Santa Fe continues good feelings, with turbo boost

 Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews also can be seen in the Northern & Central California Cruisin’ News magazine published monthly out of Folsom, California. 

Sacramento, California -- Once again, I get a week in the Hyundai Santa Fe, and it's a good feeling. 

Because it has yet to disappoint me.  In fact, I have recommended the Santa Fe several times over the years to friends and family members.  It has all the Hyundai hallmarks: affordable price, generously equipped with standard features, liberal warranties, reliability and good looks.

For basic SUV transportation that doesn't break the bank, it's hard to beat the Santa Fe.

My ride was loaded with state-of-the-art safety/technology features, which included park-assist, forward/rear collision-avoidance, blind spot collision-avoidance, smart cruise control and lane-keeping assist.

Interior roominess is good.  Front leather seats can be heated and ventilated.  The dash and center stack of controls is within easy reach ... and easy to use.  No need to spend hours with the owner's manual to handle the basics.

An expansive, aggressive-looking grille anchors the mostly sleek exterior look, which is bolstered by 19-inch alloy wheels.  The $38,730 sticker price on my ride included everything, no pricey extras.  The long list of part-of-the-package perks included a panoramic sunroof, dual automatic temperature controls, a heated/leather-wrapped steering wheel and a 7-inch LCD instrument cluster.

If you're doing the math on all this, perhaps you've figured out that you'd be paying $45,000 to $50,000 for other models that are similarly equipped.  Again, advantage Hyundai Santa Fe.

For most, the standard 2.4-liter, four-cylinder Santa Fe engine with 185 horsepower will do just fine for their needs.  I was favored with the 2-liter turbo-4 engine in the tester, rated at 235 horsepower.

That power plant made my Santa Fe a veritable rocket ship, enabling me to whip around freeway traffic with ease.  The turbocharger was instantly responsive, and I always felt secure and in control with the Santa Fe's just-right-firm steering.

Fuel mileage on the tester checked in at 20 miles per gallon in the city and 27 mpg on the highway -- not bad for a lusty turbo engine.

Hyundai is already touting the 2021 Santa Fe, and Motor Trend magazine has ranked it No. 2 among the tested midsize SUVs, a very competitive segment.  Only the venerable 2021 Subaru Outback outpointed the Santa Fe.

So, there you have it: a sensibly priced SUV workhorse/daily driver packed with most of what the pricier competition has, and then some.  Hyundai likes to talk up "enhanced customer value."  In the case of the Santa Fe, I think the automaker more than makes its point.