2020 Hyundai Santa Fe Reviews, Pricing & Specs

When you go shopping for 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe models, you’ll choose between Essential, Preferred, Luxury, and Ultimate trim levels. The latter two get an upgrade in power and performance courtesy of a turbocharged engine, which is an extra-cost option on the Preferred grade. All-wheel drive (AWD) is a standard feature on every grade in Canada except Essential, where it’s an optional upgrade from front-wheel drive (FWD), and it allows the automatic transmission to transfer power from the front wheels to the rear wheels when necessary.

Aside from deciding about AWD, a turbocharged engine, and the Essential’s optional Safety package or the Preferred’s optional Sun and Leather package, you pick a paint colour, interior colour, and upgrades from a shortlist of dealer-installed accessories. That’s all there is to selecting a new Hyundai Santa Fe, and our test vehicle had Ultimate trim, bringing the price to $45,199 before the $2,025 in fees are applied (Canadian, estimated).

As far as looks are concerned, the Santa Fe represents an acquired taste; this is no Mazda CX-5. As of late, Hyundai has been boldly experimental with design, and while the approach is commendable, the results don’t always work for everyone. Potential points of controversy include the Santa Fe’s grille shape, stacked front lighting elements, asymmetrical fender stampings and wheel well shapes, and the oversized rear “skid plate” trim.

A sense of drama gives the interior plenty of character. The dual-cowl dashboard design sweeps into door panels containing diamond-textured speaker grilles. Versions of the SUV with gray or beige interior colours present a high-contrast visual feast for the eyes. Even the flecked headliner pattern, which extends to include the windshield pillars, brings a sense of occasion to the Santa Fe.

Materials quality can’t quite match Hyundai’s high-style design, due to the glossy plastic covering the lower half of the interior and leather seat upholstery that’s fairly stiff and unremarkable. Build quality, however, is exceptionally good and the controls operate with refinement.

Overall, the Hyundai Santa Fe looks different, inside and out. If you can appreciate daring design, you might like this approach. If you prefer to fade into the background, you may not.

With a minimum curb weight of 1,629 kilograms (3,591 pounds) to haul around, the Santa Fe’s standard 185-horsepower 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine (which it shares with the Kia Sorento) is not the one you want.

Instead, skip the base engine and choose a Santa Fe powertrain with the turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder in this SUV, one that makes power specs of 235 hp and a robust 260 lb-ft of torque between 1,450 rpm and 3,500 rpm. Those figures represent increases of 50 hp and 82 lb-ft over the standard power plant, and the torque is available much faster after you step on the gas pedal. Plus, turbocharged engines perform better at altitude, so if you live in a place where you head to the mountains on a regular basis, you’re going to want the 2.0T.

Either way, an eight-speed automatic transmission funnels the power to the front wheels or, with AWD, all four wheels. Our test vehicle had FWD (U.S. specification; this configuration is not offered with the Ultimate trim in Canada), and it suffered from torque steer under hard acceleration. This issue disappears with AWD. Properly equipped, the Hyundai Santa Fe has a towing capacity of 1,587 kilograms (3,500 pounds).

As far as fuel efficiency is concerned, Natural Resources Canada says a Santa Fe with the entry-level engine and FWD will consume 10.8 litres per 100 kilometres in the city, 8.0 on the highway, and 9.6 combined. Adding AWD bumps those figures to 11.3 L/100 km city, 8.8 hwy, and 10.1 combined. With the upgraded turbocharged engine and AWD, you can expect to use 12.0 L/100 km city, 9.2 hwy, and 10.7 combined.

Quick, compliant, and communicative, there’s nothing unpleasant about driving a turbocharged Hyundai Santa Fe. A smooth ride, decent handling, light-effort steering, and brakes that withstand some abuse while also letting a driver bring the SUV to a clean stop all make this Hyundai a good daily driver. The Ultimate trim has laminated windshield and front window glass, so the highway ride is nice and quiet, too.

When Hyundai debuted the latest Santa Fe, we put the SUV through its paces in moderate off-roading (and a pretty deep mud puddle), which it handled with unexpected ease.

At the same time, however, nothing about the Hyundai Santa Fe’s driving dynamics inspire you to take the road less traveled. Competent but lacking in terms of driver engagement, the Santa Fe is more a tool than a toy. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, given the target buyer.

Thoughtful attention to detail permeates the two-row Hyundai Santa Fe. From its creative storage spaces to the stain-resistant fabric in versions with cloth seats, this five-passenger SUV addresses the myriad requirements of an American family.

Our test vehicle had eight-way power-adjustable, heated, and ventilated front seats. Additionally, the driver’s seat included four-way power-adjustable lumbar support and an extending thigh support, and the test model included a heated steering wheel, which along with heated front seats is standard in Canada. During a round-trip drive of nearly 900 kilometres, the Santa Fe Limited 2.0T proved mighty comfortable for long periods of time.

It is worth noting that the Santa Fe’s dual-zone automatic climate control system includes a Clean Air ionizer, and that the SUV’s air conditioning is effective even when the Santa Fe is equipped with its massive panoramic sunroof that extends beyond the rear seat head restraints.

Adults will find the Santa Fe’s back seat comfortable. Air conditioning vents help in this regard, and the Luxury and Ultimate trim levels include heated bottom cushions. Legroom and thigh support make this a good place to spend time, and for longer trips, the rear seats recline for added comfort.

Where the Santa Fe stumbles in its quest to be a midsize SUV is with regard to cargo space. With 1,017 litres behind the rear seat and a maximum of 2,019 litres at your disposal behind the front-row seats, the Santa Fe falls a little short in this regard (but is big in comparison to most compact SUVs). On a positive note, however, there are large storage compartments under the cargo floor that will no doubt come in handy.

Hyundai also offers a hands-free “smart” liftgate for the Santa Fe. What makes it so intelligent? You don’t need to stand on one leg and wave your foot around under the back bumper in the hopes that a sensor will recognize that you want it to open. Instead, you patiently stand there while the SUV senses the key fob in proximity to the rear of the vehicle. After a few seconds, the tailgate rises all by itself.

Perched high atop the Santa Fe’s dashboard where it is easy to see, reference, and use, the touchscreen infotainment system is a shining example of this technology done right.

First, it has stereo control knobs. Second, it has main menu shortcut buttons on either side of the display. Third, one of those buttons is programmable for whatever function you wish it to perform. Fourth, every Santa Fe has Bluetooth connectivity and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration.

Choose Preferred trim for SiriusXM satellite radio with a free three-month subscription. This version of the Santa Fe also adds Blue Link connected services with three free years of service. Three. Free. Years. That includes remote engine starting with climate pre-conditioning, automatic emergency assistance, a remote car finder function, and the ability to program speed, curfew, and geographic boundary alerts.

Luxury includes a surround-view camera system, and Ultimate trim adds a larger 8-inch display, a navigation system, wireless smartphone charging, and a 12-speaker Infinity surround sound system. Technology unrelated to the infotainment system includes a head-up display providing a wealth of data on the windshield within the driver’s line of sight. It even shows when another vehicle is in the Santa Fe’s blind spot.

Using this technology quickly becomes second nature. Even the voice recognition system is remarkably sophisticated, responding to naturally spoken commands with little trouble.

Looking for a safe family SUV? The 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe is a great choice, earning a five-star overall crash-test rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and a Top Safety Pick rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

A slew of safety features and driver assistance technologies is available, from adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go capability, forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, and lane-keeping assistance. A driver monitoring system is also available, while a rear-seat reminder system is standard that’s designed to prevent a driver from accidentally leaving a child or a pet in the SUV.

Unfortunately, Hyundai does not offer blind-spot monitoring or rear cross-traffic alert on the Santa Fe Essential or Preferred. You need Luxury trim for that. On Preferred and up, a safe exit assist system is added that’s designed to prevent occupants from opening the side doors when parallel parked and traffic is approaching from behind the SUV.

The Preferred grade also equips the SUV with an ultrasonic occupant alert system that’s tied in with the owner’s Blue Link smartphone app. Let’s say it’s your turn to handle daycare drop-off, and you forget because you’ve got a big meeting that morning that is stressing you out. Your child falls asleep on your way to the office, you exit the Santa Fe and ignore the rear-seat reminder due to your mental distraction, and you head into the office.

When your child wakes and starts moving around, the ultrasonic occupant alert system springs into action, flashing the lights, sounding the horn, and sending you an alert via the Blue Link app. How many modern SUVs, regardless of price, offer something like this? Not many.

Luxury trim includes a new Blind View Monitor, which uses cameras to show a live video feed of what’s in the Santa Fe’s blind spots. The camera feed is displayed in the centre of the instrument cluster, and this feature supplements rather than replaces the traditional blind-spot warning system.

In Canada, the Hyundai Santa Fe comes with a five-year/100,000-kilometre bumper-to-bumper warranty. Roadside assistance is free for five years and an unlimited number of kilometres. You also get three years of free BlueLink connected services.

You can get a front-wheel drive Santa Fe for as little as $29,199, but remember, you want the turbo engine, so you’re looking at an MSRP of $39,399 for a Preferred with this upgrade, before any discounts.

What are the downsides to the Santa Fe? The standard engine is a bummer, the cargo volume measurements fall on the smaller side of the midsize SUV scale, blind-spot warning is unavailable on lower trims, and the styling isn’t to everyone’s preferences. Oh, and driving enthusiasts are unlikely to find anything here as a cause for celebration.

But as automotive criticism goes, that’s a really short list. If you’re shopping for a crossover SUV priced between $30,000 and $45,000, the Hyundai Santa Fe demands careful consideration.

Note: Images show a US model.