Review: 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate

Like the looks of this version of the Santa Fe, shame they cannot get a properly powerful engine that has smooth linear delivery of power.

They have a new 2.5L turbo 4 in the works, it will be on the Sonata N-line, around 290hp and a little more than 300lb ft torque.  Maybe a version of that will replace the underwhelming 2.0L in a few years, might get better fuel economy as well.

41 minutes ago, frogger said:

They have a new 2.5L turbo 4 in the works, it will be on the Sonata N-line, around 290hp and a little more than 300lb ft torque.  Maybe a version of that will replace the underwhelming 2.0L in a few years, might get better fuel economy as well.

 

 

 

 

 

Hopefully it will come sooner than later as a mid year update.

They need that motor in this CUV.

The 2.0 Turbo troubles are not surprising. Power delivery has been a common complaint no matter the car by Hyundai. It’s just garbage.

22 hours ago, frogger said:

They have a new 2.5L turbo 4 in the works, it will be on the Sonata N-line, around 290hp and a little more than 300lb ft torque.  Maybe a version of that will replace the underwhelming 2.0L in a few years, might get better fuel economy as well.

even if they lightly turbo it like Dwight has made posts about, it could probably be good for mazda turbo like power. lots of torque and some more HP.
https://www.thecarconnection.com/car-compare-results/hyundai_santa-fe_2019-vs-mazda_cx-9_2019  

no 3rd seat row, it's shorter. but the mazda  is rated better MPG.

I wonder if when people go into a Hyundai showroom (or any car dealership), the goal of the manufacturer is to have 9 SUVs there to pick from so the customer is just so overwhelmed, they just cave in and buy something there rather than going to a 2nd dealership to look at another SUV.

Good looking CUV inside and out.  20 MPG is worse than my 308-hp V6 Colorado.

there is getting to be quite of few of these with dealer plates on them (just sold) driving around here now, I am sure Hyundai has opened the deals and credit tap on these things.  And then Chevy has the 50,000 dollar Blazer, and I don't see very many of them.

16 hours ago, regfootball said:

there is getting to be quite of few of these with dealer plates on them (just sold) driving around here now, I am sure Hyundai has opened the deals and credit tap on these things.  And then Chevy has the 50,000 dollar Blazer, and I don't see very many of them.

I honestly have only seen a few blazers on the dealer lots here and not a single one in the wild. So I have to say that for $50K people are buying other autos over it.

I've seen at least three Blazers on the road so far.  Caught a view of my first XT6 on the road yesterday, looked a little like a cheap copy of an XC90.

These are everywhere in the northeast, which is expected. Enjoyed a last model year last gen base model Santa Fe I had last year for a few thousand miles, so these are just better in every way.

Still adjusting to the looks, but good ute. The 2.0T has gotten strange over the years, and isn't very well balanced, but the 2.4L is fine.

1 hour ago, frogger said:

I've seen at least three Blazers on the road so far.  Caught a view of my first XT6 on the road yesterday, looked a little like a cheap copy of an XC90.

 

Yea, still not seen a Blazer in the wild, see plenty of XT6 out and about, selling well here, but not impressed.

Mary and GM clearly want the poor people to stick to buying the Equinox and Terrain.  Then, the 'privileged' who really want a true mid size vehicle, the figured they could charge 55k for a loaded Blazer instead of the 40k Impala it functionally replaces.  In addition to that, make it in Mexico, too.

Honestly the Blazer would sell big in volume at lower prices, but clearly volume is not the goal.  GM is fine with letting inventory sitting on their lots for a year or two before they get an actual clue that they might need to adjust prices to market.  

I just think its sad that GM opens the door for competitors like Hyundai to gain volume in the market, and in this case even more and more.

^ newsflash: Blazer starts at $28,800. Neither Mary nor anyone else is forcing anyone to buy a top-trim/fully loaded version of ANY vehicle.

Same way hyundai isn’t forcing anyone to pay $40 grand for a $25K sante fe.

20 hours ago, dfelt said:

Yea, still not seen a Blazer in the wild, see plenty of XT6 out and about, selling well here, but not impressed.

Quite a few Blazers out my way but have not spotted one XT6 and don’t care if I ever do. 

On 12/14/2019 at 10:14 AM, smk4565 said:

I wonder if when people go into a Hyundai showroom (or any car dealership), the goal of the manufacturer is to have 9 SUVs there to pick from so the customer is just so overwhelmed, they just cave in and buy something there rather than going to a 2nd dealership to look at another SUV.

You mean like Mercedes does with their cars? Sounds about right to me.

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

^ newsflash: Blazer starts at $28,800. Neither Mary nor anyone else is forcing anyone to buy a top-trim/fully loaded version of ANY vehicle.

Same way hyundai isn’t forcing anyone to pay $40 grand for a $25K sante fe.

I would like to add that the dealership, where I used to work, had a half a dozen in the mid 30s.

9 minutes ago, surreal1272 said:

I would like to add that the dealership, where I used to work, had a half a dozen in the mid 30s.

My local dealer has 19 from mid 30's to mid 40's.

https://www.leejohnsonchevrolet.com/search/new-camaro-kirkland-wa/?cy=98033&tp=new&md=541

Not selling though.

you will rarely find an AWD blazer for much less than 34-35 right now, and that's basically cloth seats.

Enjoy that FWD blazer with 4 banger if you like.

The Santa Fe has the size of the Blazer and admittedly with its 4 cylinders, but the truth is they can add lots of options to the Santa Fe that it will have at the 35k price that Chevy won't have.  So from a utlity standpoint the Santa Fe is the size of the Blazer and offers lots more options and amenities for a lower price.  The only advantage the Blazer would have is powertrain but in 2020 Chevy will load up the sales floor with much more of the new 2.0 turbo models at that price range than the v6's which they want to eventually only offer to those shopping in the 50k range.

1 minute ago, dfelt said:

My local dealer has 19 from mid 30's to mid 40's.

https://www.leejohnsonchevrolet.com/search/new-camaro-kirkland-wa/?cy=98033&tp=new&md=541

Not selling though.

WHICH IS MY POINT EXACTLY.  those 19 blazers have likely sat on that lot since early this calendar year.  Hard to run a business with stagnant inventory.

The majority of Blazers at my local dealer are $ 34-35. There’s 1 $30K and a few in the mid $40s. Not seeing a major price disparity WRT hyundai.

If the Blazer sells 80-100k copies a year compared to 100-120k for the Santa Fe that is not too bad considering how awkward looking it is in comparison.  The Traverse will get more volume based on looks and value for families.

2 hours ago, surreal1272 said:

Quite a few Blazers out my way but have not spotted one XT6 and don’t care if I ever do. 

You mean like Mercedes does with their cars? Sounds about right to me.

They do have a lot but Mercedes 7 SUVs span $100k compared to the 7 at Hyundai that span $20k in base price.  But either way I think it is a method to overwhelm consumers.

None of the MSRP's are under 35k at my dealership(17 Blazers) but they're all discounted. 

https://www.steveschmittauto.com/VehicleSearchResults?make=Chevrolet&model=Blazer

1 hour ago, ccap41 said:

None of the MSRP's are under 35k at my dealership(17 Blazers) but they're all discounted. 

https://www.steveschmittauto.com/VehicleSearchResults?make=Chevrolet&model=Blazer

 

the 35k i refer to is discounted price.  usually those msrps will be 40ish.

there are Blazer Premiers out there, stickering for 55 grand.  That is stupid ludicrous expensive. In spring 2020 when some of those 19 premiers are still on lots (after 18 months), maybe then they will go out the door for 42,000.......

Blazers by me, difference between MSRP & advertised price ::
$3300
$2400
$2400
$2600
$2600
[about 6 more like this]
most expensive and the only AWD Premier:
$5200 (on a sticker of $52K)

Honestly Hyundai can EAT GMs market share as GM is being Marketing Stupid in regards to proper prices and the 19 by me prove this.

The funny part of the 19 in stock Blazers by me is they are all Premier or RS models. 

2019 models get $7,400 off MSRP

2020 Models get $2,725 off MSRP

Clearly GM has this product priced way too high

OK, This gets even more stupid as looking closer at the Chevrolet dealership lot by me shows the following

Suburban and Tahoe 2019 models get $14,000 off

Suburban and Tahoe 2020 models get $7,245 off

No 2019 Traverse in stock, but 2020 models get $3,800 off RS and $4,200 off High Country

No 2019 Equinox in stock, but 2020 models get $6,093 off

2019 Trax get $8,200 off and 2020 get $2,713 off

When do they wake up to the fact that ongoing constant factory rebates diminish auto value.

Price it right and go after based on quality and features.

What brands sell only at sticker price again?

3 hours ago, dfelt said:

Honestly Hyundai can EAT GMs market share as GM is being Marketing Stupid in regards to proper prices and the 19 by me prove this.

 

I don't think GM is prioritizing market share, they are prioritizing trucks.. Hyundai Kia is within around 10% of them globally by now and could experience gains due to GM exiting much of the sedan market, Europe, India, South Africa etc.

With a few exceptions, GM has given up on cars and competing in the car market.  It’s all CUVs, SUVs and trucks for them now...

14 hours ago, dfelt said:

When do they wake up to the fact that ongoing constant factory rebates diminish auto value.

Price it right and go after based on quality and features.

I completely agree. 

The average off the MSRP of a brand new 2020 BMW 3-series according to Trucar is $3500. Yet I’m not seeing where BMW is ‘pricing their cars stupidly’ or ‘killing their resale’.