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:

    INTERIOR
    Roomy and a step above casual, the Sonata's interior is attractive. The seats' cloth upholstery was thick and nice looking with a checked pattern. Some cars have bizarre shapes and prints in the u ...

    WINDSHIELD WIPER BLADES
    The wiper blades should be carefully inspected from time to time and cleaned to remove accumulations of road film or other debris. To clean the wiper blades and arms, use a clean sponge or cloth w ...

    Ventilation
    To operate the ventilation system: o Set the air intake control to "Fresh" mode (). o To direct all intake air to the dashboard vents, set the airflow control to "Face" (). ...