2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy Review: Excelling In All The Places That Make A Great SUV

When Hyundai introduced its fifth generation Santa Fe in 2023, it went against the grain and shocked the world with bold and boxy new styling. It prompted everyone to rethink their expectations as to what a mainstream midsize crossover SUV ought to look like, injecting some rugged aesthetics into a segment otherwise defined by mundane “soft-roader” or “cute-ute” vibes.

Although designed and shaped like it’s ready to take on the world, the Santa Fe continues its mission as a smart, family-friendly, and utilitarian crossover SUV meant for the world. So, contrary to its looks, while it may not be built to handle the tough stuff, that’s totally okay. The Santa Fe also perpetuates its reputation for modern design, attention to detail, and clever execution. But above all, outstanding value.

To see how the newly redesigned Santa Fe stacks up, Hyundai tossed me the keys to a fully-loaded Calligraphy for a roadtrip from New York City to DC and back to truly put it through its paces.

2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy First Impressions

The older Santa Fe models often got lost in crowded shopping mall parking lots, blending in with the sea of other popular crossover SUVs. Although far from ugly, the previous generations of Santa Fe looked rather anonymous and unassuming. But as you can immediately tell, that’s clearly not the case with the new Santa Fe. Curves are out, bold and boxy is back in.

Looking as if a new Land Rover Defender and the old Ford Flex got together and had a baby, the Santa Fe’s exterior aesthetics led to some polarizing feedback. It’s certainly been a case of some loving it and others hating it. Though, one thing’s for sure, you won’t be losing this Santa Fe in the parking lot among the sea of other crossover SUV lookalikes. Whether that’s a good thing or not is entirely subjective.

Exterior Dimensions

Driving Impressions And Performance

The Santa Fe may look like a chest freezer on wheels, but it certainly doesn’t drive like one. From its sprightly eagerness towards forward progression, to its supple, yet buttoned-down suspension travel, and generally excellent composure and body control. The Santa Fe conquers any paved surfaces with the sort of sophistication that you’d expect from a far more expensive vehicle.

Unsurprising, since Hyundai’s greatly benefited from having one of the most talented chassis and suspension engineers in all of automotive history on its team. That would be Albert Biermann, or the man who’s almost single-handedly responsible for making BMW’s M Division known for some of the best-handling luxury sports cars the world has ever seen.

And his expertise clearly shows once the Santa Fe’s wheels start rolling. While no BMW M, there’s no reason why a family crossover like the Santa Fe can’t benefit from the knowledge of someone who knows how to engineer ride quality and handling so exquisitely.

Braking And Acceleration

Standard propulsion comes from Hyundai’s ubiquitous 2.5-liter Smartstream turbocharged four-cylinder. A 1.6-liter turbo-four-based gas-electric hybrid powertrain is also optional. Although the company’s old silky-smooth 3.3-liter V-6 goes sorely missed, the latest 2.5-liter turbo-four in our Calligraphy tester is plenty quick and refined for the task. Keeping up with fast-paced New York City or DC-Metro area traffic in both urban and highway settings never felt challenging, thanks to its 277 horses and 311 torques. Especially with sport mode engaged.

Its eight-speed automatic also supremely takes advantage of every horse and pound-foot, making for an effortless experience in all conditions. While Hyundai doesn’t offer any performance specs, some of our esteemed industry colleagues saw 0-60 MPH times around 6.3-6.5 seconds. With a smartphone stopwatch handy and a passenger riding shotgun, we came close to matching those times.

When it came to shaving off momentum, the Santa Fe’s clamps felt more than up to the task. No complaints here, thanks to a firm and naturally progressive-feeling stop pedal.

• Acceleration 0-60 MPH: 6.3-6.5 Seconds (Estimated)
• Top Speed: 130 MPH (Estimated)

Performance Specifications

2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Fuel Economy

The Environmental Protection Agency rates the Santa Fe with its more powerful 2.5-liter turbo-four capable of up to 20 miles per gallon city, 28 highway, and 23 combined. On my round trip from the New York City area to Washington D.C. and back, the Santa Fe’s trip computer registered an average anywhere between 21-27 mpg on the longer highway stretches of I-95. When traffic built up in the metro areas and became more stop-and-go, as well as in the surrounding suburbs of either city, the average quickly dropped to around 18-20.

The Santa Fe seemed to get its best fuel economy when highway speeds remained consistent and with liberal use of cruise control at around 70-75 MPH. But any time the pace quickened to keep up with the fast-moving highway traffic that the Northeast I-95 corridor is known for, fuel consumption quickly increased. Thus, its efficiency is mediocre at best.

Interior Design And Comfort

From its clean appearance and smart layout, the Santa Fe’s interior makes for a pleasant place to spend time while devouring miles. Despite its vast dual-screen real estate, physical knobs and buttons are still thankfully present for the most pertinent functions. But the bigger attraction is the attention to detail. Everything seems intuitively placed where you expect it to be with form-following-function placement.

The versatility of all the seating makes the most use of its roomy interior. For instance, the front seats can recline almost virtually flat for those looking to catch some serious Z’s. The rear seat access levers and buttons are all easily accessible and easy to find. And no matter the row, the seats are comfortable and supportive, with plenty of space in both the front and second rows for adults of all sizes. The third row can fit adults, but only for a reasonable distance to an evening’s dinner spot and back.

However, after a couple of hours of devouring pavement nonstop on the DC road trip, both my mother and I felt the need to move around in the seats or take a stretch break from growing discomfort. But when summed up, the Santa Fe’s interior execution just exudes a sense of being extremely well-thought-out and user-friendly.

Interior Dimensions

Technology And Ease Of Use

As Hyundai’s proved with nearly all of its vehicles as of recent, extensive amounts of innovative technology are one the brand’s biggest appeals. As an example, Limited and Calligraphy Santa Fes come with an innovative in-dash sterilizer trays inside the dashboard glove compartment. The latter utilizes UV-C light to sanitize personal belongings from pathogens.

All Santa Fe’s come with some sort of ultra-wide dual-screen display layout. The SE, SEL, and XRTs get a 4.2-inch driver info display. But the fancier models, like our Calligraphy tester, and the step-below Limited, get a larger 12.3-inch driver display, as seen on other Hyundai models. And as expected, the tech roster is extensive:

Standard Technology:

• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• Wireless charging (except for base SE)
• Bluelink Connect Car System with smartphone app connectivity and over-the-air updates
• Blind-spot warning
• Rear cross-traffic warning with automatic braking
• Park distance assist
• Rear occupant alert
• Forward collision assist with automatic braking, featuring pedestrian, cyclist, and junction turning detection
• Forward attention warning and driver monitoring (except SE)
• Safe exit assist
• Lane-keep assist
• Radar-guided smart cruise control with stop-and-go assist

Bespoke Tech to Calligraphy:

• Radar-guided smart cruise control with stop-and-go assist and navigation-based automatic speed adjustment
• Blind-spot camera view with steering-assisted collision mitigation
• 360-degree parking assist with automatic braking
• Remote smart parking assist (where you can remote control the car forward and back with the key fob)

Although rich in technology, none of it is overwhelming. It’s all very easy to use and access, especially if you’ve experienced a Hyundai vehicle built within the last five to seven years.

Cargo And Storage Space

Although priced like a typical midsize crossover SUV, the Santa Fe has space and cargo room that nears some of the larger midsize offerings. It’s not quite as big and cavernous as some of the larger and more expensive competition, all of which offer at least three-to-10 or more cubes in every dimension. But it is considerably larger than any similarly-priced compact offering.

Specs wise, the Santa Fe finds itself as a bit of an in-betweener, similar to the Honda Passport. In practice, the Santa Fe has the room to gobble up five passengers worth of gear for a weekend road trip. But if the third row sees occupancy, that precious 14.6 cubic feet simply won’t be enough.

One of the most notable cargo innovations, however, lies on the outside. Our Calligraphy tester, along with the XRT, come with hide-away handles on the C-pillars that make accessing the roof rails for top-mounted accessories effortless—a feature that makes you wonder, “why didn’t anyone think of this before?”

2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Vs. Its Competitors

As a spacious seven-seat crossover with an MSRP ranging from $35,615 to just over $48,000 all-in, the Santa Fe continues picking fights with both the midsize and compact breed of crossover SUVs. Priced like a compact, but proportioned like midsizer, the Santa Fe sits as sort of an in-betweener. Despite offering a third row, competitive cargo room, and similar pricing, it’s not as big as some of the larger midsize crossovers, like the Volkswagen Atlas, Mazda CX-90, Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot, or Nissan Pathfinder.

Honda has its two-row-only Passport in its arsenal that’s roughly the same size as the Santa Fe. But it’s still significantly more expensive, starting at around $43,000 (including shipping). The Santa Fe’s platform cousin, the Kia Sorento, is the only option that’s cheaper, with its starting price of around $32,000 with shipping.

How The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Compares To The 2024 Honda Passport

Although the Kia Sorento may be the closest competitor from a pricing and size standpoint as a midsize crossover SUV with a third-row that might see occasional use, it’s the Santa Fe’s corporate cousin. To better compare the Santa Fe against its rivals to show how exceptional its value is, the next-closest rival would be the Honda Passport.

Despite being similarly sized, the Passport costs a whopping seven grand more than the base Santa Fe. When fully loaded, however, the gap disappears as both the Passport and our top-spec Santa Fe Calligraphy are guaranteed to break the $50,000 mark after taxes and fees. The Santa Fe offers slightly more space and a usable third row, while the Passport only features two rows of seating. However, for driving enthusiasts, the Passport has one major leg up on the Santa Fe: standard V-6 power.

Performance

Two powertrain options populate the Santa Fe’s options list: the base 2.5-liter turbo-four and the 1.6-liter turbo-four-based gas-electric hybrid. The Passport comes with just one, a 3.5-liter naturally-aspirated gas V-6 with 280 hp and 262 lb-ft of torque. Both the Santa Fe’s 2.5-liter and the Passport’s 3.5-liter V-6 punch out similar horsepower figures on paper, but the Santa Fe’s 2.5-turbo-four serves up 49 more torques. Both hit 60 MPH in the mid-six-second range, but with the extra cylinder count and higher redline, the Passport is going to be the smoother, more fun and engaging powertrain. It can also tow more.

Comfort

In all fairness, none of the midsize crossover SUVs suffer in the comfort department and the story’s just as true with both the Santa Fe and Passport. Though the Santa Fee seems a lot quieter than the Passport with less noise, vibration, and harshness. One can even argue that the Hyundai also seems slightly more refined in its actions, though it could be a matter of splitting hairs. Because the Santa Fe is also slightly more spacious, its cabin seems a lot more accommodating than the Passport.

Technology

No midsize crossover SUV struggles in the technology department either as standard features and safety tech is a hugely competitive area for all. But the Santa Fe’s technology seems a bit more sophisticated and newer than the Honda’s. And the Hyundai has a leg up with innovations, particularly with its available UV-C-based sanitizing glove box and integrated C-Pillar handles.

Our Recommendation For Which Model You Should Buy

From its clever packaging, mature road-going behavior, and competitive space, the Santa Fe simply excels in every aspect that makes for an excellent, well-rounded midsize crossover SUV. Our top-spec, fully-loaded Calligraphy begins treading into luxury territory as it brushes up against the $50,000 mark. But it does come with all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a much more expensive vehicle. Most people will find the happy medium between the mid-range SEL, XRT, and Limited models.

Though it’s all dependent on one’s budget and the need for niceties such as leather seating, more comprehensive tech, and fancier convenience features. But no matter the trim, all versions of the Santa Fe serve up a premium crossover SUV experience without the premium price, maximizing how much car you can get for your money. It brings the complete package without sacrificing the essentials, all thanks to its smart execution and exceptional value, which is why it simply takes the cake as one of best midsize crossover SUVs that you can currently buy.