Instrumented Test
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The big Santa Fe makes a strong case for a piece of the three-row crossover pie.
Given its corporate penchant for Hispanic-style names, Hyundai’s passing up the opportunity to differentiate its two Santa Fe variants by appending a simple Grande to the larger of the two siblings is a little surprising. But Hyundai kept the simple Santa Fe moniker for the larger, three-row version while dubbing the smaller two-row variant the Santa Fe Sport. Go figure.
The Sport’s engine choices are both fours, a naturally aspirated 190-hp 2.4-liter or an optional 264-horse 2.0-liter turbo. The larger, three-row Santa Fe tested here operates with a robust 3.3-liter V-6 rated at 290 horsepower and 252 lb-ft of torque. This is essentially the same engine that made its debut in Hyundai’s 2013 Azera sedan, but because the Santa Fe is rated for heavier duty cycles, such as 5000-pound towing, the powertrain engineers prescribed new piston rings, a three-stage intake manifold, a variable output oil pump, and chromium nitrate electro-coating for the cams, rocker arms, and tappets, to enhance heat resistance and reduce friction. The V-6 is teamed with a six-speed automatic transmission.
Respectable Propulsion
Those enhancements make sense. Leaving aside its towing capabilities and load capacity (gross vehicle weight ratings of 5512 pounds with front-drive, 5622 with AWD), the V-6 has to propel more mass than in the sedan. Our test subjects both weighed well north of two tons, 4161 pounds with front drive, 157 pounds heavier with all-wheel drive. The Azera tips the scales around 3700 pounds, depending on equipment.
As you’d expect, all that additional bulk affects acceleration. But you might be surprised at how well the Santa Fe acquits itself in sprints to 60 mph. In two Azera tests we’ve recorded 0-to-60 times of 6.2 and 6.3 seconds. The front-drive Santa Fe achieved mile-a-minute velocity in 7.1 seconds, the AWD version 0.4 second later.
The six-speed automatic transmission is smooth enough, and the engine delivers enough punch so the driver doesn’t find himself wishing for another cog or two. Like most auto-shifters, it includes a manual mode, but it’s a chore to employ, as the driver’s elbow fights with the center armrest.
Standing-start acceleration is just about the only tangible dynamic distinction between front- and all-wheel-drive versions of the three-row SUV. Rolling acceleration results—5–60 mph, 30–50, and 50–70—are all but identical, as are skidpad results: 0.75 g with front-drive, 0.76 with AWD. That’s about what you’d expect from a set of all-season Kumho City Venture Premiums (235/55-19, the top tire option), and it’s about par for the course in this class. This also goes for braking—176 feet from 70 mph for the all-wheel drive Santa Fe, albeit with moderate fade, 179 for the front-drive version, but no fade noted by our testers.
Both models deliver pleasant ride quality—smooth but not too squishy—with one asterisk. On washboard sections of gravel road (this is a sport-utility, after all), the rear end will hop around a bit, suggesting that spring rates and dampers are slightly out of sync. This is more pronounced in the front-drive version, but both models are guilty of the tendency.
Specifications
VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, front- or 4-wheel-drive, 7-passenger, 5-door wagon
PRICE AS TESTED: FWD, $36,980; AWD, $38,730 (base price: FWD, $33,945; AWD, $35,955)
ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 24-valve V-6, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection
Displacement: 204 cu in, 3342 cc
Power: 290 hp @ 6400 rpm
Torque: 252 lb-ft @ 5200 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 6-speed automatic with manual shifting mode
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 110.2 in
Length: 193.1 in
Width: 74.2 in Height: 66.5 in
Curb weight (FWD/AWD): 4161/4318 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS (FWD/AWD):
Zero to 60 mph: 7.1/7.5 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 19.5/20.7 sec
Zero to 120 mph: 34.7/35.1 sec
Rolling start, 5–60 mph: 7.9/8.1 sec
Top gear, 30–50 mph: 3.8/3.9 sec
Top gear, 50–70 mph: 5.2/5.3 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 15.8 sec @ 91 mph/15.9 sec @ 90 mph
Top speed (drag limited): 128/130 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 179/176 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad*: 0.75/0.76 g
FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 18/24–25 mpg
C/D observed (FWD/AWD): 19/19 mpg
*Stability-control-inhibited
Continued…