2008 Hyundai Santa Fe Consumer Reviews Page 3

1300 Miles on New '08 Santa Fe

Written by: Ohio Citizen on 04/20/2009

Vehicle

2008 Hyundai Santa Fe GLS 4dr SUV (2.7L 6cyl 4A)

Review

I'm happy overall with my new '08 Santa Fe. I've never owned a Hyundai, but they sold me with the massive warranty and assurance program. I looked at CR-Vs and Escapes, and I found this was a much better priced vehicle for the options I wanted. It's comfortable and snazzy. It drives more like an SUV than a zippy car. Braking distance sometimes sneaks up on you-- I've taken to adding some following distance. There's plenty of leg room. I wish there was more headroom in the driver's side. Anyone more than 6' tall will feel a bit scrunched by the vehicle roof when driving (my boyfriend is 6'2" and feels the roof is uncomfortably close to his head).

Favorite Features

Under-floor storage in cargo area, styling/looks are pleasing, comfortable seating, great seat heaters, reasonably priced, availability of seat heaters/premium features without leather package, 5-year/100K warranty, assurance program if you lose your job

Suggested Improvements

Auto-up on driver's window, MP3 player input on radio, better braking distance (feels too long sometimes), more head room for driver's seat, telescoping steering wheel setting

1 out 1 people found this review helpful

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Decent but leaves a lot to be desired

Written by: Martin on 04/18/2009

Vehicle

2008 Hyundai Santa Fe GLS 4dr SUV (2.7L 6cyl 4A)

Review

Overall, a good value for the money compared with other SUVs in this class.However...at 4000 km there was an oil leak which took 3 trips to the dealership and was finally fixes with silocone sealant.During the winter,the windshield washer fluid reservoir broke and had to be replaced.Windshield is surprisingly fragile - accidentally dropped the wiper arm when replacing the wipers and the windshield cracked all the way to the top.I also have a 2005 Chevy Malibu and the Santa Fe is missing a lot of the nice add-ons.It even doesn't have auto on headlights (come on, I get leather seats and not this!).I have had less problems with my Chevy (and previous one) in 5 years than with the Santa Fe in 1.

Favorite Features

Large trunk.Stable in winter driving (even with FWD).Good road feel and low noise.

Suggested Improvements

Speed-sensitive intermittent windshield wipers, speed-sensitive audio volume,auto on headlights,headlights should light up when dark and car unlocked/locked,auto lock doors when shift to drive,AUX & USB input,stronger windshield,RDS radio.

1 out 2 people found this review helpful

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Nice, but little issues....

Written by: SteveH on 03/27/2009

Vehicle

2008 Hyundai Santa Fe GLS 4dr SUV (2.7L 6cyl 4A)

Review

Chose the Santa Fe over Rav4 for slightly larger size and cost savings. Initially I like the vehicle, but starting to find annoying issues. Items like the lackluster highway gas mileage (21-22 avg), flat audio from radio (or speakers), and unresolvable issue with car pulling to the right drive me nuts. Turn signal clicker too loud. The door ajar beeper is way too loud and annoying, and beeps at every little thing. The tiny foot rest to the left of the break pedal is too low and out of the way to use. Drivers seat is too high for taller drivers. The spring in the front sun visor causes it to pop forward and limit adjustment.

Favorite Features

Quiet cabin. Comfortable ride (after dropping tire pressure from dealer setting of 38 psi). Blue accent lighting. Fan control with eight settings. Comfortable seat with lumbar. Decent storage with rear fold flat seats. Lighted cup holder in front. Interior color available other than black.

Suggested Improvements

Tailgate window ability to open. Better radio with line-in and speed adjusted volume. Add a compass. Drivers side window auto-up. Add delay setting to rear window wiper. Allow the passenger front seat to fold flat (frontward). Improve fuel economy. Five or six speed auto transmission standard.

7 out 7 people found this review helpful

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2008 Hyundai Santa Fe Car review

Written by: santa fe on 03/26/2009

Vehicle

2008 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited 4dr SUV (3.3L 6cyl 5A)

Review

I have only had the car for 30 days thus I need more time to see how things work in the long term. I am very impressed with the ride and the handling of the car thus far. I have only driven around town but seem to be getting 22 MPG in town. I am much impressed with the car so far. The radio and Infinity sound system are the best part of the car. I have had many compliments on the car in general from other people.

Favorite Features

The Infinity sound system

Suggested Improvements

None that I know of.

2 out 2 people found this review helpful

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Not Impressed so far

Written by: JR_Colorado on 03/13/2009

Vehicle

2008 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited 4dr SUV AWD (3.3L 6cyl 5A)

Review

With only 600 miles I am starting to feel like this was a bad decision. Transmission is already acting strange. It can't seem to find the right gear going up a hill. Very frustrating. Dealer says this may be a "break in" issue, but I have never had a transmission have a "break in" period, so I am skeptical. installing the roof rack rails was VERY frustrating. Broke one of the rail covers putting the rails on. Poorly designed rail system. What's up with the rear blinkers. I do not feel safe with blinkers mostly on the side and not in the rear!!!!! What were their engineers thinking. I fell for the $3000 REBATE. I just hope I am wrong about this vehicle.

Favorite Features

The blue control lights are really cool! Temp controls work great! Heated sets are wonderful! The ride in town is very comfortable.

Suggested Improvements

Put rear turn signals in the REAR where they are suppose to be and make them amber. Gas mileage could be better. Transmission should shift better.

4 out 6 people found this review helpful

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Smooth transmission

Written by: mhtn on 03/10/2009

Vehicle

2008 Hyundai Santa Fe SE 4dr SUV (3.3L 6cyl 5A)

Review

Excellent car. Ride is very smooth and quiet. Love the exterior and interior finish. Handling is very nice and predictable. Transmission is as smooth as it can be. I was able to purchase the SE V6 3.3L 242h Santa Fe for less than the price of the base CRV. Fuel economy is good for a large and heavy vehicle. I'm consistently get 20mpg in stop and go traffic.

Favorite Features

Transmission, excellent headlights, comfortable seats,

Suggested Improvements

Stock radio was not bad but I replace it with Pioneer Avic F700BT, which is an excellent head unit with navigation, bluetooth, usb connection, sd card slot and voice command.

4 out 5 people found this review helpful

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Don't buy this car

Written by: Tonya on 03/03/2009

Vehicle

2008 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited 4dr SUV AWD (3.3L 6cyl 5A)

Review

My husband and I bought the 2008 Hyundai in September. We put 10,000 down on it. Well, It has had nothing but problems. The transmission slips, there is a rattling noise coming from the engine, the wheel alignment does not stay in place, gas mileage sucked, and when the kids hooked up there dvd systems or game systems in the back it would cause a frying sound thru the speakers. We traded it in today and lost almost 18,000 on it. We lost all of our investment and only had it 6 months. We bought this 2008 as a demo with low miles. I will never look at or consider buying another one.

Favorite Features

The color is pretty.

Suggested Improvements

Start over from scratch...The car sucks and the dealerships deny there are any issues with it.

9 out 19 people found this review helpful

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Nice Car

Written by: nss79 on 02/22/2009

Vehicle

2008 Hyundai Santa Fe GLS 4dr SUV AWD (2.7L 6cyl 4A)

Review

Traded in a 2005 Santa Fe for this car, and this is a nice improvement. This car has a very nice, smooth ride and plenty of features. We got the premium package, mostly for the heated seats. Everything in the interior is well placed. Power is good enough with the 2.7, but I wouldn't mind a little more. The fact that my wife drives only 2 miles to work really hurts the MPG, but with more highway driving 20+ MPG is easy to do. Overall we are very satisfied with this car and will be keeping it for a while.

Favorite Features

XM, heated seats, Blue gauges

Suggested Improvements

I can only think of a couple small things. Make fog lights and exhaust tips standard or available with the premium package, or at least have the fog light hole covers painted body color. The ability to open the rear glass without having to open the whole liftgate like the older models.

3 out 3 people found this review helpful

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Traded it!

Written by: dj_jonns on 02/20/2009

Vehicle

2008 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited 4dr SUV AWD (3.3L 6cyl 5A)

Review

After 4000 miles on a Honda CRV. The Santa Fe was the absolute worse vehicle I have ever owned and Hyundai is the worse car company I ever dealt with. Transmission was defective and they would not recognize its problems or fix it. Bad design and quality problems. They may allege to have the best warranty in the business but that is because they won't fix any problems and keep saying that is the way the vehicle was made to operate. Never buy a Hyundai again ......ever!

Favorite Features

Infinity stereo system

Suggested Improvements

transmission, cheap plastics, suspension, overall car feels cheap poor quality products....sorry Hyundai owners but this company sucks.

3 out 16 people found this review helpful

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Even better than I thought it would be!

Written by: fwc on 02/09/2009

Vehicle

2008 Hyundai Santa Fe GLS 4dr SUV (2.7L 6cyl 4A)

Review

Traded a 99 CR-V EX AWD for this model. Came with Option Pkg 3, and everything I could have wanted. Driving on long trips is perfect, good/bad weather makes no difference. Unflappable road manners. Hauls everything I want to carry and has more than adequate power. Fun to drive and does well whether it's Manhattan traffic or cruising the turnpike. Added an iSimple Media Gateway to the excellent standard stock radio, allows iPod use via the steering wheel audio controls. iPod output is CD quality. I couldn't have asked for more in a vehicle.

Favorite Features

Heated seats are fantastic. Interior is very rich, cloth seats are better than any I've seen in this price range. Visibility and comfort is amazing. Base V6 has plenty of power on tap. Quiet ride even on coarse pavement. Hauls people and cargo well, handles like a well-mannered car.

Suggested Improvements

Since there's no auxiliary audio port, dealers should offer the iSimple Media Gateway as a dealer-installed option. It works flawlessly and keeps your eyes on the road while you use your iPod via the steering wheel controls. Minor gripe - defrost will not allow recirc (bad when behind a bus...)

5 out 6 people found this review helpful

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