2027 Hyundai Santa Fe Review | A Budget Friendly 3-Row SUV!

[music] What's up you guys? Welcome back [music] to another one. If you are new to the channel, I am Gold Pony. I do new car truck SUV reviews on YouTube. And today we are in the brand new 2027 Hyundai Santa Fe, courtesy of Jack and Balvo Hyundai in York, PA. For more information on their inventory, please feel free to check out the link in the description box below. As I always try to review the Santa Fe because I own one. I've had a Santa Fe now for eight or nine years. The only one issue that it's really had is the all-wheel drive slipping at around 85,000 mi. And of course, because of the incredible warranty that the Hyundai Santa Fe comes with, I had America's best warranty and that got fixed for free. So, America's best warranty being 5 years, 60,000 mi bumper-to- bumper, 10 years, 100,000 mi on the powertrain. So things like the engine, the transmission, the all-wheel drive slipping, all that stuff is covered for you for 100,000 mi. That's absolutely insane. So you got to appreciate that. And in case you were curious, the Santa Fe is competing with the Honda Passport, Mazda CX70, and uh we'll say Subaru Outback as well, just to name a few. So ultimately in this video, we will be testing out and going over everything about this one from acceleration to braking, steering fuel, ride quality, sound system, exhaust clip, all that fun stuff. So having said all of that, what do you guys say? Let's just go ahead and jump right into it. And as always, let's start with pricing. And so, as you can imagine, there are several different trim levels for the 2027 Santa Fe. You got the SE starting at $36,950, seal for $39,490, XRT for $43,940, Limited for $46,500, and lastly, the Calligraphy being the one we are in today. This one starts at $49,500. So, that was all pricing for the front-wheel drive configuration. If you wanted to add all-wheel drive, you can do that simply at $1,800 then to any of those prices. But regardless of the trim level that you go with, the power plant on the Santa Fe is going to be the same. Powering the beast is a 2.5 L turbocharged 4-cylinder. This puts out 277 horsepower at 5,800 RPM, 311 lb feet of torque, coming in at 4,000 RPM. That power being sent to the front wheels or all wheels through an 8-speed automatic with paddle shifters, which of course you guys know we will be testing out here in a little bit. But 0 to 60 time is going to come in at approximately 6.3 seconds. That's dang impressive actually with MPG numbers coming in at 20 in the city, 29 on the highway for the front-wheel drive, 20 city, 28 then on the highway for the all-wheel drive taking regular unled fuel. But then before we do any kind of fun acceleration or paddle shifter test here in the Santa Fe, I did want to mention to you guys the drive modes. So, drive mode button is located just in front of me here. Uh, it's like a toggle switch. You can press it up and down. But, drive modes are going to include normal, sport, my drive, and snow. Adjusting things like the shift points, the throttle response, and the steering sensitivity. So, now having got all of that out of the way, what do you guys say? Let's go ahead and find a straightaway. Let's put the paddle shifters here to the test first, and let's see how quickly these paddle shifters are going to react for us here. All right, let's do it. 3 2 1 go. Oh, delay. Oh, wow. No, don't use the paddle shifters. I'm just going to be completely honest. There's so much of a delay to them. Like, I don't see the point. It's one of those gimmicky features. A lot of SUVs have them. And I guess you could use them to do a little bit of engine braking if you're going down a hill and there's snow on the road. Rather than hitting the brakes and we're sliding off the road, you just use paddle shifters, do a little bit engine braking that way. But I I probably wouldn't even use them, man. I'm going to be honest, that was pointless. There is such a delay to the paddle shifters, so just don't use them, guys. I'm going to get back now. Full control to the Santa Fe and just going to tap the shifter up one more time. Now, let's go ahead and find one more straightaway with the Santa Fe having full control. And of course, let's see how quickly we can get this one here up to speed. 3 2 1. Let's merge onto the highway. Go, baby. Ah, this thing's kind of quick. There's actually nothing wrong with that. Like, that's plenty of an acceleration. you're 100% not going to have any issues emerging onto the highway and it's definitely holding the RPMs at a much higher level. It's going to give you more power on demand. I got it in sport driving mode there. That's why. So, let me go ahead and just put it in normal driving mode cuz that would be annoying. So, the cool thing about this thing though is I used to have a Hyundai Sonata as well. And what I always did with the Hyundai Sonata was I put it in that my drive driving mode I was telling you guys about because what that did was it allowed me to have that heavier weight to the steering without having that instant acceleration all the time because I didn't necessarily need the instant acceleration all the time. Most of the time you're just cruising trying to get better MPGs cuz gas is so dang expensive. But that's what that my drive mode is for and that's what I would recommend doing because I love the heavier weight to the steering whatever that is available in whatever car I'm driving. I always like to put it in that and that is what I did in my Sonata. So, kudos to the drive modes on this one. Um, they did a wonderful job with that and yeah, plenty of acceleration to merge you onto the highway. But to go along with that, acceleration as always, braking is equally important. And so, four-wheel ventilated disc brakes do come standard. As far as the 60s stopping distance goes, that comes in at 121 ft, which quite honestly, that's plenty respectable. Typically, what I say is anything in the teens is a sports sedan. So 121 feet, that's right where you want to be for this thing. As far as braking feel goes, it's not soft, but it's not super firm either. It's basically right where it should be. So that's plenty 100% on point there. That touching guard suspension and handling up front, you're going to get a McFersonson strut front suspension. In the back, independent multi-link rear suspension, gas pressurized shock absorbers, front and rear stabilizer bars. But as far as ride quality goes, it's actually been plenty fine in our short little test drive here today. Hyundai typically always does do a pretty darn good job with the ride quality and the Santa Fe is no exception. So, that's plenty on point there. As far as steering feel goes, like I was just saying, it does adjust dependent upon the drive mode that you put it in. So, if you wanted a more looser traditional steering feel, don't put it in sport driving mode or don't tailor the Myrive to that. But, if you wanted a heavier steering feel like I do, you can put it in that sport driving mode or adjust the steering sensitivity through the Myrive driving mode and you're going to have that as well. So, it's something for everybody. As far as cabin noise goes, I'm going, what the heck am I going? I'm going 25 miles per hour right now. I'll be quiet for a second. It's pretty darn serene. I got to be honest. Like, heck of a lot more serene than my Santa Fe from 2017. And here's why. Whenever I hit high speeds, there was always all this wind noise coming into the cabin. And Hyundai was known for that back then. But they have 100% completely flipped the script when it comes to cabin noise because now you get acoustic laminated front windshield and acoustic laminated front door glass as well which is typically luxury. Like that's what you get on luxury manufacturers and that comes standard for all trim levels across the board. So they're like, "Okay, we saw all of your comments on the wind noise guys. This is back in 2017. We're going to completely make it the best we possibly can now." And they did. It's an incredibly serene cabin. So well done Hyundai for that. that touching our rear visibility because of the boxy shape of the Santa Fe, you're 100% not going to have any issues with that. Um, if you're familiar with the Ford Flex, it's kind of like that kind of a shape. So, yeah, I could see perfectly fine out the back there. And the other thing, I just flipped my rearview mirror here and I'm actually looking at a rear camera mirror. That's super cool. You know why that's super cool? Because if you're going on a long road trip in the Santa Fe, um, and you got the cargo piled all the way up to the ceiling, you can't see out the rearview mirror. But if you put the rear camera mirror on, because the camera is mounted on the outside of the vehicle, you can see who or what is behind you. So that's super convenient. I absolutely love that. So little added visibility there. Touching on forward visibility, rein sensing windshield wipers do come standard on the Limited and calligraphy trim levels. And then there is a head-up display which comes standard on the calligraphy trim level only. I'm actually looking at it right now. Kind of hard to see with polarized sunglasses, but if I take these off, I got my speed, I got speed limit, and I got safety features up there as well, helping me keep my eyes better on the road, so you can better enjoy the drive in the Santa Fe. So, that's always convenient. And one more thing, I almost forgot to mention, one of the coolest things that Hyundai does in a lot of their SUVs is there's a blind spot view monitor. So, if I were to put on uh one of my turret signals, it could be left or right, it doesn't matter. It's going to display what is in my blind spot up on the digital gauge cluster. And by the way, that is available on the Limited and Calligraphy trim levels if you wanted that feature. But that's super cool. I still have not seen any other manufacturer besides uh Hyundai and Genesis do that. So maybe Kia. I I don't remember. But that's pretty darn cool. I like that. But that pretty much rounds out the performance segment of this review, you guys. Let's now go ahead and take a look at the exterior now of our brand new 2027 Hyundai Santa Fe. All right, so here she is, you guys. is the new 2027 Hyundai Santa Fe finished in Atlantis blue. In case you were curious of our exact exterior color name, I think it looks pretty darn good. But as always, let's go ahead and start with where the Santa Fe is made. Taking a look at the VIN. First character is the number five, indicating that the Santa Fe is built and assembled here in the US, specifically Alabama, in case you were curious. But starting up front, LED headlights with LED daytime running lights do come standard. You get the automatic feature with those. You also get automatic high beams. So, if you have your high beams on at night and it senses a vehicle coming in the opposite direction, it's going to automatically dim them back to low beams. And when that vehicle is gone, it's going to automatically bounce it back up to high beams for you. There you do have some front air curtains found to the bottom corners there highlighted in gloss black. Also wanted to show you guys, I'm going to get up a little bit closer for this. You got active grill shutters. So, you can kind of see the radiator and the intercooler just behind those active grill shutters. If the engine wasn't on, more than likely these would close. So when they're opened, it allows for a little extra cooling for the engine. And that is how they work. So anyways, that pretty much rounds out the front end of the Santa Fe. Let's now go ahead and swing around to the side. Right. So now this we are around to the side of the Santa Fe. Roof rails will come standard on the seal trim level and up. Got a little handle on the uh C-pillar for the XRT trim level. I can't show that to you guys today, unfortunately. But Santa Fe lettering is going to be found on the front fenders. That's what that black accent is on the front fenders there. Rear privacy glass will come standard for all trim levels across the board. Taking a look at the side mirrors, they are bodycoled power adjustable side mirrors. They're going to get a gloss black finish for the XRT. They're going to be heated for all trim levels across the board. You're going to get integrated turd signals for the seal trim level and up. And then they're going to be power folding for the Limited and calligraphy trim levels. So, when you lock the car up, they're going to automatically fold in. When you unlock, they're going to automatically fold back out. So, that is pretty cool. And I do like the gloss black finishes found in the side skirts and fender surrounds. I think that's kind of a high-end look as well. If you didn't like the gloss black, just get a black exterior. And then it's all body colored. So yeah, how about that? And then take a look down at the wheel setup. 18-in alloys for the SE and seal trim levels. 18-in alloys with the dark finish for the XRT. 20-in alloys for the Limited, and 21in dark alloys for the calligraphy we have with us here today. But that pretty much rounds out the side profile. Let's now go ahead and swing around to the back. All right. Something announced as we are around to the back of the Santa Fe. Starting all the way to the top, there's a gloss black shark fin antenna. Just below that rear spoiler with an integrated brake light. If you're wondering where the rear window wiper is, I'm going to get up a little bit closer to try to show you guys. It is tucked away underneath on the right hand side there. That is where that is located. Kind of like the uh Tahoe and the Suburban does. It helps out rear visibility when it's not a fixed to the rear glass. Um you got Santa Fe lettering uh finished in black in our case there. You got LED tail lights with the H logo because Hyundai after all. And then just below it all, there is a single exhaust outlet with a chrome tip. They did that so right. I love it when manufacturers expose the exhaust outlets as opposed to just tucking them away, making everything look like an EV. So, anyways, having said that, I do believe you guys know what we have to do next here. As always, here is that exhaust clip. All right, so now since we are around to the back of the Santa Fe, when it comes to opening that rear lift gate, it's actually a handsfree power lift gate for every single trim level across the board. Like you never get that for all trims. That's pretty cool. There is a button on the key fob because it's power, of course, and there is a rubberized button on the liftgate itself then as well. But once opened up, cargo capacity behind that third row comes in at 14.6 cubic feet. If that was not enough space, of course, the third row does fold down. That's going to bump that up to 40.5 cubic feet. And then with all rows folded, 79.6 cubic feet. That's pretty darn impressive. That's kind of what my three row Santa Fe is currently at as well. So anyways, there is a 60/40 split. There's cargo lighting back there. You got a 12volt power outlet, 115vt power outlet. There's grocery bag hooks back there, tie down anchors, and then if you were to lift up underneath of that cargo floor, you will find some in flooror storage, which posed my next question, where's the spare tire? And so that is actually located up underneath of the Santa Fe next to the exhaust in case you were curious. But then making our way up to the third row legroom that comes in at 30 in even. So probably not a ton for adults. For reference, I'll give it a shot. I'm an even 6t tall. This is how much space I had in the third row there. Got some cup holders back there. There's rear ventilation uh back there as well. And then dual rear USB charging ports for the third row passengers, which you don't always get. So, that's pretty cool. But then making our way up to the second row legroom. That's going to come in at an impressive 42.3 in. For reference, I'm still even 6 ft tall. This is how much space I had in the second row there. Captain chairs are going to come standard on the Limited and calligraphy trim levels. And then you got bench seating for all the other trim levels essentially. Uh if you get with the bench seating, you get a rear center armrest with cup holders of course as well. Got USB charging ports with cable hangers. Uh those are always fun because they're located on the back side of the front seat. It's kind of back side if you know what I mean. So that kind of keeps it out of the way so that the third row passengers when they're walking in the second row, they don't trip over it if you got the captain's chairs at least. So that's pretty nice. Uh heated second row for the Limited and calligraphy trim levels. There's rear side window sun shades for the Limited and calligraphy trim levels as well. and a little bit of a trash can, I'm going to call it, uh, just in front of the second row passengers as well. It's probably not a trash can. It's probably just storage, but I'd probably use it as a trash can for my kids. I'll just say that. But then making our way up to the front seats, stain resistant cloth seating for the SE, leatherrett seating for the seal and XRT, and then leather seating for the Limited, and then Nappa leather seating for the calligraphy. Four different types of seating for the Santa Fe. That's wild. Uh, manually adjustable front seats for the SE, power driver seat with two-way power lumbar for the SEL trim level and up. Power adjustable passenger seat for the Limited and calligraphy trims, heated front seats for the SEL trim level and up, ventilated front seats for the Limited and calligraphy, and then memory settings for those two trim levels as well. Overall, as far as seat comfort goes, it was plenty fine. I didn't have any issues with that. Uh, wouldn't see any problem taking this thing on a long road trip. So, yeah, perfectly fine for me. Then, making our way to the steering wheel. This is kind of fun and quirky. uh tilt and telescoping. Of course, it is leather wrapped for all trim levels. Uh it's heated for the limited and calligraphy. And I think it's fun because there's no Hyundai logo. Instead, you have four dots in the middle of it. What are four dots and what does that mean? Well, it's Morse code for the letter H. Why they put Morse code on the steering wheel instead of just the letter H itself? Nobody knows, but that's the way they did it. So, then making our way to the startup, let me start by showing you guys the key here. It is an egg-shaped key with the Hyundai logo kind of uh incorporated into it. So, that's kind of fun. Uh you got a remote start here. That's the hold button. So, you can warm this thing up on super cold days in Pennsylvania, unlike today. Uh you also have smart park on the side of the key. I love that feature. So, the way it works is you make sure the vehicle is locked. You hit the remote start button once it turns on. Then you can actually use the smart park feature to pull it in and out of parking spots if somebody gets too close to you and you don't want your kids slamming the door wide open into their car because they park too close to you. So that's actually a super convenient feature. I'm just going to let you guys know that it's pretty cool. But ultimately it is all keyless entry with a push button start. So all I'm going to do here is simply put my foot on the brake and press that matte black engine start button located just to the left of the center climate control vents there. And so once started up, there are two different gauge clusters. So, you're going to get analog gauges for the SEC, seal, and XRT trims. And then you're going to get a 12.3 in digital gauge cluster for the Limited and calligraphy. And everything is adjusted as far as the digital gauge cluster goes, the different looks through the infotainment screen. So, kind of would have liked to have seen those adjustments being done through steering wheel mounted controls, kind of like every other manufacturer does. But, nonetheless, that's the way they do it. You can link it to the drive mode if you wanted to. I just put it on this uh kind of teal classic look cuz I think that's the best look personally for me. That's what I would prefer, but there are multiple different looks for that. It still gives you outside temperature, how many miles you have left until you hit empty. And uh it's actually a really nice looking gauge cluster if you go with the digital screen. So, I don't mind that. But now, let's go ahead and make our way to overall interior quality. A power sunroof is going to come with the XRT. You get a dual pane panoramic roof if you go with the Limited or calligraphy, meaning the rear passengers actually have their own individual moon roof in the back. That's kind of cool. LED interior lighting for all trim levels. You get homeless controls for the Limited and calligraphy trims. Uh Mlange headliner for the Limited and then a suede headliner for our calligraphy trim level. I liked that. Uh wireless phone charger for all trim levels. But if you go with the XRT trim level and up, you get dual wireless phone chargers. So both driver and passenger have their own individual wireless phone charger. That's pretty cool. Ambient lighting for the Limited and calligraphy. It's relatively bright. I liked that as well. Uh center armrest opens both ways. So, I wanted to show that to you guys because uh I don't know if the rear passengers wanted to get in there for whatever reason, they have access to it as well. So, I don't know, it's kind of cool. There are two glove boxes. That's the next thing I wanted to mention because that's a little bit different. A little shelf system just above that lower glove box as well. So, the lower glove box is the traditional one, but then you got this upper glove box with kind of this button right next to the infotainment screen. And when you press that, you got another glove box. So, it's kind of like the 007 one right there. That's kind of cool. But you also have a bunch of storage underneath the wireless phone chargers, and that's more than likely where you would put a purse or just something you kind of want to keep out of the way. Uh 12vt power outlet is down there as well. And uh overall, as far as interior quality goes, they did a dang good job. Like with the suede headliner, that's what you get on Porsche and Audi. And uh this matte wood trim, such a nice feel to it. That's just above the uh it's just in between the glove boxes, also just underneath the infotainment screen. Also on the doors, they did a dang good job. Like this is a luxury interior right here. I absolutely love it. But anyways, let's now go ahead and make our way to the infotainment screen. This is a 12.3 in touchscreen display for all trim levels across the board. Get Bluetooth and audio streaming, wireless, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay. A factory navigation system is going to come on the XRT trim level and up. There's a voice memo system. I see that so you can record your voice and play back at a later date. You got weather information right next to that as well. There's uh your seats information up there. We can turn on your heated seats. Oh, heated rear seats, too. Yeah, that can be done up here. That's nice. Uh Hyundai pay if you wanted to pay through the uh car, I guess. You got your ambient lighting settings, of course, along with your radio information. So, when it comes to the sound systems, there are two of them. You get six speakers for all trim levels, but the Limited and Calligraphy, those two trims are going to give you a 12 speakeraker Bose sound system. So therefore, that's the one we have with us here today. So let's go ahead and turn on the radio. Let's see what we got playing today. And let's test out our Bose sound system we have with us here today. Hallelujah. [singing] >> It wasn't bad. There's nothing wrong with the Bose sound system. I've always said that in my reviews. I had a Bose sound system in my G35 coupe back in the day. It never failed me. It never broke. So incredibly reliable sound system as well. Nothing crazy as far as advanced sound systems go, but it was pretty darn good. So yeah, absolutely nothing wrong with that. But last thing I wanted to mention to you guys on that infotainment screen is when you do put the Santa Fe in reverse, you will find a rear view camera coming standard across the board. It's actually pretty high definition as well. You also got that surround view monitor there to the right that is going to come with the limited and calligraphy trim levels yet again giving you that bird's eye view which is always is going to lead us into safety. And so let me start with the best part. The Santa Fe is an IIHS top safety pick plus which is the very highest rating given by IIHS. That pretty much says it all right there. Front side side current airbags. In the back you got latch aka lower anchors and tethers for children for the rear car seats. Rear child door locks, tire pressure monitoring system, but also coming standard a blind spot monitoring system with rear cross traffic alert. Front and rear parking sensors. You don't always get the front on all trim levels. So that's pretty cool. Forward collision avoidance assist. adaptive cruise control with stop and go, which by the way is an amazing system on the Santa Fe or or any Hyundai really for that matter. Lane keep assist, driver attention monitoring system, and lane following assist then as well. So overall, when it comes to my final thoughts, absolutely amazing interior quality. Like you would think this is a luxury vehicle when you're sitting on the inside of it. Uh smart park is still super cool. I absolutely love that feature, especially if you have kids. It's pretty darn convenient when people park too close to you. You also get America's best warranty, which quite honestly, that's a ton of peace of mind right there. The way I see it is if you drive less than 10,000 miles a year, like my wife does, you have this vehicle warrantied for 10 years on important stuff like the engine and the transmission and the all-wheel drive system slipping and stuff like that. You don't have to pay for it to get fixed. So, you got to appreciate that. Um, as far as room for improvement goes, I think the main thing is the third row legroom is kind of minimal. And that's kind of what this SUV is, though. If you do need a little more space in third row legroom, I would say just jump up to the Palisade because at this calligraphy trim level, you're at the same price as the Palisade anyway. So, that's how you're going to get more space. If you wanted more space, go with the Hyundai Palisade rather than the Hyundai Santa Fe. But, I like this. Let me know what you guys think of the Santa Fe in the comments section below. That's about it for this one, you guys. Thank you so much for watching. Feel free to follow me on social media stuff at the bottom of the screen. Be sure to hit the subscribe and the bell notification button if you're into new car reviews. Uh, that's what I've been doing for 12 years now. do appreciate you guys watching more than you know and I will see you guys all in the next video. [music]