In a Nutshell: A step down from the Tribute in utility and practicality; a slight step up in sportiness... but not quite "Zoom-Zoom".

Mazda's first SUV, the Navajo, introduced in 1991, was an almost identically rebadged version of the 2-door Ford Explorer Sport...by then, Ford had bought out a rather large stake in Mazda and was starting to dictate a lot of their design and marketing features. Ford, after buying Mazda, would not allow them to design or sell any more American-market pickup trucks or an SUV of their own design... a pity, since the very successful, pre-1991 Mazda B-series trucks, which beat out even the then-rust-plagued Toyota pickups in the 1990 J.D Power truck satisfaction ratings, were extremely reliable and well-built for the time. So, the 1991 and later B-Series trucks ended up being Ford Ranger clones, and the Navajo ended up being an Explorer Sport, though, of course , that was not necessarily a bad thing. Ford has always built reasonably good trucks that sold in huge numbers, with a fanatically loyal owner base, but the Ranger and Explorer, while not poorly built by any means (if you excuse the tendency of the Firestone-tired ones to flip over from tire failure), could not quite the equal the pre-1991 B-Series build quality. So the 1990's vintage Mazda trucks and SUV's, being almost identical Ford clones, were OK but not quite as reliable as the '80's vintage ones. Consumer Reports, like they did with the the Fords, basically gave them an average repair record.

Then, in 2000-2001, in response to the wildly successful Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and Subaru Forester/Outback, Ford introduced the popular Escape, their first fairly small, car-based, unibody SUV with AWD. Mazda, of course, got what Ford allowed them to have... the Tribute... but this time, Mazda was allowed a little more styling and engineering freedom. The Tribute, drivetrain-wise, was an exact clone of the Escape, but despite using the same unibody platform and body shape, the Tribute had a slightly different suspension,steering, front and rear-end styling, and a different dash and steering wheel. The Tribute, not surprisingly, in the Mazda "Kansei" tradition, emphasized handling and steering at the expense of the Escape's slightly better ride comfort. But, of course, despite the Mazda advertising ( and the silly Zoom-Zoom ad theme ) it was not a sports machine by any means.....just a slightly less frumpy Escape, although it did give Mazda its first experience in car-based AWD, which was, clearly, more and more, the wave of the future, and allowed Mazda technicians to get the training they needed with this type of drivetrain.

So now, with the demise of the Escape/Tribute for 2007 and the introduction of the all-new Ford Edge, comes the equally all-new, third-generation Mazda SUV... the CX-7, a radical departure, style-wise, from the former boxy Tribute. The Edge shares some features with both the Mazda CX-7 and the slightly larger CX-9, but, according to the Mazda people ( and this is their word, not mine ), the Edge served as the platform for the CX-9, more so than the CX-7. The CX-7, like a number of other Ford and Mazda products, gets much of its platform and basic engineering from the sporty Mazda6 sedan... so it is more of a pure Mazda then its Navajo and tribute predecessors ( of course the Mazda6 sedan itself has some Ford influence, and also serves as a platform for the Mazda MPV minivan ). With the exception, of course, of the Miata and RX-8 sports cars, the days of the 100% pure Mazdas are long gone.

After looking at the new CX-7 closely and reviewing and test-driving it, I have mixed feelings about it. Overall, for my driving tastes, I did not feel quite as home in it as I did the superb new Hyundai Santa Fe that I reviewed last weekend. The CX-7 was stiffer-riding, and though still fairly quiet, not as hushed as the Santa Fe. Its suspension ( even after I got the tire pressures right...more on this later ) did not soak up bumps as readily, nor was the steering particularly responsive, considering the sport-oriented suspension. The wedge-shaped body styling and upswept beltline compromises headroom and visibility compared to its Tribute predecessor, and I am generally not a fan of its Acura RDX-like interior styling either.

But... there were a number of good features on this vehicle to like as well. The powerful turbo 4 had good response and acceleration, even with the automatic transmission and weight/drag of AWD, the paint job was superb... hard to tell from a Lexus, the interior fit-and-finish was good except for a few exceptions ( more on this later), the automatic transmission has a feature I've suggested to auto companies for years... and have not seen it until now ( stay tuned ), the rear seat area has some clever design features, and the gauges and stalk controls,l ike on most new vehicles, are generally well-done.

Three different versions of the CX-7 are offered in the American market for 2007....the Sport, Touring, and Grand Touring. All three share the same engine and auto-manual transmission ( no pure manual transmission is offered ) and come in either FWD or AWD versions. The FWD ones, of course, are a little cheaper, starting around 23K.....AWD versions start at 25K. Since the CL member who requested this review lives in FL, perhaps he would be more interested in the FWD model, but my experience is that AWD helps a lot in the rain, too, not just snow.

And, speaking of price, Mazda seems to have an odd invoicing system... I don't recall having seen it before. On the computer printout of the vehicle that I get and keep for my records ( NOT the window sticker ), Mazda listed both the invoice and retail for the vehicle itself and all of the options. In the "Invoice" column was a "WASHINGTON, DC ASSESSMENT" charge 0f $319. This did NOT affect the vehicle's factory retail price, which, of course, was the usual addition of base price, options, and freight. It appeared to be a sum that Mazda itself charges dealerships at the wholesale/invoice level in this Washington-Baltimore area...why, I have no idea. I didn't ask about it, for several reasons, but it will be interesting to see if dealerships try and pass this charge on to customers when the deal-bargaining is made. Some of you potential D.C.-area Mazda customers might want to ask about it... it may or may affect the actual price you pay.


Well, now that you have an overview and history of the CX-7, let's, as always, look at it in greater detail:




Model Reviewed: 2007 Mazda CX-7 Sport AWD

Base Price: $25,450

Major Options:

Fog Lights: $250

Autodim Mirror/Compass/Homelink: $250

8-Way Power Driver's Seat with Lumbar: $350

Power Moonroof/Bose/6 CD Changer: $1585

Preferred Equipment Package $295

Transportation $595

Factory Invoice "Washington, DC Assessment"......NOT figured in list price: $319


List Price as Reviewed: $28,775

Exterior Color: Electric Blue Mica

Interior: Sand ( beige ) cloth with two-tone dash and door panels.

Drivetrain: Transverse-mounted, turbocharged and intercooled 2.3 L in-line 4, 244 HP@ 5000, torque 258 ft. lbs @ 2500 RPM

6-speed automatic with manual shift-gate and dash indicators.

Active Torque-Split All-Wheel-Drive system.


PLUSSES:

Good basic enginering platform from the Mazda6 sedan.

Mazda's 5/60 drivetrain warranty now compatible with many other manufacturers.

Good low-end torque from the turbo 2.3L four.

Well-done brakes.

Handling relatively free of body roll.

Most controls and gauges simple and well-done.

Excellent paint job.

Several nice (IMO) exterior colors offered....Electric Blue, Copper Red, Blue Ice, Black Cherry Mica,
and White Pearl Mica. The rest? Well.........

Clever interior rear-seat features.

Well-done hardware inside and out.

Reasonably good stereo.

Spare tire inside the vehicle rather than underneath like some SUV's.

6 speeds for the automatic transmission, and manual-shift gate.

Digital indicators show you what gear you are in, even in the full-automatic mode.

Fairly good sound insulation.

Reversible rear-cargo-floor panel keeps carpet surface clean without the rubber cover.


MINUSES:

"Zoom-Zoom" Mazda slogan rather inane and inappropriate for a people-mover.

Turbo 2.3 L four requires expensive premium gas and synthetic or turbo-approved oil.

AWD system, like most non-Subaru AWD systems, relatively complex.

Ridiculous plastic engine cover hampers even checking the oil.

Somewhat slower steering response than typical for Mazda sedans and sports cars.

Wedge-shaped styling and interior not quite my cup of tea....and hampers visibility.

El Cheapo plastic interior door panels, despite the two-tone.

Full-size donut instead of a real spare tire.

Awkward, step-on left-foot parking brake.

Poorly-designed rear wiper arm does not allow easy blade changes.

THREE different exterior silver/gray paint colors ( like on some Dodges ) IMO, not necessary.

No wood-tone trim available inside, in any trim package.

Manual-shift mode for the automatic, like BMW's, works backwards from that of most other manufacturers.

Lacks a third-row seat like its Mazda5 and CX-9 brothers.

Weird, unusual invoice pricing system.

Unimpressive rear seating surface.


The first impression of this vehicle, as you walk up to it, is the STRONG resemblance to its slightly larger CX-9 brother and a slightly weaker resemblance to the smaller Mazda5, which differs more in the rear end and in sliding rear side doors. The Mazda5, like the Chrysler Pacifica, also has 2+2+2 seating for 6, where the larger CX-7 seats only 5. ( the even larger CX-9 seats 7 witha 3rd-row seat ). Anyhow, the new CX-7 body, as mentioned, bears a strong resemblance to the rest of the 2007 Mazda SUV line. Like the CX-9, its styling is a BIG departure from the relatively boxy and conservative Tribute, and trades that conservative design for an ultra-sleek, wedge-shaped, up-swept-beltline, and a grille and bulging, seperate-arched fenders that were obviously influenced by the RX-8. The difference, literaly, between the Tribute and this vehicle, style-wise, like the transformation of the Acura MDX and the addition of the RDX for 2007, is just like night and day... it is THAT drastic. You will not, repeat, NOT, mistake this vehicle for a Tribute, ever. In fact, the CX-7, CX-9, 2007 Acura MDX, and the also all-new, smaller Acura RDX all share more or less the same exterior and interior styling, although the Acuras generally have better fit-and-finish in all but the paint job....the CX-7's paint is every bit as good as Acura's, and is in borderline Lexus territory. Now......whether this kind of styling is to your tastes or not is another story. I, myself, am not a big fan of it, but its aerodynamic benefits, of course, are hard to argue against... it is a lot easier for a wedge to move through the air than a shoe box. And, at higher speeds, all else equal, that means less wind noise, less aerodynamic drag, and less work for the engine, translating into less wasted power and better mileage, obut also more work for the brakes... the Slick-O-Matic body shape mean less slowing down while coasting.

The body hardware and sheet metal are also well-done, with a solid, well-attached-on feel. The doors close with a reasonably solid sound on the outside, and with a nice solid THUNK as you pull the front doors closed from the inside. The exterior mirrors, hardware, and trim are all well-done and well-assembled.

OK....get in. Unfortunately, the Wal-Mart dime-store two-tone plastic on the inside door panels remind you that the bean-counters also had at least some say. The rest of the front-seating area, though, was nicely done, although I am personally not a fan of the metallic silver and hi-tech look prevalent in the cabin and so popular in new vehicles today. I generally prefer wood trim ( not available in the CX-7 ). Still, the interior fit-and-finish is generally well-done, especially if you like that sort of stying. And it is done rather tastefully, though the stereo controls in the center of the dash ( in non-NAV versions ) are a little busy and take a couple of minutes to figure out ( NOTHING like with BMW's I-Drive, though ). The stereo buttons and knobs are in the center of the dash, but, like on the Toyota Avalon, the digital readouts for the stereo and clock are way forward at the base of the windshield....that's another design I'm generally not a fan of.

In a bow to the "Zoom-Zoom" Mazda image, the primary gauges and steering wheel appear to have been taken right out of the Miata, which, of course, means that they have the same driver-friendly look and feel as in the Miata. However, this is no sports car.....more on this in a minute. The rest of the switches and controls up front are well-done, though the stereo controls, as mentioned, are a little overstyled and could be easier to use. The interior hardware is all first-rate...nothing feels like it is going to come off in your hands when you grab it, except, as mentioned, the cheap-plastic door panels. Headroom up front, however, especially with the optional sunroof, was noticeably worse than in the Tribute....an obvious penalty of the new, low, space-ship style roofline. I had to power the front seat all the way down in the CX-7 and recline the seat a little for my ubiquitous baseball cap to clear the low ceiling.

In the rear, I was not impressed at all with the seating surface, which was rock-hard and generally felt like a wooden park bench. Nor was I overly impressed with the cloth Mazda uses to upholster these seats with. I generally don't care for leather seats, for a variety of reasons, but I would consider getting them in this vehicle ( you have to step up to the Touring and Grand Touring Models to get the standard leather...it is not available in the Sport model). Headroom, like up front, was not very generous....the rear sweep-down of the roofline impacts noticeably for tall people. Rear foot and kneeroom was not particularly good for tall people either, but a clever and ingenious device in the front seatbacks keeps it from being worse. Both front seatbacks are both scalloped out and covered with a piece of cloth that matches the rest of the upholstery...so instead of having your knees jammed up against the seatback in front of you, the scalloping gives you an extra couple of inches of room. I'd like to see this feature made standard in more vehicles... providing, of course, that the thinner front seatbacks don't compromise seat rigidity in an accident.

In the rear cargo area,( which, due to the low roof, is not particularly large ) is another very clever device.......seatback-release levers built into the rear walls, which not only lease the 50/50 rear seats, but, when you pull the lever, a spring-loaded device actually forces the individual seats down flat...you don't even have to push them or touch them in any way, as long as the two front seats are up far enough for them to clear. Simple but ingenious... it's like having the power-operated seat releases in big, expensive SUV's like the Escalade and Navigator, but of course, without the motor or added complexity. Also of note, in the rear cargo area, is a reversible floor cover that flips over to put a plastic side upward and keep the carpeted area face-down when you don't want to get it dirty. Just why this feature is included in a vehicle that already has the usual molded, custom-fit rubber cargo-floor cover standard is beyond me...but it is there if you want it. A cargo net, an inside-the-car, full-size donut spare ( as opposed to some SUV's that hang the spare under the rear of the vehicle ), and the usual removable window-shade cover complete the list of cargo-area conveniences.

Start it up with a conventional key, and the turbo 4 springs to life with smoothness, refinement, and a low noise level at idle. With today's effective liquid-filled engine mounts and other noise and vibration-damping devices, it is getting increasingly rare in modern cars to find engines that are noisy or rough at idle, except for obvious, purpose-built exceptions like Porsches and American muscle-car V8's. The 2.3 L Turbo 4 has plenty of low-end torque... something you don't see in a lot of in many Mazda engines....and will shove you back in your seat, starting at around 2500 RPM ( at the engine's 258 ft.-lb. torque peak ). Zoom-Zoom advertising has at least some truth here in the engine. Even the drag of the automatic transmission and the AWD system doesn't seem to sap much power.

The transmission, unlike previous harsh-shifting Mazda automatics, especially as they aged a little, is virtually seamless. 6 speeds are included... unusual in this price range... and the manual-shift function is equally seamless, with a nice, precision-feel shift lever. A NICE feature of this transmission, and something I have suggested to auto companies for years, is a lighted dash indicator for which gear you are in that does NOT go out when you are in the full-automatic mode, when it is often difficult to guess wich gear you are in. This is a feature, IMO, that is long overdue... I'm glad Mazda has finally put it n a production car. Now, if automakers would just put it on manual, clutch-operated transmissions as well. Guessing which gear you are in with a manual, on a bad downshift, could mean a
ruined engine from going over redline.

The ride, in the Mazda tradition, was a little on the firm side...excessively so until I got my tire gauge out and let the 44 psi in the tires out... back down to the 32 psi front/rear they were SUPPOSED to be. Yep... one MORE red-faced, embarrassed salesman and manager who ASSURED me that the tires were properly inspected at PDI. And we WONDER why so many people have such a low opinion of car salespeople.

Once properly adjusted where they were supposed to be, the tires were much more forgiving, and the ride was more tolerable, but still a little on the stiff side. Of course, in the Mazda "Kansei" driver-centered engineering tradition ( known as the Poor Man's BMW ), you more or less expect a firm ride, so this vehicle was nothing out of the ordinary for a Mazda product.

However, I DID expect a little more steering response from a Mazda-engineered product. Like I said earlier, this is no Miata, and I didn't expect it to quite handle like one, but, considering the relative stiffness of the suspension, tires, and chassis, and especially the effective lack of body roll, I did expect a little quicker steering response. It's not bad, mind you......certainly quicker than in many pickup trucks and traditional American luxury vehicles like the Town Car and big Buicks, but just not quite what I expected, especially with the Zoom-Zoom ad
campaign Mazda that likes to flaunt so much. True, this is a vehicle that is not meant to be a 5-door Miata, but a people-mover, cargo carrier, and foul-weather machine, but still, IMO the steering response, while not bad, is not up to the image that Mazda places on this vehicle.

The brakes were fine... no noticeable pedal-placement problems with my big size-15 clown-shoes like I have in many other vehicles. The pedal was smooth, with little or no sponginess, evenness of response, no nose dive, and reasonable, if somewhat less than Porsche-like, response.

The verdict:

Not a vehicle for me, style-wise, inside or out, but good fit-and-finish, more Mazda-like road manners than previous, Ford-engineered Mazda SUV's, a very well-done engine/transmission combination, good foul-weather traction in the AWD version ( and even the FWD should have reasonably good traction as well ) a reasonable price for the level of equipment offered and fit-and-finish, though a few interior features, as mentioned, are cheaply done, and the odd invoice structure may affect out-the-door pricing. The seond-row seat limits the CX-7 to 5 people, ( three small ones in back wth the less-than-ideal rear seats), but a walk across the showroom to the CX-9 will solve that problem if you need the third seat. The smaller, less expensive Mazda5 is also worth considering if you are on a budget or need better fuel economy, but with a non-turbo 4 and seats inside for 6 people, my guess, even though I did not review it or test-drive it, is that the engine would be overburdened fully loaded or in hilly terrain.

In a Nutshell: AWD traction, versatility, lear-Lexus smoothness, refinement, and build quality, at a much lower price.

Several weeks ago, I went shopping with a colleague of mine I work with and we ended up buying a new Hyundai Sonata V6.While I was at the dealership, I gave the new 2007 Santa Fe a brief and cursory inspection, and I was quite impressed with what I saw. But that was only a very brief, rush-rush lookover...certainly not enough to form any real automotive opinions, and it was relatively dark outside as well....only the floodlights in the dealer's lot....so I didn't even bother to do a mini-review. The salesman we were dealing with offered me a test-drive of any Santa Fe in the lot, but I turned it down. Right then, there was more important business to take care of...making sure Ron's new Sonata was OK and prepared properly, with no problems. That was the main reason why I was there. Business before pleasure... or reviews. I had also, by request, scheduled the Porsche Boxster as my next review....which I completed last week.

But that was yesterday... today is another story. Sunny, 73 degrees...yes, SEVENTY-THREE degrees in the D.C. area, nothing else specifically planned for today... so hey, why not? So I jumped in my Outback (ironically, though physically smaller and lower than the Santa Fe, one of its prime competitors) and drove west towards the beautiful Virginia foothills...to a Hyundai shop a little further out from the D.C. suburbs. Still I didn't really get out of traffic... you NEVER get out of traffic in Northern Virginia even if you drive 50 miles. It's almost like driving in Southern California... nationally, this area trails only Los Angeles in the traffic misery index.

Well, anyhow, you readers didn't tune in to this thread just to hear me give you a weather report or complain about traffic, so then, let's get to the matter at hand... the Santa Fe.

Hyundai introduced the first-generation Santa Fe as a response to the growing popularity of relatively small, economical, car-based AWD SUVs such as Toyota's RAV4, Honda's CR-V, Subaru's Forester and Outback, and Ford's then-new Escape. It was relatively short, the styling inside and out was rather unusual and controversial for a small SUV, and the ones I sampled at the time suffered from a fair amount of road noise. One woman I shopped with ( one of my neighbors ) ended up buying a Subaru Forester, partly because the first-generation Santa Fe had so much tire whine even brand-new.

But, in other ways, the first-generation Santa Fe was an exemplary vehicle. My Catholic pastor bought a bright red, 4-cylinder, FWD, automatic one and loves it... he has had no reliability problems. Got an excellent deal with the military pricing as well... he is an Army Chaplain, and Hyundai gave extra discounts to military people. And the first-generation Santa Fe, like other Hyundais of the period, was already starting to show much-improved quality over previous models and shed the junk-vehicle image that plagued the company for years. Hyundai, once the butt of automotive jokes for its extremely poor quality, today builds some of the best vehicles on the road for the money, fully compatible with Toyota, Honda, Subaru and even Lexus in some areas. But those companies don't have the previous Hyundai stigma to shake off, either... the public never had a negative view of them to start with. And that probably is Hyundai's single biggest problem today...yes, the auto image factor that I write about so much on CAR CHAT. Hyundai does as good a job or better than just about anybody else in the auto industry these days, but, unfortunately, much of the public either doesn't know it, or, worse, doesn't BELIEVE it.

That is why one of Hyundai's mottos today is "Driving is Believing." And, while the new Santa Fe is no sports car and probably could not qualify as a so-called " enthusiast" machine, you would be hard-pressed, in my opinion, to find a better overall, car-based, mid-sized true SUV for the money... the Subaru Outback and Forester are superb vehicles but not true SUV's... they are too small and sit too low.

So...as I said in the last paragraph, that brings us to the new, second-generation, Santa Fe. Since the Tucson now fills the former role for Hyundai that the old Santa Fe played in the entry-level car-based SUV market, Hyundai, like Toyota with the new RAV4, moved the new Santa Fe up in size, price, and content into the mid-sized SUV market, where it will now compete directly with other mid-sized car and truck-based SUV's, such as the Ford Explorer/Mercury Mountaineer, Chevy TrailBlazer and its other GM/Saab/Isuzu twins, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Commander, and the new Toyota RAV4 itself. And, like them (and like the new RAV4), the new Santa Fe will, for the first time, have optional third-row seats for the kiddies.

So the new Santa Fe is now truly a vehicle for families. Unfortunately, the base 2.7L V6's power and torque level, connected to an automatic and AWD, may restrict that to rather lean famlies or level terrain. It would probably be overburdened in hilly terrain or heavily loaded...more on that in the review below. Hyundai needs to consider making the now-optional 3.3L V6 standard in all Santa Fe models....not just restrict the 3.3 as an option or to upmarket Santa Fe's. However, despite the list of minuses that I write up for all of my reviews and did for this vehicle as well (it wouldn't be an honest review without both sides of the story), I found little else to truly or seriously gripe about with this vehicle, and I was very impressed with its ride quality, noise level ( none of that old Santa Fe tire whine ) fit-and-finish, and quality of materials/hardware. It is an excellent value for the money, just like the Sonata that Ron and I bought a few weeks ago, and like other new Hyundais as well.


So... now for the details.

Model Reviewed: 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe AWD GLS


Base Price: $23,045 (includes freight)


Major Options:


4-speed automatic transmission $1200

Touring/Premium package $2900


Price as reviewed: $27,195

Drivetrain: AWD, front-engine, transverse-mount, 2.7L V6, 185 HP @ 6000 RPM, torque 183 ft.lbs. @ 4000 RPM,
4-speed automatic transmission with manual shift-gate, full-time AWD system with center differential.

Exterior Color: Ebony Black

Interior: Gray cloth with gray fake wood trim


PLUSSES:

Eon-length Hyundai 10/100 and 5/60 warranties.

Excellent price, compared to most of the competition.

Strong body structure.

Styling less controversial than previous model.

Versatile Interior.

Smooth, quiet engine and transmission.

Precision-feel shift lever.

Smooth, quiet ride by SUV standards.

Good road isolation.

ABS, traction control, and stability systems standard even in base model.

Near-Lexus paint job.

Well-designed gauges and controls....with a couple of exceptions.

Third-seat climate fan switch in models so equipped.

Excellent fit-and-finish inside and out.

Nice stereo.

Outside trigger-grab-handle and inside pull strap for the rear liftgate.

Solid-feeling and solid-sounding doors.

Numerous standard airbags.

Multi-adjustable head rests on some models.

Attractive dash, wood trim, and interior furnishings.

High-quality hardware inside and out.


MINUSES:

2.7L V6 burdened by the vehicle's weight and AWD.

Not a vehicle for sports-car lovers or aggressive drivers.

Unresponsive steering.

OK brakes but somewhat mushy.

AWD system not as simple as Subaru's or longitudinal-engine-mount vehicles.

Warranty not transferrable, upon resale, outside of the immedite family.

Roly-Poly cornering with understeer....but not bad considering the smooth ride.

Marginal headroom for tall drivers in sunroof-equipped models.

Distracting bright-blue odometer and clock.

Rather unimpressive leather seats (on models so equipped).

4-speed automatic a little outdated by today's standards, even on a base model.

Sits a little high off the ground for my tastes.

Typical funeral-home exterior paint colors.

Pearl-White paint color costs $400 extra.

Awkward, truck-like step-on parking brake.

Rear wiper arm on Limited model does not pull out far enough.

Optional third-row seat too small for most adults.

Rebates currently not offered on base models...only the upmarket ones.
(consult the latest Hyundai web site for details)

Awkward and confusing engine cover.


The first impression of this vehicle, as you walk up to it, is that it is indeed all-new. Almost nothing from the old Santa Fe is carried over, inside or out. Not only is it a noticeably larger vehicle than the old one, but the rather unusual styling of the old model, most notable in the hood and fenders, is gone in favor of a more conventional and mainstream exterior... not surprising, when you consider that Hyundai is now putting this vehicle up against conventionally-styled mid-sized SUV's such as the Ford Explorer, Chevy TrailBlazer, and Jeep Grand Cherokee... vehicles that sell in huge numbers. That doesn't make it dull or boring though, in my opinion, especially whan you examine the almost-Lexus quality paint job, solid hardware, laser-even panel gaps, "thunk" thunk" door closings, and perfectly-fitting trim. I find nothing boring about examining a well-made vehicle. Chrysler and GM couldn't assemble a car like this if their lives depended on it, though, to its credit, GM is starting to do a better job on dash materials at least.
Not all is peachy on the exterior, though. On the Limited model, the rather cheap-looking plastic rear wiper arm doesn't pull up and out far enough... that could make periodic changing of the rear wiper blade ( which you have to do in any vehicle that has one ) rather difficult... the blade doesn't flip under and clear the glass. Strangely, the lesser versions of the Santa Fe don't have that problem... the arms flip out properly. Go figure.

The rear liftgate continues the old Santa Fe tradition of the right-side handle with the pistol-grip trigger that releases and lifts it. There is also a convienent strap hanging down from the ceiling inside to pull the hatch back down with... Hyundai does a good job thinking of the little things.

THe hood, as mentioned earlier, is much more conventionally styled than on the last Santa Fe, and doesn't have the old odd-shaped dips and ridges. Neither, unlike the old Santa Fe, does the front fenders....and the two-tone body theme has been replaced with a more conventional monotone ( I like two tones myself, but Hyundai marketing believes, rightly or wrongly, that most of the public doesn't ).
Another fly in the exterior ointment, IMO, is the all-too-typical funeral home colors....among the current Hyundai lineup, only the Tiburon sports coupe, with its brighter reds, yellows, and blues, seems to escape the painted-in the local morgue look. For my money, among the Santa Fe's colors, I would choose only the Silver Blue or the White Pearl as a daily driver... and, wouldn't you know it, the White Pearl costs some $400 extra. And I thought that only Dodge / Chrysler, Mercedes, and other European automakers did that...charge extra for certain colors. To my memory, this is the first Korean automaker I've seen like that. Well, no real problem...... the vehicle is STILL a bargain, even with a $400 paint job, and the White Pearl looks so nice it just might be worth it.

Raise the now-almost-universal aluminum hood... two gas struts hold it up without a prop rod.....and the rather anemic 2.7L V6 fits underhood without any real packaging problems, but a rather large and clever ( and misleading ) plastic engine cover is mounted fore-and-aft, at a right angle, over the transversely-mounted engine. The cover makes you think the engine is mounted one way when it is actually mounted 90 degrees from that. What were the designers thinking? Maybe so you wouldn't have to turn your head to read the chrome " Hyundai " and "V6" engraved on it? Again, go figure.

Having said that, the sideways engine and transmission fit in rather well, without a lot of clearance problems, but like with many if not most newer vehicles, you will have to go up from underneath to do even simple things like change the oil.

Get inside and you will almost think you are in a Lexus RX330. Folks, for the money ( 20-30K ), this is one NICE interior...though the seats could use a little improvement ( more on this in a moment ). I've already mentioned that the new interior is more conventionally styled than the old Santa Fe with its swoops and curves, but the fit-and-finish, quality of materials, solid hardware, and tasteful yet ornate trim would not be very far out of place in a Lexus. The primary gauges and controls are quite well-designed and are very similiar to the ones in the new Sonata...not surprising when you figure that the Santa Fe is Sonata-based. The gauges are clear, legible, and easy to read in an instant....they have Lexus-type, electroluminescent back-lighting. The controls and stalks all have a precision, high-quality feel, again just like the Sonata. The only things I would change on the dash are the rather large, rectangular, Volkswagen-like bright blue odometer and clock readouts....their big bright blue faces, even with muted panel lighting, stand out like Pam Anderson Lee's bustline while you are looking ahead trying to keep your eyes on the road.

Though it was only a minor issue, I also wasn't terribly impressed with the look and feel of the leather on the seats, which had a look and feel that IMO was not up to the rest of the interior. The cloth seats were markedly more pleasant both in look and feel.....one reason why I chose a cloth model for the test-drive. The only other slip I noticed in the interior was a slight ( not serious ) lack of head room for tall people on sunroof-equipped models with the manually-adjusted seats on the base model. The upmarket Santa Fe Limited, and models with the power seats, had more flexibility in the adjustments, and it was easier to get my ubiquitous baseball cap to clear the ceiling.

The steering wheel, even on the base model, was covered in a nice leather ( much nicer IMO than the seats ) and had the now-usual controls for the stereo and other functions. The stereo itself was not quite a Lexus Mark Levinson unit but nevertheless nothing you would be ashamed of....and of course, I don't care to play my AC/DC, KISS, James Brown, and Heavy Metal stuff on garbage either. Two different wood trim patterns are offered on the dash and door panels....a grayish wood that more or less imitates carbon fiber with the gray interior in either cloth or leather, and an (IMO) much nicer traditional brown wood on with the beige interior, in either cloth or leather.

The rear compartment, with the optional third-row seats, was quite interesting.....though the split-folding 3rd-seats, themselves, like those on most vehicles of this type and size, are generally suitable only for children or very small adults. Don't expect to put NBA guys back there. An option, with the third-row seats, is a nice climate-control fan-speed switch and vent built into the rear wall on the right side of the seat to keep Junior nice and comfortable back there...something I don't recall seeing before on a vehicle in this class. Like I said earlier, Hyundai thinks of the little things.

OK... after my mandatory engine-fluid and tire-pressure check, get everything adjusted right and start her up. No push-button here....you do it the old-fashioned way with a key. The 2.7L V6 settles immediately into a Lexus-like smooth, silent idle. With the outside temperature at an amazing 73 degrees, in bright sun, virtually no warm-up was required. The weight and drag of the AWD drive system...probably even more weight and drag than on simpler AWD systems like Subaru's... is immediately evident on the rather overworked engine. It takes significant RPM to get it moving...with the rather low power-to-weight ratio, and the engine's Lexus-like refinement and smoothness, I had to be careful not to go over the 4000-RPM limit that you should stick to with a new engine. It was no real problem on level roads and with light loads, but in hilly terrain and with loads I'd definitely spring for the 3.3.

Ride quality and noise isolation were two of this vehicle's outstanding traits. The nice, old-fashioned, high-profile tires, relatively soft suspension, tight, high-quality construction, and efficient sound insulation and weather sealing make for a very pleasant, smooth, quiet ride, especially by SUV standards. There was a tiny amount of the common SUV fore-and-aft purposing, but it was almost unnoticeable. Bumps and road irregularities were gobbled up by the tires and suspension, and road/tire noise, unlike the old model, was effectively filtered out as well. Lexus could take some lessons from Hyundai on how to do the suspension and tires for the new ES350, which, IMO, are a BIG disappointment.

The down side to a soft chassis, is of course, less-than-sports-car handling. That, and the relatively high center of gravity inherent in this type of vehicle, translates into rather slow, unresponsive steering, moderate body lean, and noticeable understeer. This is NOT a vehicle that you can throw around corners like a Mazda Miata or Honda S2000, but, by SUV standards, I've seen LOTS worse...particularly with the old Suzuki Samurai and Jeep CJ. And, as I am not usually an aggressive driver myself, I, personally, would rather have the ride comfort than the tight handling....but of course everyone's tastes differ.

Brakes were OK but nothing to write home about. They were smooth, had fairly good stopping power, and evenness of response, but with a rather mushy pedal that was mounted high off the floor. Still, they beat the Push-and-Pray brakes in the full-size Chevy/GMC/Cadillac trucks and SUV's by a country mile.

The verdict: Not really much I can add here.....I think I've pretty much explained the vehicle in the paragraphs above. It is obviously not a sports machine or a so-called "Macho" vehicle, and, with the 2.7L V6, certainly not a muscle car. It is an excellent new competitor in the mid-sized SUV class, extremely well-built and well-finished for the price, and, in spite of its relatively complex AWD system compared to the simpler AWD system Subaru uses, a good snow machine as well for the money. I would recommend this vehicle in a heatbeat to anyone who wants a true mid-sized car-based SUV and wants to spend his/her money wisely. In addition, it has one of the longest warranties in the buisness, although it is not transferable unless the car stays in the immediate family.