{"id":2616,"date":"2014-09-03T21:47:40","date_gmt":"2014-09-04T04:47:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rickdebruhl.com\/?p=2616"},"modified":"2014-09-03T21:47:40","modified_gmt":"2014-09-04T04:47:40","slug":"car-review-2014-hyundai-santa-fe-sport-2-0","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carcentrick.com\/?p=2616","title":{"rendered":"Car Review: 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport 2.0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before I start the review of the 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport 2.0, I need you to answer a question.<\/p>\n

\"2014<\/a>
2014 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport 2.0 AWD<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What do you want from life?<\/p>\n

Do you demand luxury no matter what the costs (or payments)? Are you one of those people who settle for something cheap because \u201cIt\u2019ll do\u201d? Or are you that person in the middle. A value shopper who knows a great deal but won\u2019t go cheap because you have standards?<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re in that third category, the Santa Fe Sport may be your SUV.<\/p>\n

I need to point out that Hyundai makes two Santa Fe SUVs. The Sport has a big brother. It\u2019s a seven-passenger SUV that is 8.5 inches longer. The Sport is the five-passenger model. They look identical except the Sport is shorter.<\/p>\n

\"2014<\/a>
Santa Fe Sport Is 8.5″ Shorter Than Big Brother<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And let\u2019s talk about those looks. I think the Santa Fe is one of the best styled cars in its class. The grill lines feed perfectly into the headlights which flow nicely past the hood and into the windows. Those side windows come to a nice angled point with an upward slant. The belt line body sculpting follows the same direction. It\u2019s big without being clunky.<\/p>\n

\"2014<\/a>
2.0 Liter Turbo Delivers 264 HP But Weak MPG<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You have your choice of two engines. The base 2.4 liter four-cylinder engine has 190 horsepower. My test car had the 2.0 liter twin turbo four-cylinder which upped the output to 264 horsepower. While I\u2019m sure the 190 horses would get you around town, 264 horses is something you can actually enjoy. I\u2019ve driven SUVs with more, but frankly 260 is the sweet spot.<\/p>\n

The engine is also responsible for one of the Santa Fe Sport\u2019s weakest points: its fuel mileage. The two-wheel drive version is only good for 19 MPG in the city and 27 MPG on the highway with a combined number of 22 MPG (in fact I averaged 22.6 MPG for the week). Go for the 190 horsepower model and you only gain one mpg on the combined total. Compare that to competition like the Ford Escape (25 MPG combined), the Honda CR-V (26 MPG combined) or the Mazda CX-5 (29 MPG combined), and it\u2019s pretty disappointing. If you get the turbo, you can at least console yourself (and your wallet) by knowing that you get a lot more power than the competition. Ultimately, you have to decide if it\u2019s worth the lower MPG.<\/p>\n

\"2014<\/a>
Great Styling From All Sides<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Driving the Santa Fe Sport is a pleasure. It gives you three options for steering input: normal, sport or comfort. You can decide what kind of steering wheel feel you want. Don\u2019t get me wrong, the sport setting isn\u2019t going to make you feel like you\u2019re in a Porsche Cayenne, but it\u2019s a nice to tune the car to your tastes. My test car had warnings to let you know if a car was in your blind spot. They worked well and give the car the kind of technology it needs to move up a notch.<\/p>\n

\"2014<\/a>
Santa Fe Sport Interior Doesn’t Disappoint<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The interior won\u2019t disappoint. It doesn\u2019t have the look or feel of a luxury car, but there\u2019s nothing cheap about it. It\u2019s well designed and finished properly. If you really want to splurge you can opt for vented front seats with 12-way adjustment. There is a single display on the dash (my car had the 8-inch screen compared to the 4.3 inch standard model) that works well. I was even impressed with the navigation system. It\u2019s still not as good as my phone, but it\u2019s a lot better than other cars I\u2019ve tested. It requires fewer steps to get you where you\u2019re going. We took some friends out to dinner one night and the back seat got solid reviews. The nearly 40 inches of leg room prompted my friend to say it was in the top 75th<\/sup> percentile of back seats he\u2019s tried (OK, I\u2019m not sure how many are on that list, but you get the idea).<\/p>\n

\"2014<\/a>
2014 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Price and warranty are two big advantages for the Santa Fe Sport. In Arizona, the base price for the 2.4 liter, two-wheel drive model is $25,825. My test car with the turbo, all-wheel drive and the navigation package was $35,135. Drop the all-wheel drive and it\u2019s around $33,000 which is a great value. There is a Technology package you can add for $4,350, but my test car didn\u2019t have it and I can’t say I missed anything. And then there\u2019s the warranty. Hyundai\u2019s 10 year\/100,000 mile warranty for the first owner is the best in the business.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s get back to the question: What do you want from life? If it\u2019s great looks, great power and no hint of cheapness, then the 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport could be your SUV.<\/p>\n

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