2010 Hyundai Sante-Fe 4cyl auto

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Jastreb
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2010 Hyundai Sante-Fe 4cyl auto

Post by Jastreb »

Wazzup y'all... I recently rented a Hyundai Santa-Fe on a recent trip to LA. Well, I actually rented a compact car, but the only one they had on the lot had expired registration, so they gave me the SUV. Which was just as well, because I have my skis with me, and it was very easy to throw them in the back.

Performance 2.0/5.0
I popped the hood and to my surprise saw a transversely mounted inline 4. The engine looked small and lost in the large engine bay, like a toddler in an airport lounge. It outputs 175 HP, which is quite respectable in most cases, but in a vehicle that weighs in close to 4000 lbs - it is barely adequate. A slushbox that takes 2 seconds to downshift when you floor it doesn't help either. This SUV is slow, and doesn't have enough acceleration to merge in front of a Buick-driving granny when getting on the highway. Also it's front wheel drive, as you might have guessed.

The suspension feels like it is made of marshmallows. Being an SUV with a high CG, predictably the handling sucks. 80 mph is as fast as you really want to drive it on the highway, because any sudden lane changes or wind gusts at that speed are a bit...uncomfortable. The brake pedal effort is very light, almost mushy - yet the brakes are surprisingly effective in a vehicle this big.

Comfort 4.5/5.0
The flip side of the marshmallow suspension is a really cushy ride. So cushy that you don't have a sensation of increasing speed in this car. The seats are soft and reasonably comfortable, and and the driving position is reasonable.

Economy 4.0/5.0
I got 20-21 mpg driving up a mountain pass and back, and tooling around the desert. Pretty good considering the size of this thing - my car car does no better.

Interior 3.5/5.0
For a big SUV, I expected some luxurious touches. To my surprise there was no ambient temperature gauge. But all I got were some fake wood insets. On the other hand, the rear visibility was pretty good, and there was more than enough room for my stuff. Nothing remarkable - felt a little cheap to me.

Exterior 3.0/5.0
Nothing to say here. Not ugly but bland and very average.

FOSE: 3.5/5.0
There's enough room inside to have a wild and crazy time with an entire sorority. The problem is, driving such a mommy mobile, you're gonna have a hard time finding willing participants.

Overall 3.5/5.0
Really, there is no legitimate reason for this vehicle to exist. It can't tow anything besides tumbleweeds. Probably not much use offroad. A wagon would have just as much cargo room and better handing. That being said, if you're going to take your dog to the park, and then pick up your kids from soccer practice, I suppose it is perfectly adequate.
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Re: 2010 Hyundai Sante-Fe 4cyl auto

Post by theholycow »

Jastreb wrote:Really, there is no legitimate reason for this vehicle to exist. It can't tow anything besides tumbleweeds. Probably not much use offroad. A wagon would have just as much cargo room and better handing.
CAFE (and pop culture) is the reason why SUV instead of wagon.
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Re: 2010 Hyundai Sante-Fe 4cyl auto

Post by Shadow »

Interesting review. I have a good friend who purchased a new Santa Fe last year to replace her old Chevy Trailblazer. She has no problems towing her snowmobiles in the winter and her Jet skis in the summer. I believe the tow rating is 3500 lbs for the Santa Fe.

I've driven her Santa Fe a few times and I thought it was pretty decent for a smallish SUV. I know you called it large, but to me it seems small. It's considered a midsize SUV, but still it seems smaller than my 4Runner, which is also classified as midsize.

Overall, I think the Santa Fe is a perfect vehicle for her. She's an active person who does a lot of the same stuff that I do, so the vehicle can tow, hold all of her gear, plus her friends and her two dogs. Trust me, vehicles like these are perfect for people with active lifestyles. That's the same exact reason I purchased a 4Runner--it's the perfect vehicle if you like to ski, snowmobile, jet ski, kayak, mountain bike, etc... which are all things I do throughout the year. Plus, they are basically unstoppable in bad weather (think deep snow) if you get 4wd. Sometimes the "U" in SUV is actually important to people who own these kinds of vehicles.
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Re: 2010 Hyundai Sante-Fe 4cyl auto

Post by ElectroGhandi »

I prefer this little guy to the Santa Fe.

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Re: 2010 Hyundai Sante-Fe 4cyl auto

Post by Shadow »

If I were in the market for a "cute 'ute", I'd probably look hard at this:

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But I'd rather stick with my fully boxed frame, solid axle 4Runner.
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Re: 2010 Hyundai Sante-Fe 4cyl auto

Post by Rope-Pusher »

Shadow wrote:If I were in the market for a "cute 'ute", I'd probably look hard at this:

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But I'd rather stick with my fully boxed frame, solid axle 4Runner.
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Re: 2010 Hyundai Sante-Fe 4cyl auto

Post by Shadow »

Not sure what the Flintstone Flyer has to do with anything. Maybe a little text would help next time...
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Re: 2010 Hyundai Sante-Fe 4cyl auto

Post by Rope-Pusher »

Shadow wrote:Not sure what the Flintstone Flyer has to do with anything. Maybe a little text would help next time...
fully boxed frame, solid axle 4Runner.
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Re: 2010 Hyundai Sante-Fe 4cyl auto

Post by Shadow »

Rope-Pusher wrote:
Shadow wrote:Not sure what the Flintstone Flyer has to do with anything. Maybe a little text would help next time...
fully boxed frame, solid axle 4Runner.
Hmm....last time I checked, the Jeep Liberty had a solid axle rear, just like my 4Runner. Actually, the correct term is live axle rear. So in that sense, your Liberty is the same as my 4Runner, IFS and live axle rear. I'm not sure if you've ever driven a late-model 4Runner, but they are almost as quiet and comfortable as a Lexus. Toyota really is one of the few companies who know how to do a live axle rear correctly.

As for the fully boxed frame, it's simply the most rugged and strong frame available. That's why I can treat my 4Runner like a workhorse and not worry about it. Cute 'utes can't take the same kind of stress without falling to pieces.
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Re: 2010 Hyundai Sante-Fe 4cyl auto

Post by ElectroGhandi »

Who are you arguing with?
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Re: 2010 Hyundai Sante-Fe 4cyl auto

Post by Rope-Pusher »

Shadow wrote:
Rope-Pusher wrote:
Shadow wrote:Not sure what the Flintstone Flyer has to do with anything. Maybe a little text would help next time...
fully boxed frame, solid axle 4Runner.
Hmm....last time I checked, the Jeep Liberty had a solid axle rear, just like my 4Runner. Actually, the correct term is live axle rear. So in that sense, your Liberty is the same as my 4Runner, IFS and live axle rear. I'm not sure if you've ever driven a late-model 4Runner, but they are almost as quiet and comfortable as a Lexus. Toyota really is one of the few companies who know how to do a live axle rear correctly.

As for the fully boxed frame, it's simply the most rugged and strong frame available. That's why I can treat my 4Runner like a workhorse and not worry about it. Cute 'utes can't take the same kind of stress without falling to pieces.
Wanna beer? Gimme your fax number and I'll send one over. I think the Flintstone car had the only truly solid axles, front and back, and a frame made of box(wood). I've heard and seen all the arguments for solid axles vs independent suspensions, long wheelbases vs short, body-on-frame vs unibody vs unibody hybrids. Until you push your usage into a particular edge of the spectrum, they all work pretty well. Jeep vehicles lately have tended to improve their on-road performance without degrading their off-road performance. The Cherokee broke ground with a unibody chassis. It was almost regarded as blasphemy when the TJ Wrangler came out with coil springs. The Liberty got independent front suspension and frame rails welded to it's unibody. The latest Grand Cherokee has independent suspensions at both ends. If you build a custom vehicle for rock crawling, it would probably not be as good at hill climbing as the vehicles built for that, or as good at dune riding as a vehicle built for that, or as good in mud bogs as vehicles built for that and none of those vehicles would feel as at-home on the highways as the production vehicles. Buy what's out there or make what you want.
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Re: 2010 Hyundai Sante-Fe 4cyl auto

Post by Shadow »

ElectroGhandi wrote:Who are you arguing with?
Are you asking me? If so, I'm not arguing with anyone. I don't see an argument here.
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Re: 2010 Hyundai Sante-Fe 4cyl auto

Post by theholycow »

:lol: Shadow, it looked like you were arguing with someone but then on further inspection we could see that you were responding to yourself.

I always thought I was doing it wrong when I used the term "live" instead of "solid" to describe an axle...isn't any axle that transmits torque (vs. a dead axle on non-drive wheels) considered "live"?
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Re: 2010 Hyundai Sante-Fe 4cyl auto

Post by Shadow »

Rope-Pusher wrote: Wanna beer? Gimme your fax number and I'll send one over. I think the Flintstone car had the only truly solid axles, front and back, and a frame made of box(wood). I've heard and seen all the arguments for solid axles vs independent suspensions, long wheelbases vs short, body-on-frame vs unibody vs unibody hybrids. Until you push your usage into a particular edge of the spectrum, they all work pretty well. Jeep vehicles lately have tended to improve their on-road performance without degrading their off-road performance. The Cherokee broke ground with a unibody chassis. It was almost regarded as blasphemy when the TJ Wrangler came out with coil springs. The Liberty got independent front suspension and frame rails welded to it's unibody. The latest Grand Cherokee has independent suspensions at both ends. If you build a custom vehicle for rock crawling, it would probably not be as good at hill climbing as the vehicles built for that, or as good at dune riding as a vehicle built for that, or as good in mud bogs as vehicles built for that and none of those vehicles would feel as at-home on the highways as the production vehicles. Buy what's out there or make what you want.
No thanks on the beer; I don't drink.

The Flintsone Flyer was a cartoon car, as were the Flintstones themselves. I'm not surprised a cartoon car has a wooden frame and solid axles, much less stone steamrollers for tires! LOL

As for the virtues of the different types of frames/chassis/suspensions etc...it's all good. I don't want a rock crawler. I don't want a dune runner. I want a vehicle that can handle everything I throw at it. As I've mentioned, I use my 4Runner for an active lifestyle. This includes pulling trailers with snowmobiles or jet skis. I also use it for mountain biking & kayaking. I've even used it for camping (makes a great camping vehicle for sure). I've used it for ski trips (planning another one very soon). And since it's 4wd, I have no worries about getting there or home in even the worst snow storm.

Now here's where the fully boxed frame and live axle rear come into play: I use my 4Runner as a plow vehicle. I use a pull plow that attaches to the rear hitch. It's called a Superplow and it's made specifically to pull from the rear of a truck or SUV. I've also used my 4Runner for pulling stumps out of my yard. Again, heavy-duty is key. I do some mild offroad driving as well, but not very often. With a heavy-duty frame, live axle rear, and low gearing, I have no worries even helping to recover a stuck vehicle. I carry a hitch shackle and tow strap in my 4Runner at all times, just for that very reason.

The new Jeep Grand Cherokee is a nice vehicle, but now that it is IRS I think it's gone a little soft. I like the new body style, but I agree with most of the WK guys that they should have kept the live axle rear end. There are fewer and fewer midsize SUVs that are body-on-frame and have live axle rear these days. For whatever reason, Toyota decided to stick with that formula on the new 4Runner (came out in 2010), but I really don't like the styling of the vehicle. I guess they decided to stick with with the more rugged layout because everyone else is abandoning it. Maybe that's a smart move....sort of creating their own niche in a market flooded with softroaders and cute 'utes.
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Re: 2010 Hyundai Sante-Fe 4cyl auto

Post by Shadow »

theholycow wrote::lol: Shadow, it looked like you were arguing with someone but then on further inspection we could see that you were responding to yourself.

I always thought I was doing it wrong when I used the term "live" instead of "solid" to describe an axle...isn't any axle that transmits torque (vs. a dead axle on non-drive wheels) considered "live"?

Actually, I was responding to Rope-Pusher, who commented by 1-posting a picture of the Flintstone Flyer, and 2-quoting a small segment of one of my comments. I'm not so sure why that's not obvious.

Sometimes people use live axle and solid axle interchangeably. Solid axle just isn't really the correct term because the typical live axle rear isn't a solid axle at all. It's two axle shafts connected to a center differential.
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