About Santa Fe
The Santa Fe was Hyundai's first SUV, and it has been one of the brand's most important vehicles ever since. It arrived at the start of the 2000s with curvy styling that not everyone loved, but it offered strong value, a long warranty and a roomy cabin, and it quickly became a hit with American families. Over the following generations it moved upmarket, gained refinement and technology, and became a mainstay of Hyundai's lineup in North America, Korea, Europe and Australia.
The current generation, which arrived for the 2024 model year, is the most radical yet. Hyundai traded the rounded crossover look for a boxy, upright shape with H-shaped lighting, a tall roofline and a wide tailgate opening designed to make the cargo area feel like a terrace for camping trips. The new shape made room for a third row of seats, turning the Santa Fe into a compact three-row SUV. A hybrid model offers strong fuel economy, and an XRT trim adds rugged styling for buyers with outdoor aspirations.
The Santa Fe sits between the Tucson and Palisade in Hyundai's lineup and competes with the Toyota Highlander, Honda Passport, Kia Sorento, Mazda CX-70 and Subaru Outback. Its strengths include space, style, technology and hybrid efficiency; critics have noted that the third row is tight for adults and that its boxy styling is polarizing. For the US market it is built in Alabama, where Hyundai has added hybrid production to meet growing demand.
Coverage includes reviews of the latest generation and its hybrid, pricing and trim changes, recall notices and sales figures, as well as comparisons with the Palisade and other three-row rivals. With hybrids becoming a larger part of Hyundai's American sales mix, the Santa Fe Hybrid is a model to watch, as is any news on plug-in versions, the next round of updates and how the bold styling ages as the novelty wears off.