2023 Hyundai Santa Fe

Hyundai’s Santa Fe is one of the best-selling five-passenger crossovers on the market, and for good reason. Depending on your perspective, it’s either a very big compact model or a very small midsize, which gives it lots of room relative to alternatives like the Nissan Rogue. Material grade and ride refinement are top-notch, too. And, just like Toyota’s RAV4 and the Santa Fe’s corporate cousins the Kia Sportage and Sorento, you can order your Santa Fe to taste with a choice of gas, hybrid or PHEV powertrains. Gas models come in front- or all-wheel drive (AWD), while the hybrids roll with standard AWD.

Sticking with gas powertrains, there are five grades. The non-turbocharged 191 horsepower 2.5-liter engine comes in SE ($29,785 including the $1,335 destination), SEL ($33,485) and XRT trim ($35,285); Limited and Calligraphy models jump to the more potent turbocharged engine, detailed below. Though the base SE delivers strong value, it’s noticeably slow. The sweet spot is the SEL because it includes goodies like heated seats, a larger display, dual front climate controls, an eight-way power driver’s seat with lumbar, and more advanced cruise control. (AWD is a $1,700 premium on gasoline models.)

In this white-hot segment, an SEL with AWD tabs pricier than either RAV4 or Sportage with AWD but offers more tech and is roughly on par with the Honda CR-V. But it’s the 281-horsepower 2.5-liter turbocharged Santa Fe that brings the fun. That’s nearly 100 more HP than the base engine, but it bumps the ask by $6,000+. Standard on Limited and Calligraphy models, they also get leather, heated and ventilated seats and bigger wheels. The Limited FWD costs $41,635, and the Calligraphy FWD (panoramic glass roof, heads-up display and eight-way power passenger seat) runs $43,635.

Performance-wise, the Limited and Calligraphy offer more refinement and upgrade the standard six-speed automatic to an eight-speed unit. But while the feature content of these top trims may rival an Audi Q5, the value element diminishes as they become nearly as costly. But even the base Santa Fe, although less punchy, delivers a stable, capable ride with taut, even maybe sporty manners on back roads commensurate with its competitors. 

The standard hybrids are offered at three levels: Blue ($37,245), Premium ($41,105) and Limited ($42,905). The Blue should be called “blue chip” since it comes with all of the gas SEL’s features mentioned above, standard AWD and has more muscle than the base gas Santa Fe. The hybrid powertrain is rated for 226 combined horsepower while still knocking out 36 mpg city and 31 highway. If you’re not going base SE or SEL, going Blue is a heck of a value.

The PHEV, which comes in SEL Convenience ($41,295) and Limited ($47,305) trims, is available only in select states at this point. Even so, the case for the PHEVs, especially the Limited, is hard to make. With its mere 30 miles of EV-only propulsion, it’s hard to reconcile the nearly $10k upcharge over the Blue. However, with that exception, the rest of the Santa Fe lineup still brings the type of feature-packed value the brand is known for.

Performance 11/15  

This score reflects the split personality of the Santa Fe, which rides and corners well, especially for its size. Still, it trails Toyota, Honda, and Kia for smooth shifting since that trio either comes with a CVT (CR-V) or eight-speed gearboxes while the Hyundai’s base editions are stuck with a six-speed. You have to spend at least $41,595 to get an eight-speed gearbox in a Santa Fe. Still, the base, 190 horsepower 2.5-liter Santa Fe holds its own vs. the 190 horsepower Honda, the 187 horsepower Sportage and the Toyota’s 203 horsepower. 

Switch to the turbo motor, and the Santa Fe wakes up, but for too pretty a penny. For improved all-weather traction and performance, up the ante to AWD ($1700) since it adds multiple drive modes: Comfort sets a 70/30 split between the front and rear axles; Smart puts most of the juice to the front wheels for better fuel economy. Finally, Toggle to Sport and half the torque heads to the rear axle for better traction and more controlled cornering. Sport also increases throttle tip-in, so the Santa Fe feels a tad zippier, if not sports car swift. 

Fuel Economy: 10/15  

Gas-only Santa Fes are less thrifty than their peers. The 2.5-liter non-turbo SE scores 26 mpg combined, 25 city and 28 highway (24, 22 and 25 with AWD). The Honda CR-V is a bit stingier with fuel, returning 30 mpg combined, 28 city and 34 highway (29, 27 and 32 with AWD). The RAV4  returns a best of 30 mpg combined, 27 city and 35 highway. As expected, the turbocharged 2.5-liter Santa Fe is a tad less thrifty at 25 mpg combined, 22 city and 28 highway, with the AWS version extracting only one mpg in combined and city driving. 

The Santa Fe hybrid Blue returns 34 mpg combined (36 city, 31 highway) while the Premium and Limited hybrids check in with 32 mpg combined (33 city, 30 highway). The AWD Sorento returns similar economy, but the Sorento also offers a front-drive hybrid that can manage up to 37 mpg combined (39 city, 35 highway).

Unfortunately for Hyundai, they’re still chasing the AWD RAV4 Hybrid’s best rating of 40 mpg combined (41 city, 38 highway). The CR-V hybrid AWD also comes close at 37 mpg combined (40 city and 34 highway). The Sportage, which has a nearly identical hybrid powertrain to the Santa Fe, manages to return 38 mpg city and highway. 

The Santa Fe PHEV is rated for 76 MPGe (the number of miles the vehicle can go using a quantity of fuel with the same energy content as a gallon of gasoline), but it only achieves 30 miles of EV-only range; more concerning is that it’s 33 mpg combined fuel economy is slightly less than the Santa Fe Blue’s 34 combined. Apples to apples, the Toyota RAV4 Prime nets 94 MPGe, 42 miles of EV-only range and 38 mpg in standard operation. 

Safety & Driver Assistance Tech: 13/15  

The Hyundai Santa Fe received a top five-star rating from the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and is also an IIHS Top Safety Pick+. 

The safety tech ledger is long and includes adaptive cruise control with stop and go, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, blind-spot warning with collision avoidance braking and rear cross-traffic alert, the latter of which isn’t a given for all five-passenger crossovers at their base retail. For preventing a tyke from exiting a car into moving traffic, there’s also safe exit assist, which uses the rear and side cameras to monitor that space and prevent a passenger door from being opened. 

On the highway, lane-keeping assistance and lane following complement the adaptive cruise to keep your Santa Fe on the straight and true; a driver alert monitor can sense if you’re fatigued and should take a break. LED headlights and automatic high beam dimming and illuminating are also standard. 

Hyundai crams a ton of standard safety technology into the Santa Fe. If there’s a single selling point beyond extra roominess for the money, it’s the amount of standard safety tech.

Comfort & Room: 12/15  

Hyundai aces the interior quality test, with plastics that feel a half-degree higher grade than rivals, though the latest Honda CR-V has been updated in that department. Still, Hyundai’s designers perfectly balanced a slightly techy feel against warmer, homey influences, and it all works—this is a comfy cabin and a wee bit upscale as well as functional. For instance, on-door cupholders are plenty capacious enough for a large drive-through drink or your favorite oversized water bottle, and that frees room in the center console cupholders for your house keys, snacks, etc. Then there’s an extra-large tray between the two front seats (ideal for even a large handbag). 

Legroom is excellent, both front and rear, with a very roomy 44.1 inches front and 41.7 inches rear, and even though the hybrid shrinks that to 40.8 inches for the second row. These numbers look great against the Honda CR-V’s 41.3 inches front and  41 inches rear legroom measurements. The RAV4’s 41 front and 37.8 inches rear aren’t paltry, but bigger humans will find the Santa Fe digs exceptionally accommodating. 

All the seating’s well bolstered, and the wider-than-average hip room prevents feeling cramped, especially in the second row.

Infotainment: 11/15     

You’re getting a ton of tech standard with the Santa Fe, and if we’ve beefed with other vehicles that they’ve buried everything in a touchscreen, the Santa Fe makes sure you’ve got a button or dial for nearly every function. That’s especially good for adjusting the climate via a quick toggle, switching entertainment modes from the standard Android Auto or Apple CarPlay to the radio with a hard audio mode button and tuning to the desired station. Of course, we’d upgrade to the SEL from the SE to get the larger 10.25-inch touchscreen and wireless phone charging, and every version save SE also gets navigation.

Redundant switchgear on the steering wheel adjusts mode, volume, etc., but these symbols can be nearly illegible in bright sunlight. 

Dual USBs front and rear prevent second-row seat wars between your offspring, but a few tech perks you may want to get packaged into a $4,650 upgrade to an SEL Santa Fe. That ranges from the nearly pedestrian auto-dimming rearview mirror almost every buyer would pay $500 for (but not four grand) to the powerful Harman Kardon 12-speaker sound system.

Cargo Space & Storage: 11/15 

This is a roomy rig for hauling cargo. With the aft seats upright, you’ve got 36.4 cubic feet to play with and 72.1 cubic feet when these are folded. The Kia Sportage’s 34.5 and 73.7 cubes closely match the Hyundai, while the RAV4’s 37.5 cubic feet with its rear seats fixed also stands up well, though the RAV4’s max of 69.8 cubic feet falls farther shy of this set. The slightly larger Honda CRV, with 39.3 cubic feet behind the second row and 76.5 cubic feet with those folded, takes the ribbon. 

Again, all these numbers are exceedingly close. But Hyundai gets props for design. For example, a single lever lets you lower a rear seatback, and you pull that same lever again to raise it. These also fold completely flat, so you’re not losing room with a “ski ramp” effect chewing into stowage usefulness. Speaking of which, a completely flat transition between the hatch door lid and the load floor also makes it a lot easier to slide aboard something heavy or cumbersome.

Style & Design: 6/10 

Hyundai hasn’t made massive changes to the 2023 Santa Fe, mostly blacking out the grille and adding cosmetic sheen to other trim, adding LED running lights, and making different wheels for the top-tier Santa Fes. This isn’t a bad thing; when the Santa Fe was last tweaked in 2021 to make room for the Palisade above it, Hyundai nipped and tucked the somewhat anonymous styling and the newest Santa Fes look a little sharper and somewhat more upscale. 

Is the Santa Fe gorgeous? Nope, but the only cool-looking crossover in the segment, the Ford Bronco Sport, is a bit smaller and doesn’t ride as smoothly as the Santa Fe. Holistically, the aesthetic is decidedly set for city life. Hyundai knows its customers aren’t cross-shopping Jeep Wranglers or that Ford; if you are, then you’ll probably not jibe with the Santa Fe.  

On the interior, if there’s a sleeper competitor, it might be Mazda’s CX-5. That rig falls far shorter on total cargo capacity, but the clean dashboard execution there mirrors the Hyundai’s aesthetic of techy vibrant, rather than 1s and 0s cold. The distinction matters because the latter won’t age gracefully, while the former should.

Which Hyundai Santa Fe is the Best Value?

The best deal on a Santa Fe will be to stick to your guns and go with the base engine, SE spec, or possibly SEL, and if you want or need all-season capability, opt for the $1,700 AWD package with either. 

Note, though, the SEL with AWD ticks up to $34,845, and that model’s middling 22 city and 25 fuel economy numbers aren’t stellar. Enter the $37,245 hybrid Blue model. This includes everything on the SEL, like heated seats, but with far more get-up-and-go with 226 combined horsepower—and much better (36 city and 31 highway) fuel economy. 

The Blue is still less expensive than the turbocharged Santa Fes and gives you some features that Hyundai reserves in their $4,650 upgrade package for its gas cars, like an auto-dimming rearview mirror, heated side mirrors, and an extra-large, 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster.

Do we think that pricing for the hybrid is an accident? Not even slightly, and it’s the smartest way to get more power, panache and features without breaking $40,000.

How Much Does it Cost to Insure the 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe?

Insuring the Santa Fe should cost about the same as most of its peers. According to our data, a typical 30-year-old female driver with a clean record can expect an average annual premium of around $1,861 for the base SE, which increases incrementally to $2,137 for the Calligraphy,  though this averages all 50 states. For example, a Toyota RAV4 LE owner might pay $1,840 annually, while the Honda CR-V is $1,722 to $1920 based on trim. For a more accurate picture of your potential insurance expenses, visit our car insurance calculator.