Safety galore

Hyundai also packs the Santa Fe with lots of safety features, such as six air bags, electronic stability control, tire pressure monitoring and brake assist, which will apply maximum brake force if it detects an emergency.

All in all, the Santa Fe isn't a bad vehicle. But Hyundai has raised the bar on itself, and when you get into this vehicle, there's very little that makes you say, "Wow, I really want one of these."

Hyundai doesn't even feel like the value vehicle in this segment, which is ground the carmaker often holds over the competition. It takes $23,000 to get a base model with an automatic transmission, and the top-of-the-line model cost more than $30,000.

With so much attention being paid to compact crossovers, the expectation has become that every vehicle needs to be the very best in the bunch.

    See also:

    Blade inspection
    NOTICE Commercial hot waxes applied by automatic car washes have been known to make the windshield difficult to clean. Contamination of either the windshield or the wiper blades with foreign mat ...

    Checking brake pedal clearance
    You need a helper to check the brake pedal clearance. With the engine running, have your helper press down on the brake pedal several times and then hold it down with a force of about 110 lbs (5 ...

    Side impact and curtain air bags
    Side impact and curtain air bags are designed to inflate when an impact is detected by side collision sensors depending on the strength, speed or angles of impact resulting from a side impact ...