2013 Hyundai Santa Fe XL Review
The Hyundai Santa Fe and the cross-over SUV’s alike have marked huge in the automotive market. Let me explain why. I’ve lived in Vancouver, B.C for all my life, and throughout the years, I’ve witnessed an era of affordable housing, cheap car insurance, and owning the table saw in your garage was the first step towards obtaining a man license. So what has the city become today? Well, for starters, you can live in someone’s garage for about a million bucks, soaring gas prices are a hotter topic than the daily weather, and owning a table saw? – Dude, just go to Ikea.
My point is, cities (not just Vancouver) are becoming denser and owning multiple cars under a single roof is becoming somewhat of a luxury. The car industry has recognized this urban shift and has responded by providing the mass market with a crossover SUV’s that combine the core elements of multiple cars into one.
Similar to its 5-seater younger sibling, the 2013 Santa Fe XL is a 6-7 passenger cross-over SUV powered by 3.3L GDI 6-Cylinder Engine producing 290 horsepower, a spacious and comfortable interior and a plethora of tech gadgetry and standard features.
In terms of body style and design, it’s as contemporary as it gets thanks to the invoked “Storm Edge” design concept. The design of the Santa Fe is emphasized with Hyundai’s trademark triple hexagonal front grill, LED headlights, a lower aggressive stance, roof spoiler and wrap around headlights. Additional cosmetics such as chrome grills and door handles, 19 inch wheels and twin tip grill exhaust come as standard features.
The interior cabin space in the Santa Fe XL really pushes beyond boundaries in its class. One of the most notable features not found in many mid-level cross-over SUV’s is the panoramic sunroof that really brightens up and refreshes the interior cabin space. The sunroof glass is also tinted, but if that’s still not enough, there is also an automatic cover. Our luxury Santa Fe XL model came equipped with a 12 way adjustable driver seat, which we thought was great, but a little bit excessive since multiple driver position can be equally comfortable and acquainted to. Seat ergonomics was excellent as we drove the Santa Fe XL for a few hours with no signs of back fatigue. With the 2nd and 3rd row seats folded down, the Santa Fe XL provides a cargo space of 2,265L with additional under-floor storage unique to Hyundai’s vehicles.
Both front driver and passenger seats provided great ventilation, but if you drive frequently in scorching weather, the Santa Fe also offers ventilated front seats as a purchase option, a great tech feature more commonly found in higher end luxury vehicles.
Speaking of tech, although a bit behind with Ford’s SYNC system, the Santa Fe XL offers bluetoothe as well as voice command for audio and cruise control. Out of nearly a hundred vehicles we’ve test-driven, Hyundai’s massive 8″ infotainment remains the best on our list. Its oversize buttons and layout makes the system very user friendly and the overall processing time between screens is very responsive, unlike other infotainment systems that lag between menus, which is very frustrating to the user.
- 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe XL
Under the hood lies Hyundai’s 3.3L GDI 6-Cylinder Engine producing a very respectable 290 horsepower mated to a 6 speed manual transmission. Acceleration on the Santa Fe XL is very capable with the amount of horsepower the engine produces, but merging onto freeways or making tight lane changes requires a bit of pre-planning as full power takes merely two full seconds to kick in. Apart from the power lag, acceleration on the Santa Fe XL is very smooth and the overall vehicle feels very light. The steering is also very precise and feels light and nimble and the overall vehicle sustains a very comfortable ride on rougher road conditions. The estimated fuel economy on the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe XL is rated at 11.7L/100km and 8L/100km in the city and highway respectively.
Final Thoughts
Some car manufacturers are die hard believers in the traditional “if it’s working, why change it” mentality while others continuously push the envelope and breaching outside boundaries. Hyundai is a prime example of the latter. From inside out, the Santa Fe XL features sleek and modern exterior styling with luxury interior features such as a panoramic sunroof and heated and ventilated seats. In addition, you also get a plethora of gadgetry such as bluetoothe connectivity and multi-adjustable driver seat.
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