I have wanted and never let me down. It does have a Sport mode which I use occasionally. The Santa Fe is sort of a Goldilocks size. Not too big and not too small. Same with the 55 series tires. Not low profile but not too tall.
I think that it's a decent looking car that has given me zero trouble and gets me where I want to go comfortably. Can't ask much more than that. I don't have the German car driving experience but I didn't pay the German car price either.
