Comfort, 7 seats, colour, gas consumption is not bad, radio reception is excelent, seats comfortable

too many manufacturer's defects that have been found.

Various times I have taken it in to review engine light. Sensor for the gas tank needs to be reset, it has been reset or replaced 4 times. The gear shaft was making a huge noise as if it did not have transmision oil, some parts needed to be replaced. The latest edition with my problems is that this weekend my windshield broke, not because of a rock but a resistor at the bottom of the windshield close to vehicle ID Number short circuited and caused the break. Anyway hope this is where the saga of problems with the vehicle stop.

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n/a

When I first bought Santa Fe, it had good finish and nice interior BUT it was noisy. I could hear creaking, road noise, etc. With my Honda accord was much quieter. Now 7 years have passed. My Honda (engine noise) is much louder than Santa Fe. Santa Fe still has same noises... added few more I guess, but Santa Fe is clearly quieter between the two now. Perhaps it is due to the fact that Santa Fe 6 cyl and Accord is 4 cyl.

1. Gas mileage. 2. Slow transmission
I can only compare it with my other car, Honda Accord. I am certain that Santa Fe is using 1/3 more gas than Accord. I refill the tank every 200 ~ 220 miles. With Honda Accord I get about 280~ miles.
I know that it is not fair to compare AWD SUV to a small sedan but $$$ counts too!

2. Sometimes the transmission is slow to react. It feels lethargic occasionally, usually in the 2~10 mile/hr speed range.

I bought this vehicle more than 7 years ago when I was in California. Before the purchase, I have done a lot of research, among the candidate, I had Ford Escape (did not like its poor interior), Toyota Rav4 (it was so small), Honda CRV (ugly looking), and even Ford Explorer (too big for my wife). We test drove some of them and with a lot of hesitation, we bought the Santa Fe. Now, more than 7 years have passed. This one went into the "shop" twice. First one for replacing some sensor device which made the "check engine" light to lit. It was replaced on the same day. I also had some problem with "vehicle shock absorber" that took two days to fixed. These were under the warranty! Last year, I also had some issues with engine fan (it was always on HIGH) but this time, knowing that this might be not covered by the 5-year warranty, power train related (expensive ones) jobs are under 10-year warranty, I visited nearby mechanic and got it fixed ($160 or so).

Other than these, I have done regular maintenances - oil change, filter, etc.

No problem so far.
Interestingly, I also own a Honda Accord LX (2001). They are equally reliable.

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Two Honda Accord LX
Ford Taurus GLS (worst one - sold it after one year)

It drives like a tank through the snow! My horses were out in the field on a freezing cold day so I drove it through about 12" of snow to chase them back out again. I have been driving over snowbanks (small town that isn't quick on snow removal), on ice, you name it. I am thrilled! I ditched my Montana Minivan because it would spin on a flat surface I wanted something that would hold the road. I got it!

Heated seats are also a must if you are a wimp in the winter as I am. Leather is mandatory if you have kids (drinks spilling all the time, crumbs) and dogs. Everything just wipes right off.

The vehicle takes about 3km before you can turn on the heat and then it is full force even at -20.

Lots of room over all as well. Back seats easy to fold down for more storeage.

I am having problems with my wipers not touching the window when it is cold. Also the washer fluid is 2 very straight streams which makes it hard to clear the window. I prefer the spray style.

Also have had HUGE issues with the lighter plug for my GPS blowing fuses. They tell me it is my GPS and yet it works in 5 other vehicles. ???

It was due to people taking the time to write reviews of this vehicle that I knew exactly what I wanted. THANK YOU! So, now I will hopefully help someone else.

First: Look around! I approached 7 dealerships. Just be sure you are comparing a vehicle with the EXACT options! My discounts ranged from $500 to my final deal of $2700 off! 6 of the 7 sales managers were not even aware this model does not have a timing belt - which needs to be replaced and is quite costly - as the older models have. I ended up having to drive 3 hours to get it, but well worth the savings! SHOP AROUND! I used to sell cars so I guess I had a bit of an advantage, but now you do to. Keep in mind, the more expensive the car, the more mark up there is. i.e., if you are looking at a $13000 car, there might be $600 to play with only. There is mark up on the base model and then another mark up on every option the car has. They can waive the dealer admin fee if they want to. It is THEIR fee, so if they don't want to charge you, they can take it off. Walk if you have to. Tell them you will do your own paperwork!

Space, nice smooth ride, nice suspension, handles road well, good acceleration and breaks.

Seats/headrests are not ergonomic, hurts the back for long rides. I need a cushion on my lower back. Would help if headrests were adjustable, they push the head too much forward, forcing us in a slouchy position. Also, since the gas prices went so high, I wish I had gotten an even less gas consuming vehicule.

I am in Quebec (Canada) and have a Santa Fe 2008, which I paid 30 000$Can new, with 0% interest. So far, so good. It's better gas mileage than the Jeep TJ I had, but still a little much with the present gas prices we have here lately. I had a problem starting the car a few months ago, which they checked and did not find the cause of. Next tune-up, they re-checked at my demand and found there was a problem with the "chip" in the key, which was not recognized at times by the car. And this was fixed free of charge since it's on warranty. The main issue I have with the car is not the car itself, but the dealer, which isn't that helpful in having curtesy cars available, etc. But really it's nothing compared to some of the problems I see others are having.

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Jeep TJ, Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, Hyundai Tucson.

Nice car like ride.

Lots of road noise

We liked the Santa Fe, but when our sunglass holder broke (a small latch), a Hyundai Corporation employee promised us a repair. Without that promise we wouldn't have had it fixed. After we had it fixed the corporation said he was no longer with them and wouldn't honor the promise. We failed to get it in writing (our fault). It was only $320.00, but because of this I will not purchase another Hyundai product.
The chief executive office would not contact me despite my repeated requests.

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Will purchase a Honda CRV instead next time.
Honda Corporation always kept their word on a repair they promised.

looks....interior and ex

too many problems to list

I purchased this vehicle for the first couple of months love it. THen the problems begin from module to the air condition. In the heat of the summer the air went out.I took it to the dealer, I was told it had been repaired, before I leave the lot it would not work, turn around went back to dealership and was told it need a condenser and it would take about a week to get one and I would be called. After two weeks no call, upon calling I was told they have no idea when it will arrive. Call back two days later and discover that it was in the first time I called. After completing this repair it still did not work. It remain in the shop for several weeks, At this point I had enough, and wanted this matter resolved now. I made a very foolish mistake. They had no new santa fe, they put me in a Tuscon. Problem...instead of giving a fair trade I pick up negative equity. Recently in Feb'08 I received a flyer, stating they were having a big sale, UPGRADE Sale they called it. They would pay off any negative equity up to and exceeding tne ten thousand Dollars. I was told we can not help you, you have to much negative equity, which was the fault of the dealership. However I was told that they could finance another car for me without trade and return the car to the bank that finance it. Have you ever heard anything like this. We had purchased four vehicles from this dealership and recommend others who had also purchased. I was asked to step back in the dealership on Saturday Feb 16, 2008. I was told that they were working on a package for me,( the very same thing they said on Friday and received no call). I waited yesterday for three hours. Yes just waited, no one ever said a word except one salesman: "You may as well leave, who knows when they will get with you." WHat else is there to say, they reputation speak for itself. False promises just say lies, false adverstiement. Let me not leave this out, when I was taking my tuscon in to be service a few months ago, a serviceman recognized me from my many trips there and told me my car was sold to another couple. Only to be brought in with NO AIR condition. In other words they sold it knowing that it was not repaired. Harrisburg Hyundai, PA. There are some good stories of Hyundai and some bad ones, do not be so quick to dismiss any of them. Just as some may be of good quality and others not, the same is true of different Hyundai's dealership

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OK. It does have an attractive exterior body design.

Cannot drive it more than 20 miles without overheating transmission. They last about 3 months.

Nice design, and a very quiet and nice ride....when it runs. The transmission is an afterthought on this car, after having two replaced by the dealer. The second transmission skips and slips, but I can actually go around 20 miles, before this happens.

I am told that 20-25 miles, stop and let it cool down. Just a "quirk" of the model and I have to live with it.

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Ford Explorer. It has 160,000 miles on it and the same transmission. You can actually drive it over 20 miles!

Good specs compared to price.
The reclining seats are great to add space.
Some how fuel economy is good compared to 2L CRV or 2L Tuscan and 2.4 Santa Fe.
Gives the feeling of an elite SUV

The brakes tend to be soft sometimes
The sound system is modest compared to other SUV's also RDS would have been nice add to the radio.
The roof rails covers keeps getting lost on high speeds.

I have this 2005 2.7 GLS Santa Fe, since April. Till now the car is great, i get 17 mpg in all city driving and 23 mpg highway with 6 passengers and AC on.
mechanically the only problem is with the O2 sensor and that happened because i am using leaded fuel.

other than that its comfortable and solid on high speeds, got enough power to go uphill smoothly and looks nice also.

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Toyota Prado, Mitsubishi Pajero, GMC Envoy

Solid ride, great handling, very nice and roomy interior. Lots of practical features, such as a compass.

Gas mileage not as good as I would like but not that bad either (23mpg average)

This is my second Santa Fe and, although I very much liked the 2002, this one is a significant improvement. From the solid feel to the acceleration, it is a very impressive ride. The interior is very nice and the stereo sounds great.

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2002 Santa Fe

price

Does not honor warranty.

I will never buy another Hyundai. I thought they had the best warranty, but I have found out they do not stand behind their warranty. I no sooner drove my car off the lot than I got huge spots all over the dash and the dealer would not fix. I even tried calling the 800 Hyundai and was given a case number and told I would receive a call back in a couple of days. I never received the called and when I called back they just said sorry I can't help you. My husband unfortunately also bought one and has had numerous things wrong, air bag off in passenger seat (the light says this in both of our cars even when someone is sitting in the seat).,knobs falling off or breaking, air pressure lights in both cars come on and then sometimes just go off. My daughter also bought a brand new Hyundai and the paint peeled off and they would not fix it. They said she had not washed the car, which was not true.

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We have owned two Tiburons. My daughter has owned three different Hyundai, but after buying two 2007 Santa Fe we will never buy another Hyundai.