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The Common Man's Mercedes Tested: 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate Calligraphy

By William Jinkins


What’s New:

Though it receives a major mid-cycle update it’s also packed with loads of updates


Pros:

Luxurious, however pricing can approach that of the larger Palisade Calligraphy


Cons:

Again luxurious, however pricing can exceed that of a premium luxury CUV of its size.


Introduced as a 2001 model year as Hyundai's first SUV, the Hyundai Santa Fe has been around since 2000. It was a milestone in the company's restructuring program of the late 1990s. Because it was a hit with American buyers, so popular that at times, Hyundai had trouble supplying the demand. It quickly became Hyundai's best seller and contributed to the brand's success in the United States. Between 2006 and 2012, the Santa Fe fell between the slightly smaller compact crossover Tucson and the larger, yet related Veracruz.

The second generation Hyundai Santa Fe was awarded 2008 Consumer Reports "top pick" and was among the top 10 vehicles for 2008 unveiled in the magazine's issue. In 2012, the third generation Santa Fe became available in two versions (regular and extended versions), with the (five-seater) Sport in September 2012 and the extended long wheelbase XL which replaced the Veracruz. The Santa Fe Sport went on sale in June 2012 as a 2013 model. It was available in one basic trim level. For the 2014 model year, blind spot monitoring became available on all trims, and Technology Package added rear parking assistance, cooled front seats, and memory front seats. Rear window sunshades were added to the Premium Package. For the 2017 model, both the LWB Santa Fe and Santa Fe Sport received a facelift with restyled headlights and taillights.


As of 2019, the Santa Fe has been slotted between the Tucson and the Palisade. It still seats five passengers, but it provides more room than the Tucson and it's more affordable and maneuverable than the larger Palisade.

Value is key to the Santa Fe's appeal where you get a lot of features for the money - and it's all backed by Hyundai's more than generous warranty. Its segment includes the Honda Passport, the sporty Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport, or the fuel-efficient Toyota Venza Hybrid.

My tester for the week was the top-end Calligraphy trim. As with the larger Palisade, the Calligraphy model represents luxury, offering standard Nappa leather, a distinctive exterior design – including trim-specific wheels – and a few features inside that you won't find elsewhere in the segment. But even with all those extras, this Santa Fe costs just $43,490 as tested, which makes it a bargain compared to what some of the alternatives deliver at the same price.


Hyundai has been on a roll with some of its more recent designs, such as the Ioniq 5, Tucson, and Santa Cruz.


There's lots of chrome around the lower intake, and it looks rather chintzy. Plus, the ultra-slim daytime LEDs sit high up on the bumper, practically bordering the hood line. The entire front fascia just feels like a jumbled mess.


Until recently, it wasn't clear what the Santa Fe signified in Hyundai's lineup. Before the larger Palisade entered the picture for 2020, the Santa Fe XL was Hyundai's three-row SUV while Santa Fe referred to a two-row midsize simply the Santa Fe. One year before that, the three-row model was just known as the Santa Fe, and a five-seat model was called Santa Fe Sport. From that confusing past, the updated 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe emerged with a clearer identity, a completely new powertrain, and a reimagined interior.


If it appears that this new model looks just like the old one, understand that there's way more here than meets the eye. Performance from the Santa Fe's upgrade engine disappointed me in the past, however, the 2021 model changes all that. With a new 2.5-liter turbocharged I-4, the 2021 Santa Fe jumps toward the front of the midsize SUV class in acceleration. It's a great change, but a huge asterisk accompanies that improvement.


From the base model to a new hybrid option, the 2021 Santa Fe offers plenty of newness under the hood. The base engine is now a 191-hp 2.5-liter naturally aspirated I-4, but the big news - aside from the newly available AWD hybrid - is that the 235-hp 2.0T engine has been replaced by a 277-hp 2.5-liter turbo-four. The more intriguing detail is how Hyundai pairs that 2.5T engine to an eight-speed wet dual-clutch automatic transmission. I appreciate the Santa Fe's newfound swiftness, but for most buyers, I'd recommend against any 2.5T trim. Hyundai states that75 percent of buyers stick with the 191-hp base 2.5-liter I-4 instead of the 277-hp 2.5T-powered model I tested.


The issue is with the 2.5T model's transmission. Where the standard 2.5-liter models use an eight-speed automatic, the 2.5T models get an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic that's simply not ready for duty in a family SUV here or in the three-row Sorento. Hyundai points out this is a wet-type dual-clutch transmission, which the automaker indicates, "greatly reduces most drivability concerns." All I can go by is our test SUV, which delivered rough shifts from a stop and at city-driving speeds - there was no escaping its lack of refinement. If we were in the market for a Santa Fe - and there are good reasons to consider one - I would steer clear of the responsive but rough dual-clutch as well as the somewhat surgery 2.5-liter turbocharged I-4. Or I'd try the hybrid.


Calligraphy has become the top trim for Hyundai Palisade and Santa Fe. The trim level was introduced first on the Palisade, where it signified additional premium features and some of the most interesting wheels offered on any sub-$100,000 car today. The 2021 Santa Fe Ultimate Calligraphy also starts with wheels, though its 19s aren't as attractive (20s are also available). Of course, it's not just about curb appeal. Inside, the Santa Fe Ultimate Calligraphy features a suede-like headliner that feels like it belongs in a luxury car, Nappa leather seats, a perforated and leather-wrapped steering wheel, and a head-up display.


That's all very nice, but the large, shiny, cheap-looking plastic pieces near the interior door pulls detract from the atmosphere a little, and I wish the Santa Fe had the Sonata's cool geometric piano-black turn signal stalks. I get it, though: Making a $43,640 vehicle feel like a million bucks without increasing the price to Genesis levels is a challenge.


What impresses me about the 2021 Santa Fe isn't the Ultimate Calligraphy trim specifically, but the model's feature list. Hyundai waves its value magic wand over most of the Santa Fe lineup, adding features-per-dollar value across the rest of the trims. If the dual-clutch transmission isn't a deal-breaker for you, consider the next trim down from Calligraphy, the Limited. Starting just below $40,000 with front-drive, that trim includes Hyundai's Remote Smart Parking Assist, which is the most wonderful mix of gee-whiz entertainment value and actual usefulness. Limited is also where you get an easy-to-operate 360-degree camera system.

The 2021 Santa Fe has a completely redesigned center stack - buttons replace the gear shift stalk, and the rest of the controls are placed on a more horizontal plane that rises as it means the dash.


One trim below the Limited is SEL, which gets the base 2.5-liter and torque-converter automatic. It can be optioned up with a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, quilted leather seats, a 10.3-inch touchscreen, and panoramic moonroof for under $36,000 with FWD - that's nearly compact-SUV money for a midsize. As with all Hyundai’s, the 2021 Santa Fe comes with a 100,000 miles bumper-to-bumper warranty, a five-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, in addition to three years of complimentary maintenance and


With its 2021 update, the Santa Fe's biggest strength remains value. The SUV drives well, but all its positive dynamic qualities—including much quicker as-tested acceleration and good steering—are drowned out by a transmission we hope will be retuned or replaced altogether. Inside, we appreciate the SUV's spacious cabin, the easy-to-find rear-seat recline levers, and how it makes folding down those rear seats a one-button-press endeavor.


Then again, the 2021 Santa Fe doesn't dramatically shift the midsize SUV segment forward. The rear doors don't have a near-90-degree wide-opening detent, fuel economy is good but not great, and the second-row USBs are too low (the Sorento places them halfway up the seat back). Even so, the Santa Fe is still worth consideration if you stick with the naturally aspirated base engine or the hybrid, thus avoiding the dual clutch/2.5T combination.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy looks and feels luxurious, on par with proper luxury brands such as Lexus, Cadillac and Infiniti. A 12.3-inch digital cluster lives behind the steering wheel, joined by a 10.3-inch touchscreen atop the dash, with a bank of shiny buttons and dials just below that. Calligraphy-exclusive beige Nappa leather surrounds those fixtures, covering the seats, dash, and portions of the door panels. And it's all high-quality stuff. Plus, the seats wear a quilted accenting on the side and shoulder bolsters that further enhances the look and feel.


Upgrading to the Calligraphy trim affords levels of comfort not found anywhere else in the Santa Fe range – or most other places in this segment for that matter. Quilted Nappa leather comes standard on the seats, door trim, and portions of the dash, and the high-quality cowhide has a nice supple feel. The seats are comfortable and cushy with great support, offering eight-way power adjustability, four-way power lumbar support, and even extendable thigh support, which means you'll have no trouble getting comfy in these chairs over long distances. They're also heated and ventilated at no extra cost.

As in the standard Santa Fe, passenger space is plentiful – including a class-leading 44.1 inches of front legroom and a roomy back seat that rivals its nearest competitors. Plus, heating functionality now comes standard in the rear. The Calligraphy model doesn’t include special sound deadening, nor a softer suspension, since the Santa Fe in general is already a quiet and comfortable.


If you desire a third row, the Santa Fe has a sibling in the Kia Sorento which offers it. Otherwise, the two-row-only Hyundai has 36.4 cubic feet of room behind the back seat and 72.1 cubes with that bench folded flat. Unfortunately, those are some of the lowest figures in the class.


The base Santa Fe SE and the next-up SEL models both get a standard 8.0-inch touchscreen with analog gauge clusters. Yet the Limited and Ultimate Calligraphy trims don a sleeker 10.3-inch central screen with a corresponding 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster. The touchscreen is crisp and responsive, while Hyundai's latest user interface is undoubtedly its best yet. The home screen layout is clear and concise, and the selectable options are easy to use while driving.


Like many modern Hyundai and Kia products though, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are reserved for the base SE and SEL models. Those two trims get a smaller screen and the old UI. The Limited and Calligraphy models get a larger screen and the new UI, but they only offer wired connections for Android Auto and CarPlay. On top of that, the non-removable split-screen function shrinks Android Auto and CarPlay to a smaller left-hand partition on the screen.


The Ultimate Calligraphy model, though, does get a standard Harman Kardon premium audio system with 12 speakers that sound crystal clear, a model-exclusive head-up display, as well automatic windows for both front and rear passengers. Plus, the digital gauge cluster is a cool option to have as it’s highly configurable and offers custom graphics depending on the drive mode.


Powering both the Santa Fe Limited and Ultimate Calligraphy is a turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that produces 281 horsepower and 311 pound-feet. Those figures are best-in-class – not counting the performance-oriented Edge ST – and a huge improvement over the base SE and SEL models. Those trims use a non-turbocharged four-banger that only pumps out 191 hp and 181 lb.-ft.


That turbocharged engine gives the Santa Fe Ultimate Calligraphy lots of pep off the line and great passing power on the highway. The turbo does take a second to spool up, but the standard eight-speed, dual-clutch transmission makes up for some of that hesitation when the Santa Fe gets moving. This is a quick gearbox with concise shifts – it's markedly better than most automatic or continuously variable transmissions in other mid-size crossovers. Our only complaint is that the DCT can be clunky in low-speed situations, like when tooling around looking for a parking spot at the mall.


Plus, all-wheel drive comes standard on this particular model (the Calligraphy with 19-inch wheels) and includes a selectable "Snow" mode for when the going gets tough.


Even the base Santa Fe SE is well-equipped with standard active safety features like automatic emergency braking, a forward collision warning with pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control, and lane-keep assist. The next-up SEL adds rear automatic emergency braking as well as a blind-spot collision avoidance system. But it's the Limited and Calligraphy models that offer the Santa Fe's advanced active safety suite as standard.


The Ultimate Calligraphy gets a 360-degree overhead camera and a blind-spot camera within the gauge cluster (activated via the indicator stalk), as well as the Highway Driving Assist (HDA) feature, which remains one of my favorites. Simply tick the HDA button on the steering wheel while the adaptive cruise control is active, and the crossover will stay perfectly centered in the lane. Constant automatic steering inputs minimize the driver's workload, even around some turns, but this is still a fully hands-on driver aid. Braking and acceleration happen smoothly with HDA engaged, so there's little issue with how the Santa Fe responds to surrounding traffic.


With returns of 21 miles per gallon city, 28 highway, and 24 combined, the Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate Calligraphy with all-wheel drive is the most efficient option in its class. The next-best Nissan Murano with AWD achieves 23 combined, while the Honda Passport, Ford Edge, and Jeep Grand Cherokee all achieve 21 combined at their most efficient. Although, we only saw 22 mpg combined mpg during our week with the Hyundai Santa Fe in a mix of city and highway driving.


The base Hyundai Santa Fe starts at $28,185, including the $1,175 destination charge, which makes it the only option in its segment under $30,000 to start. The top-of-the-line Calligraphy model will set you back $41,935 with front-wheel drive and $42,100 with all-wheel drive and 19-inch wheels. My tester came in at $43,490.


Hyundai doesn’t offer many options on the Ultimate Calligraphy model, as nearly everything comes standard. But the Shimmering Silver paint is $400 and carpeted floor mats are a $155 accessory option. If you’re feeling especially thrifty, the Calligraphy has six no-cost color options, including Stormy Sea blue.


But for the money, the Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate Calligraphy represents a supremely good value. The range-topping Honda Passport Elite costs $44,180 to start, while the top Nissan Murano Platinum asks $45,910. And the only alternative that even offers Nappa leather in this segment is the Jeep Grand Cherokee High Altitude, which costs $50,680 out of the box. Pair that with some of the best active safety equipment in the segment, a premium cabin, and solid dynamics, and the Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy is a great choice.


For more see this video of the Santa Fe Ultimate Calligraphy:


What’s new for 2022

Hyundai also offers the Santa Fe with various engine choices, including a hybrid and, for 2022, a new plug-in hybrid. The plug-in hybrid has a bigger battery pack than the regular Santa Fe Hybrid which allows it to go about 30 miles on electric power alone. After that, it switches to regular gasoline-and-electric hybrid operation. There's a new XRT trim level that adds black exterior molding on the body, black bumper fascias, black roof rails and cross rails, and dark silver front and rear skid plates.

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