2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy | Cars.com photo by Aaron Bragman
The verdict: The gas-powered Hyundai Santa Fe is practically the perfect family SUV, with top-notch space, comfort, technology and driving dynamics, only struggling when it comes to fuel economy with the turbo engine.
Versus the competition: You could make a real case for the Santa Fe being the benchmark in this category, so good is it — few competitors can match the Santa Fe’s refinement, space, and performance, especially at this price.
It’s not often I throw around the “b-word” when talking about cars, because using the term “benchmark” is a pretty bold claim. That means it’s the standard against which all others should be judged, and that’s quite an achievement for any automaker. But as I spent more and more time driving and using the 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe over the course of a week, the gasoline-only version (not the hybrid) in top Calligraphy trim, that’s the word that kept coming back to mind for me. There are few cars I can think of that don’t have several things I can point to and say, “That’s not great.” This latest Santa Fe is one in which I actually struggled to come with items in the “What We Don’t Like” category for our research page. Simply put, it’s very, very good in just about every single category I can think of. It’s one of the few vehicles I’ve ever driven that I actually can’t point to a bunch of things and say, “That’s not great,” because so much of it is, well, exactly what it needs to be.
Forgoing Fake Frippery
Now, this isn’t to say the Hyundai Santa Fe is the “perfect car.” It’s not suitable for a track day event, or scaling the Rubicon Trail, or towing a boat. But for its intended purpose to be an average, everyday family vehicle that seats five people in comfort and safety and has the means to entertain them on the journey, it comes damned close to that goal. It starts with the styling, the latest version of which is a slick combination of Hyundai’s latest avant garde looks (there really isn’t a “corporate” Hyundai look; all its vehicles look different yet somehow similar) that combine some interesting lighting elements and flowing, futuristic sheet metal. What you can say about the Santa Fe’s styling is that it’s interesting without being weird. It looks futuristic, with distinctive fanglike lighting elements up front and slim taillights in the back that have become a hallmark of Hyundai design — using the lighting elements themselves as critical styling features instead of being hidden or used as afterthoughts. Down the side, the wheel arches are emphasized with oversize patterns that match the openings, making the already big wheels and tires (20-inchers on this top-spec Calligraphy trim) appear even larger. The whole look is fresh, modern and attractive, somehow making a traditional two-box SUV shape look appealing without resorting to fake off-road frippery.
Classy, Not Sassy
Inside the Santa Fe, you’re greeted with a clean design that’s modern without resorting to that massively annoying new trend of taking you to touchscreenland. Yes, there is indeed a big 10.25-inch touchscreen perched atop the center console, but there is also a massive bank of buttons and switches below it that offer a lot of redundant control of systems from climate to audio. Are there too many buttons? Well, maybe, but they’re all large, well marked and have the benefit of always being in the same place so they’re easy to use on the fly without resorting to multiple touches of a virtual screen button. The transmission shifter is also push-button, and we’re less thrilled with that, but it’s at least not angled away from you like it is in Hyundai’s smaller Tucson, so while it’s not as intuitive to use as a shift lever, it could be worse.
But it’s the combination of outstanding comfort in any of the Santa Fe’s five seating positions and the genuinely premium materials used throughout the cabin that really sets it apart. It’s just really, really nice in there, with soft-touch plastics in stylish shapes mated to tightly assembled panels, knobs and switches. There’s plenty of hip and shoulder room for first- and second-row occupants, and there’s legroom galore, as well. Even with the panoramic moonroof, there’s plenty of headroom thanks to the front seats’ excellent adjustability. My only complaint? The monotony of the color palette; it’s a sea of somber gray in there, and while some call that classy and elegant, I think it’s a little unnecessarily boring. Many automakers are bringing color back into interiors, with blues and greens making a renewed appearance; the Santa Fe could do with a zesty splash of it to break up the funereal grayscale theme.
The Tech Leader
The onboard tech is another reason I use the “b-word” around the Santa Fe — truly, nobody does multimedia and graphic displays better than Hyundai. That 10.25-inch touchscreen is chock full of features, information, graphics and customization options that let you have any number of options for how you want to control the vehicle’s systems and what you want it to show you. The digital gauge cluster can be had in one of four different themes, one of them truly out there in terms of uniqueness (cubes?!), but again, the level of customization combined with the bright clarity of the displays themselves is just outstanding. So many automakers have digital displays and do nothing interesting with them; Hyundai considers it yet another canvas for creative looks and manages to make some interesting things without driving users nuts trying to figure out how it all works. The only complaint about this system is one that’s common throughout all Hyundais with this big screen: There’s still no wireless Apple CarPlay available. It was an electronics decision Hyundai made years ago in developing the 10.25-inch system that it has yet to correct, but it is indeed notable by its absence … especially when you can get wireless Apple CarPlay with Hyundai’s smaller, lesser systems in less expensive models. Weird, eh?
Zippy, Not Sippy
The powertrain for this top Calligraphy model is the bigger turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine mated to an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission driving all four wheels through permanent all-wheel drive. It pumps out a hefty 281 horsepower and 311 pounds-feet of torque, which is more than enough to get the Santa Fe scooting through traffic with a full load of people and luggage, and with even more alacrity if it’s just a driver on board. Acceleration is brisk, making highway entry ramps a breeze, and the eight-speed dual-clutch automatic is surprisingly smooth and unobtrusive, providing easy, quick shifts up or down the gear range when called for. The base engine in the Santa Fe is considerably less powerful: a naturally aspirated 2.5-liter four-cylinder making just 191 hp and 181 pounds-feet of torque, and that doesn’t sound terribly exciting. There are also two hybrid versions, one of them a plug-in with a dedicated electric range, for people who are more fuel-economy-minded. The downside to this powerful turbo engine is that fuel economy isn’t great: It’s EPA-rated at 21/28/24 mpg city/highway/combined, but my testing over the course of a week (and not even really with all that heavy a foot) only saw the Santa Fe return an average of 18 mpg, a pitiful showing for the vehicle.
The rest of the driving experience is excellent, however, thanks to an outstanding ride-and-handling balance. I wouldn’t call the Santa Fe athletic (although its zippy powertrain might disagree), with steering feel that’s acceptable (not numb like many other crossovers) and a ride that’s tuned more for comfort than sport, but sport is not the vehicle’s mission; well-controlled, confident family hauling is. And in that mission, the Santa Fe excels. The cabin is quiet at highway speeds or even under full acceleration, with very little wind or road noise making it to passengers’ ears. The ride is smooth and amazingly well damped even with the big 20-inch wheels wearing low-profile all-season tires. The brakes are strong, progressive and don’t exhibit any fade after repeated hard stops. It’s just so damned pleasant in nearly every way, there’s nothing to fault except that lackluster fuel economy.
Packed, But Not Pricey
What seals the deal for the new Santa Fe? It’s reasonable pricing. At the low end, the base entry price for a Santa Fe is just a tick over $30,000 (all prices include destination charge) for a front-wheel-drive SE model with the base 2.5-liter engine. It stretches up to the loaded Calligraphy 2.5T AWD I tested with an as-delivered price of $45,255. That actually brings a loaded gas-powered, luxurious, fully kitted Santa Fe in several thousand dollars less than the average transaction price for a new car in the U.S. Even a fully loaded plug-in hybrid version of the Santa Fe doesn’t top $50,000, which is kind of extraordinary.
So it has value, comfort, style, technology, room and just oozes competency. And if fuel economy is an issue, opt for the hybrid. The ‘23 Santa Fe ticks all the right boxes, and I confidently consider it to be the new benchmark for a family crossover.
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