The lower part of the central console contains a veritable smorgasbord of physical buttons and knobs, which some might bemoan but I love it. The multimedia system accessed via an 8-inch touchscreen (the only size available no matter which trim you take) is overall intuitive to use, I had no real complaints there. Otherwise both versions come with leather seating, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, leather-wrapped heated steering wheel, heated front seats and 8-way power-adjust driver’s seat. One big bonus is the addition of the power moonroof, which really does create airier interior space. Also the liftgate is power-operated, and the wipers are rain-sensing. If you’re wondering about the difference between the Preferred and Limited version, the latter offers a few extra amenities and systems, for example cooled front seats and heated back seats, power-adjustable front passenger seats, seat memory for both front-row seats and wireless charging. Quality of finishing also feels right on, with few cheapish-feeling surfaces and pretty good sound insulation. So what else is there to know about Hyundai’s compact-plus SUV? Well for one thing, it’s bigger than the average compact crossover, so it’s very roomy inside, in both rows, and cargo space is plentiful, offering 1,031 litres (and there’s a storage bin under the floor).Īlso, Hyundai’s formula for success in recent years involves giving buyers a lot of stuff – standard equipment, namely – for the money, and it’s no exception here, and including elements that take the model some distance to upscale, for instance comfortable seats and good ride quality. There’s more to the SUV than the new plug-in hybrid system, of course. On highway stretches, I’d switch to auto mode, which has the system decide on the optimal use of the two parts of the hybrid system, or to regular gas-only mode. I made a point of staying in all-EV mode whenever I was driving on city streets, without concern about depleting the battery. Hit the highway, though, and that range will melt away right quick.įor me, one big plus in the Santa Fe PHEV, in contrast with some other hybrids and PHEVs, is that you can mostly control whether you ride on gas or electrical juice, and thus maximize fuel economy. If that’s all you do, and you’re good about plugging the thing in regularly, you can avoid drinking any of the gas in the tank at all. This range will allow you to do most of your short daily commutes and trips to school or the grocery store on electric power. I say that because the maximal range of the Santa Fe PHEV is about 50 km, which is decent and about par for the course with PHEVs at present (though it falls short of the Toyota RAV4 Prime’s 68 km). Initial discounts aside, just how much money someone can save by going with the PHEV variant as opposed to one of the gas-engine-only Santa Fes depends on a lot of factors, of course, starting with the driver’s habits and how assiduous they are about plugging the vehicle in every night. , 100% online, shop for your next car, buy online and get it delivered to you anywhere in Quebec! Don’t forget that the model is eligible for a $2,500 federal EV discount and at least some of the provincial EV discounts out there right now. Buyers can get the PHEV variant in two trims, the Preferred (MSRP $44,999) and the Luxury ($48,699). Note that this is the first SUV Hyundai has fitted with such a system, having previously used it only with the Ioniq car.įor now, this variant becomes the most fuel-efficient model in the Santa Fe lineup, which is a drawing point for value-loving Canadian motorists to be sure. So it’s a wise move indeed for Hyundai to do stuff like this: offer a pluggable hybrid variant of its two most popular SUVs (Tucson and Santa Fe), which will hold the fort until motorists and infrastructure and battery technologies and government regulations and all the rest evolve enough to make all-electrics the clear choice. And of course, any number of studies and polls will tell you there are a still a lot of those folks, particularly in North America. Auto123 reviews the 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe PHEV.Įven as Hyundai puts its considerable resources into entering the all-electric sphere a) quickly and b) with quality models, it has also decided it’s maybe wise to offer valid products to those motorists not yet ready to forsake a combustion engine altogether.
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