Used 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe Consumer Reviews
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Good in some ways, not in others
JFH, 11/05/2021
updated 08/10/2022
2022 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl Turbo 8AM)
50 of 57 people found this review helpful
I'm updating this review after a few months to better articulate what I do and don't like about this car. I bought it in October and it drove really well on the test drive. However, at the time, I was unaware of what a DCT was and I admit my test drive wasn't particularly thorough. Still, after 5 months, I have a handle on this car. Pros 1. Comfortable seats 2. Spacious interior 3. Excellent trunk space and I like the extra cubbies under the floor. 4. Outstanding sound system 5. Good views. I have no problem seeing out of this thing. 6. Turbo engine gets up and goes when you need it to. 7. The positive part of the Wet DCT is that once you're up and going, you literally can't feel it shifting, it's that smooth. 8. The safety tech is pretty good. 9. The pano sunroof is nice. 10. I like that all the controls are physical, even if there are a lot of buttons on the center stack. Fun fact, if you adjust the temperature, you can hear the system clicking into place. It works even if the touch screen takes a sec to show you. 11. The Hampton Gray color looks really nice in real life. A very pastel gray and not the usual boring silver many cars have. Cons 1. The DCT is bad at low speeds. 25mph and under and this thing is wildly inconsistent. You're also not supposed to creep in traffic else you'll mess up your clutch over time so you can't just drive this thing like a normal automatic. 2. I get steering wheel shake when accelerating from a stop with anything less than half throttle. I've taken it to the dealership twice and they say it's within spec. I am not a fan. 3. The infotainment screen is sometimes excruciatingly slow to respond to inputs. Luckily everything is mechanical so it'll change temp even if the screen doesn't show it for a couple of seconds but it's still annoying. 4. Some of the graphics on the infotainment are bad. For example, when switching the airflow, it uses a fancy graphic to show where the air is going. It's difficult to see in the daytime. 5. Apparently, the 2.5L engines are having oil burning problems. There are videos about it online and Hyundai has been doing some weird stuff. I have not been able to find out if they fixed the issue before the 22 model year or before the engine made its debut in the States. I'll be monitoring my engine oil every 1000 miles and you should too if you buy the car. Between this and the DCT, I'm weary of the long term reliability of this car. 6. The ride quality is very inconsistent. On the freeway and at higher speeds (45mph+), the ride quality is pretty decent. However, on slower, less maintained roads, this thing bounces wallows around enough to be noticeable. Edmunds noticed this as well on the Sorento (same platform, same engine), but didn't say anything about it on the Santa Fe. I suspect the 19 inch wheels are to blame for some of it, but replacing them with smaller wheels (and meatier tires) on a whim is expensive. Either way, this isn't as smooth as I would've expected. I did my test drive almost exclusively on well maintained 45mph roads so that's my bad, but you live and you learn. Large rims and lower profile tires is a bad idea in the Great Lakes region. 7. The door side and center console arm rests are too low for me. Also, the steering wheel could stand to come out a bit further. 8. This car does not have auto comfort even though it has the capability. In prior Santa Fe years, Blue Link let you engage the heated/ventilated seats from the app. It removed the feature last year. You can find a ton of complaints about it via Google. You can still engage the steering wheel warmer for some reason, though. 9. Some of the other tech is a bit inconsistent. For example, the doors are supposed to unlock when you put your hand in the door handle to unlock it. Sometimes, mine won't. 10. Some of the safety tech is annoying to use. For example, the adaptive cruise control is the only cruise control you can use. A way to override it and use normal cruise was present in the 2021 model but apparently was removed in 22. When on the highway, if I'm going 75mph and someone doing 80mph cuts in front of me, the adaptive cruise will drop me down to 60mph until the car in front of me exits the car's radar range. I'm functionally brake checking everyone behind me and it's going to cause an accident. I just don't use adaptive cruise anymore. One step forward, two steps backward. Overall, it's a decent car. Hyundai got a lot right with this one, but inconsistent tech, unanswered questions about the engine and wet DCT, and oddly missing options other cars in this price range have prevent it from being a slam dunk home run. If I could do it all over, I probably would've gone with a different car.
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Has far exceeded my expectations for the money
Geo. L, 01/01/2022
2022 Hyundai Santa Fe SEL 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl 8A)
11 of 12 people found this review helpful
I am an old car guy who was in the retail business for over 30 years and after retiring kind of lost the enthusiasm a new vehicle should give. I had a well equipped 2019 Ford Edge that I gave my daughter so was looking for a new SUV. I never thought I would buy a Hyundai, but my daughter had great luck with her 2013 Tucson so I gave it a look. I was surprised at what you get for the money. It was thousands less than the Edge with very similar options, and I think it is as good or better quality. Ergonomically, the interior dash and screen layout is very easy to view and user friendly. I read another review bashing the ride. It is an SUV not a yacht! It should be firmer and more stable in handling. Personally I want to feel the road underneath me. I have driven in on some very slick and snow covered roads so far and felt in total control. Cars usually don't enthuse me anymore, and I don't write reviews, but this car is worth it.
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2022 Hyundai Santa Fe for sale near you
3 of 402 listings
- SEL 4dr SUVMSRP: $22,49427 mi away
- Limited 4dr SUVMSRP: $24,91132 mi away
- SEL 4dr SUVMSRP: $24,87728 mi away
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First Hyundai
SeaFan, 02/06/2022
2022 Hyundai Santa Fe SEL 4dr SUV (2.5L 4cyl 8A)
10 of 11 people found this review helpful
As older folks we have owned many cars. Sometimes brand loyalty prevailed but eventually another brand would peak our interest and cause us to deflect. I remember telling my son in law that I would never own a Hyundai. Never say never. Overall a lot of bang for your buck in our new Santa Fe SEL with Convenience Package. Lots of pros not too many cons. Rough road ride on secondary roads I blame on tires. Slow off the line…not really…you get what you get out of the engine that you buy. We are pleased with the fuel consumption. Very comfortable interior with easy access buttons plus touch screen accessibility. All good. Fan of the wireless charging but a miss is the wired connection for Apple Car Play. We have had one wonky event with rear camera display not communicating properly. But after reboot all is fine. Had a highway event where changing lanes immediately was needed and the car reacted positively at 80 mph plus the car alerted me so I had more seconds to react. Nice save Santa Fe. We are pleased with our purchase.
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I Love Driving This Car But Does Have Some Flaws
ATL Consultant, 02/17/2022
updated 08/18/2022
2022 Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy 4dr SUV (2.5L 4cyl Turbo 8AM)
12 of 14 people found this review helpful
What I like: 1. Tons of torque -- so much so that it feels like it might get away from you when accelerating -- a wild horse! UPDATED after 6 months: the torque has calmed down a bit after i got past 200 miles. Still good but not like a wild horse any longer. 2. Seats are uber comfortable -- the Napa quilted leather is the schizz. UPDATE after 6 months: On long trips (over 4 hours) the seat in the center back starts to feel a little uncomfortable. Got a seat cushion with memory foam back. 3. Sound system is very good -- though doesn't come close to my Mark Levinson system in my Lexus SC430 i had before this vehicle. 4. Space in cabin is wonderful. 4. My salesperson promised that he would be with me during my Hyundai journey and he has been fantastic. My buying experience was fantastic. Couldn't have asked for a better buyer's experience. Cons: 1. As others have said, the around town mpg is not even close to what is on the sticker. I do a lot of errands around my inner city home, so i drive in short spurts of 1 to 1.5 miles. Doing this type of driving for a few weeks gives me about 10.5 to 11 mpg. Mix that in with some 6 or 7 mile trips and the mpg goes up to about 16-17.5 mpg. On road drips it gets 29+. 2. There is no way (I consulted the dealer) to leave the vehicle running with the doors locked. This is a HUGE must for food delivery drivers in a city. They have to stop on city streets in loading zones and run food into highrises, etc. I don't deliver anything but i do like doing short errands and I feel like my mpg would improve if i just left the car on idling while running the errands. I don't feel comfortable doing that in the city without lock capabilities. 3. The nav doesn't understand much by voice -- "sorry, I don't understand" is more probable than you actually getting it to understand your address. And the typing entry is cumbersome. Much better to use Waze on Apple Car Play. Also the buttons aren't very touch sensitive. I often find myself pressing something 2-3 times to get it to activate. I'm really confused why the nav isn't better since that's supposed to be a huge reason to go forward with their Hyundai Blu Link service ($9.95/month after the free 3 yr trial). While i love the remote start with Blu Link, it doesn't compel me to pay $10/month just for that, after the 3 yr. trial of Blu Link is over. But overall, i do like the car. It's a lot of fun to drive and the safety features are almost supernumerary. Time will tell how reliable it is. Thus far the only issue i've had is i put it in manual with paddle shifters this past weekend and I couldn't get it to go back to automatic and i couldn't downshift, so i had zero acceleration in 8th gear. Not fun. I had to pull over, turn the car off, then back on to reset. I will monitor this to see if it happens again. I asked the dealer about it and my sales guy said it should kick back in after a few minutes of non-use (manual returning to automatic). I've only had the car 1.5 months though. It has about 900 miles on it. UPDATED after 6 months: the car now has almost 2,000 miles on it. The only thinng that i don't care for since i bought it new and first reviewed, is that it is slow to kick into gear. I blame the push button gears. Cute to look at but not a great innovation. I would prefer the standard stick..
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nice vehicle lots of features, none in stock
Don, 10/07/2021
2022 Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl Turbo 8AM)
18 of 23 people found this review helpful
Nice vehicle lots of features, only problem none in stock the way we want it, and asking price way to high.
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