Comfort and function

The interior is comfortable, and it comes with a slew of features. Hyundai's use of blue backlighting on everything from the instrument panel to the cup holders makes the cabin extremely appealing.

There's also plenty of room inside, which is why so many crossovers are so popular. You can carry five people very comfortably as well as all of their stuff in the easy-to-load cargo area.

There are also all the luxury features so many people want, such as navigation, backup camera and Bluetooth connectivity. For this model year, Hyundai also added an optional 605-watt Infinity Logic 7 Surround Sound stereo system; it's excellent.

This vehicle, however, needs a good stereo because it's incredibly noisy on the road. Road and wind noise fill the cabin. One unscientific test I use on a vehicle is to count how many times I adjust the volume on my commute to work. A perfect score would be zero adjustments, simply playing the stereo from the last time I drove it. The Santa Fe scored an 8.

    See also:

    Operating the automatic transaxle
    The highly efficient Hyundai automatic transaxle has four forward speeds and one reverse speed. The individual speeds are selected automatically, depending on the position of the speed selector ...

    Hood Release
    1. Pull the release knob to unlatch the hood. 2. Pull the secondary latch lever up and lift the hood. 3. Pull the support rod from the hood. 4. Hold the hood open with the support rod. Bef ...

    Owner’s responsibility
    NOTICE Maintenance Service and Record Retention are the owner's responsibility. You should retain documents that show proper maintenance has been performed on your vehicle in accordance with t ...