- The Santa Fe gains hybrid power and vastly improved fuel economy
- It’s a real rival for vehicles like the Toyota Highlander Hybrid and Kia Carnival Hybrid…
- …neither of which have its assertive, Land Rover-ish style
Each year at The Car Connection, we drive more than a hundred new vehicles and decide which ones set new benchmarks. We judge comfort, efficiency, refinement, performance, and style—and pick the winners and name the also-rans.
This year, one of the big surprises—in size, at least—is the 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid. New for the 2024 model year, it barely missed out on last year’s competition. It checks in with this year’s five finalists for what we’ll soon name as our Best Car To Buy 2025.
How does it get there? For one, it’s the dramatic styling that’s taken over the reins from the last-generation Santa Fe. That car had a pleasing shape and some decidedly upscale interior appointments at the high end. This one? It’s all raffish, angular charm that bears not a little in common with vehicles from Land Rover and Rivian, at tens of thousands of dollars less. It’s boxy, lengthy, and attention-demanding where most big SUVs give up pizzazz in the name of utility. Inside the story’s even stronger: the Santa Fe Hybrid boasts twin 12.3-inch displays, one a touchscreen that delivers wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It rests atop hard climate controls that refuse to be buried alive in layers of digital interface.
The wrapper’s a delight, but the Santa Fe Hybrid’s powertrain perks up our interest even more strongly. The basic 277-hp turbo-4 in the Santa Fe cedes the fuel-economy wars to the 231-hp hybrid. It pairs a 1.6-liter turbo-4 and 6-speed automatic transmission with a 47.7-kw electric motor and a 1.5-kwh battery pack. In symphony, they put out 231 hp and 271 lb-ft of torque, granting the big three-row SUV a quicker step off the line and more responsive power on tap than the turbo-4. The hybrid bits coordinate smoothly with the legacy gas pieces, and can even be stoked into stronger responses with a Sport mode and paddle-controlled shifts. The Santa Fe also recaptures otherwise lost braking energy with four regenerative-braking modes, which can recharge the battery or let the hybrid coast, with battery power on tap to keep it rolling efficiently.
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid
2025 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid: Pros and Cons
The Santa Fe Hybrid, so outfitted, can hit a peak of 36 mpg combined in EPA ratings. That’s a big nod in its favor—but so is the Santa Fe’s glowed-up cabin, which enough room for seven people, with terrific space and comfort allocated to those in rows one and two. Interior trim’s on the average level in the base model, but the Calligraphy sports a truly luxurious cabin, outfitted with leather upholstery, especially good adaptive cruise control, and heating and cooling for the driver and front passenger.
The Santa Fe has performed well, so far, in crash tests. All models get automatic emergency braking and blind-spot monitors, while the upper trim levels can be fitted with driver assistance that backs up an attentive driver with extra help for braking, steering, and cruising over long distances.
The $38,615 Santa Fe Hybrid SEL’s price rises to $48,865 for the Calligraphy—and at just $500 more for the hybrid system in the models where it’s offered, the extra gas mileage makes an offer no driver should refuse. Of course, Hyundai has an upcoming electric SUV, the Ioniq 9—a relative of the Kia EV9—but for those who aren’t quite ready to take the EV leap, the Santa Fe Hybrid makes eminent sense.
Will it succeed that Kia EV9, one of our top-rated vehicles and The Car Connection Best Car To Buy 2024? It’ll have to overtake a passel of some excellent new vehicles to do so. Come back on Jan. 6, 2025 to find out the winner—and also the names of the performance and green winners on our other websites, Motor Authority and Green Car Reports.