Our initial experience with a 2024 Santa Fe AWD Limited

On Monday we picked up our 2024 Santa Fe AWD Limited and overall a very positive experience both from the dealership transaction and the first 100 miles of driving. We paid MSRP with no add-ons, mark-ups etc.

Background: I am a 50 yr old male, 5'9", 145lbs. My wife and I have 2 kids (8 & 10) and our typical cars over the last few years have been Land Rovers, Mazdas, VWs and Audis. We have never owned a Hyundai/Kia group car before.

To keep a long story short, the catalyst for looking at the Hyundai/Kia brand started about 8 months ago and was due to EVs as I have an Ioniq 5 N 'on order'.

The 2024 Santa Fe AWD Limited is to replace my partner's 2018 Land Rover Discovery Sport HSE. My initial impressions of the Santa Fe are very positive, from the first 100 miles.

  • Overall Exterior Fit and Finish seemed good, definitely better than I was expecting. We didn't see any panel gap/alignment issues, the paint didn't have any obvious blemishes or flaws.
  • Overall Interior Finish is good, not quite up to Land Rover standards but there was sufficient soft touch materials, faux wood, faux stitching etc that it didn't seem cheap, and the black interior didn't look tacky or gaudy.
  • The Driving Aids seemed to work well, the lane centering, highway driving assist all followed the curves of the roads and adjusted the car speed as people cut in front of us, changed lanes etc. While you definitely feel the steering wheel making micro-corrections it wasn't resulting in the car ping-ponging sideways which I had experienced on a Kia rental car 4 years ago.
  • The Driving Aids also seemed to manage navigating me through the lanes in a busy highway roadwork/construction area - so while I remained alert and focused - it did inspire more confidence than I had expected that the car was not going to veer off or do something unexpected. The car reminder to keep hands on steering wheel was not overly intrusive and just lightly touching 2 fingers to the steering wheel was sufficient - it did not require any torque on the steering wheel.
  • The Driver's Seat was comfortable with good amounts of adjustment, I am still working out the optimum seating position/steering wheel position so that I have good visibility of the dashboard and windscreen. Initially the top of the steering wheel was cutting off visibility of the upper dashboard, but it is easy to adjust. That being said - as a NEGATIVE - I wish Hyundai USA had included power Steering Wheel adjustment tied to the person profile rather than the manual adjustment - this adds a little annoyance when my partner and I switch who is driving. power Steering Wheel adjustment is available overseas so this was an intentional omission by Hyundai USA. To me it would be more useful than standard 3 row seating.
  • The actual dashboard digital gauges are ok/good, but not great unless you like the limited options for displaying speed/rpms. At least the icons for the smart driving aids are easy to see and understand. I did like the fact that the Wireless Apple CarPlay Apple Maps navigation directions show on the Dashboard - however Waze directions did not.
  • Performance of the 2.5T was ok - it isn't going to accelerate like a Sports SUV but it is sufficient for this size/weight as a family SUV. Cruising along a highway at 80 mph is not going to be an issue. I was impressed with the DCT gearbox, it didn't seem to hunt around for the right gear, or change to a higher gear sooner than I would like (unlike the Land Rover Discovery Sport). I also played with the Paddle Shifters and they worked well.
  • Suspension is tuned for a family SUV - so there is some body roll when going around a corner/round about but nothing unexpected. I personally would like the suspension to be a bit firmer but I like Audis, Mazdas etc and it is very much a subjective opinion.
  • Visibility inside was fine, and the blind spot and 360 cameras make it easy to merge with traffic, change lanes, navigate car parks. The interior is spacious for a mid-size SUV and the boxy shape and large glass areas really helps.
  • Air Con controls - these are a piano black capacitive screen which does leave finger print smudges. This is one area where I think there could be a few improvements. For example the dial for changing the Air Con temp could be changed to be similar to Land Rovers so that when you press it the function changes to seat heating/cooling - this would remove 4 of the capacitive buttons. I also drove through some highway construction dust clouds and struggled to find the air recirculating button - yes this is because I am not used to the car but it would be nice if one of the Star/Favorite/Shortcut real buttons could be programmed to be an Air Recirculatory proxy button so it is easier to find and press.
  • Gear Selector - this is the first car I have driven without the gear selector (whether rotary or a more traditional stick) in between the front seats. I didn't have any issues adapting to the location and think it makes a lot of sense in terms of freeing up the center console and providing the storage, dual phone charger/holder capability etc. I didn't experience any issues changing to drive/reverse/park etc.
  • Auto Hold - I really liked it but also forgot about it sometimes and kept my foot on the brakes. A little odd feeling to trust it the first few times but I definitely like it.
  • Beeps/Dings/Noises - Before driving I spent 5-10 minutes going through the settings in the infotainment changing things to be the way I wanted, so while driving I didn't get inundated with beeps/noises etc from the car. Obviously a personal perspective as to whether you like a 'musical' car or not.
  • Sunroofs - While a full length panoramic sunroof like on a Land Rover seems like a nice idea, I found it was more often than not left closed as the driver didn't want the bright sun on them. The two sunroof design of the Santa Fe solves this as the driver can have the front sunroof sunshade closed, while the kids in the back can have their sunroof sunshade opened and enjoy the extra sunlight.
  • Wireless Phone Charger - The Limited only has a single wireless phone charger although the design of the console does make it look like there are dual wireless phone chargers. I am sure this will confuse a lot of customers and result in complaints to dealers. I also noticed a number of YouTube reviewers reviewing the XRT / Limited models said there were dual wireless phone chargers which is incorrect. In the USA only the Calligraphy gets the dual wireless phone chargers. That being said we didn't have any issues with the wireless phone charging pad working on my partners iPhone 15 Pro and my iPhone 15 Pro Max with our phones cases on. However, based on initial first day my partner's iPhone seemed to charge very slowly - we need to do some tests with/without the phone case on and with/without Wireless Car Play active.
  • The trunk when it opens is large. My 2011 CX-9 can park in our garage with the door closed, and I can open the trunk fully without hitting the garage door. While I haven't had a chance to properly test the Santa Fe yet it definitely seems like the total length of car with trunk open is longer than the CX-9 with trunk open and is very very very close to where the garage door would be.
  • Out The Door Price (North Carolina, USA):
  • $47,255 MSRP inc Freight & Handling (inc Serenity White paint $470, Carpeted Floor Mats $210, First Aid Kit $30);
  • ​$699 Dealer Fee​
  • $1438 Tax​
  • $95 License & Title
  • ​---------
  • ​$49,488 Out The Door​

Note: I am a bit of a gadget nerd, and had also read the 650+ page manual before we picked up the car (the PDF is on the Hyundai website) so I was fairly familiar with the car/settings already from this, plus watching a number of YouTube videos. That made getting familiar with the car much easier. Is it as premium as a Land Rover Discovery Sport - no... but the Discovery Sport is $20k+ more and I don't think it is $20k+ better (ignoring any brand stigma/feelings)

I know people will ask for photos. I don't have any on my phone at the moment and it looks just like any other white 2024 Santa Fe Limited AWD with black interior.

So overall so far I think it is a great car for the money and no complaints. We will see how the next few hundred and thousand miles go but it is a positive start. For a first model year the design, tech, features etc all seemed well put together (albeit a fair bit of the underneath tech/powertrain is carry over from prior model or from other models).

There are some things that I wish Hyundai USA had done different for what we are specifically looking for:

  1. Make 3rd row an option, since my partner would be happy with a 5 seater, and I am happy with a 6 seater.
  2. Have power adjustable steering wheel rather than manual adjustable - at least on the Limited and Calligraphy Trim
  3. Allow for a bench seat on the Calligraphy as then my partner would have gone for the Calligraphy
  4. Include the massage chair as an option for the driver and passenger front chairs
  5. Include the relaxation seat for the passenger front chair in the Calligraphy trim

The slight frustration with all the above 5 points is that for overseas models (non-US) these options are all available.

While we are not looking at entry level trims for ourselves, I do think the decision by Hyundai USA to have 7 seats as standard, and not have the 2.5 non-turbo engine in the lower trims will put the car at a price point that no longer works for some people.

I also have a 2024 Santa Fe Calligraphy AWD on order that arrives in early March. This was planned a while ago, whereas my partner's Santa Fe Limited was a last minute necessary decision at the weekend as her Land Rover was totaled by the insurance company. I've been impressed enough with the Hyundai product and the specific dealership experience we have had that we are going from never having owned a Hyundai/Kia group car to owning 3 Hyundai's during 2024.