Nice, quiet, but missing some key features and only good for use as a car
I previously had a 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe, which I had bought new from a dealer in Georgia. It always had a bit of a creaking noise from somewhere in the center console that drove me nuts, but other than that it was a peppy, capable ride that I felt good passing on to my daughter. It's feature set was very nice, and I loved it.
Enter the 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe. No creaks here! Still pretty peppy, but sometimes you really have to stomp on it. It also has a little bit of a shudder when idling at times. It's never died on me though (I've had it for 17k miles). It's a quiet, smooth riding vehicle.
However, in the intervening years they had dropped one of the most useful features that had been on the '04 model, and that's the flip-up rear window. I have a hitch-mounted bike rack on my vehicle, and when it's in the stowed position, or when bikes are loaded, you cannot get into the back of the vehicle, because the liftgate is blocked by the rack. This was never a problem in my '04 model, because I would just pop open the window and reach in to get whatever I needed, or to put things in. Had I realized the new models had ditched this feature BEFORE I had bought the car, I'd still be driving my '04 Santa Fe. I certainly won't be buying another one until they put this feature back. In fact, most crossover/small SUV manufacturers have gotten away from this MOST handy feature---it's only found now the Toyota HighLander and possibly the Jeep Grand Cherokee---both of which are larger than I would like. Anyway, it's definitely put a pall on my use of the vehicle.
They also replaced the heavy duty cargo tie-down rings in the back area with some flimsy plastic ones that I'm afraid to use with a cargo strap. I'm pretty sure they are only intended to hold some stretchy cargo net. The rings in the '04 model were STOUT and I used cargo straps to hold an in-vehicle fork-mounted bike rack in place when I needed to haul more bikes.
This model did NOT come with fog lights standard, and there is no way to add them after-market. My '04 came with them, and they were quite useful to have when I needed them.
The color scheme: I LOVE the orange exterior color, and the dark brown dashboard color is great. BUT they threw in some tan-colored dashboard pieces, and on bright days it's tough to see out of the windshield thanks to the reflections of the lighter-colored pieces. For safety reasons I had to cover those with craft felt (it was either that, or paint over them---I went with the less-permanent solution). It looks pretty ghetto, but at least I can see.
The headrests: for some reason they don't go far enough back, so if left like that they push your head forward so you feel like a turtle driving in the car. At the suggestion of one of the salespeople helping me set up the vehicle post-purchase I turned the headrests in the front seat around. That's better, but you lose all adjustability. Also, removing the headrests is a pain, requiring a small screwdriver to push in the tab so it will come out (front seats only). Why did they do that? Removing the headrests in the back is much easier than the front---having retained the simple push-tab that was present in my '04 model on all the headrests. This is because you have to remove them if you want to fold the seats down flat.
Speaking of headrests, if you plan to use a dog hammock with this car, know that my front passenger headrest insertion point BROKE when I did that. Now, maybe it's because I had turned the headrest around, but I think it's more likely that the newer ones are flimsier and can't handle the stress of a larger dog. My '04 model didn't have that trouble.
Temperature controls: They did away with the dials in favor of flat buttons. They therefore required a lot more attention to change to the desired settings. Which means your eyes are off the road for a lot longer than they used to be when using a simple three-dial setup. Why oh why don't these engineers think of these things before they send a car to production???
Blind spots: Too many too count, since the windows are higher and smaller than my old one. Furthermore, the passenger-side seat blocks a large part of the view out of the rear passenger-side window when trying to look out that window. Overall, I'm a lot more nervous about moving right than I used to be.
No cubby in the rear: My old Santa Fe (and newer Tucsons) had a very useful cubby in the rear to stow items that you used fairly frequently (tie-down bungies, tools, etc). The new one does not. So everytime I want to get these things, I'd better hope I don't already have the back fully loaded, because I then won't be able to get them out of the sub-floor area where you now have to put them. Why is it in the smaller Tucson, and not in the larger Santa Fe guys?
All of these mean that, even though the car is quiet, and comfortable, and has some nice additonal features (bluetooth, for example), I would NOT purchase this vehicle again. I'm currently looking for an '06 model in good shape to purchase (based on the same design as the '04, but a couple years less old), so I can sell this one.
So, overall, if you don't intend to use this vehicle for anything other than passenger transport, then it's great. If you intend for this to ever be used to haul lumber in a pinch, or if you want to use the rear hitch for a bike rack and still be able to easily access the rear of the vehicle, keep looking. This is NOT the highly-functional all-purpose Santa Fe of yesteryear that I loved so dearly (and purchased for much less than this one). I truly have ze buyers remorse. No one to blame but myself though. I made too many assumptions, and did not consider checking certain things. A very expensive lesson learned.
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