[Rickety]

“Mediaman” and ”Thormax”, how are you enjoying your new Santa Fe’s?

I’m still waiting. I’ve had to compromise on both body and interior colour. FYI, I priced up a V6 Grand Cherokee PHEV and came up with $85k before options - and its performance and mileage sucks vs Santa Fe. So …..

 

[Thormaxx1234]

“Mediaman” and ”Thormax”, how are you enjoying your new Santa Fe’s?

I’m still waiting. I’ve had to compromise on both body and interior colour. FYI, I priced up a V6 Grand Cherokee PHEV and came up with $85k before options - and its performance and mileage sucks vs Santa Fe. So …..

Enjoying the car quite well. I am having some fun getting the bluelink services sorted out here are there seems to be a bit of a mess up for Canadians not getting everything that is advertised. The car is a lovely place to spend some time... seats super comfortable, and the car is really really quiet. I still believe it is a tremendous value.. Might not be as good as the Tucson, but I prefer the larger width and stature of this car over the Tucson.

 

[Mediaman]

“Mediaman” and ”Thormax”, how are you enjoying your new Santa Fe’s?

the Santa Fe is a well appointed vehicle to drive from the preferred trend, which I have, up. I think you would miss a lot of features with the base trim. I would say no to the Santa Fe if it were my daily driver in the city unless you needed the room for 2.4 kids and a dog. I bought it for road trips and the options for the price point.

it is a foot longer than my previous 2008 ford escape so I’m still developing muscle memory for turning/parking. Often I find myself clunking the steering wheel over because I am trying to turn more than I can in tight spaces.

I still have the phev on order so we’ll see.

i have already encountered situations that I needed/wished I had the options that are only available in the Calligraphy. The 360 camera is really useful some days. The forward parking sensors are really valuable and I don’t know why Hyundai didn’t enable them on the preferred trend trim and up.

in the city the remote parking is almost a must due the the countless #$&%! Jerk drivers who squeeze in beside you in parking spaces leaving no room to open your door. This, literally, happened to me yesterday at Stanley park here in Vancouver where someone parked so close that I could not walk or shimmy between the cars. I had to go in the passenger side and gymnast my way over the centre console. The owner of the other car just came along afterwards and I asked him how he thought I would get in and his answer was “yah…tight fit. I barely got out myself. It’s good that you were able to crawl over”

I told him that I was disappointed that h didn’t take himself out of the gene pool. The remote parking feature I think I will need more than I think.

it’s a very comfortable car to drive. The eyeball visibility for shoulder checks is surprisingly good. I never had backup cameras and blind spot monitoring so I still do it “old school”. I think it’s paramount that you know how to drive with your eyes and not rely too much on technology. My first road trip is coming up soon so I’m looking forward to that.

The KIA Sportage HEV had a few more features for about $47 k plus tax which put it between mine and the calligraphy but, of course, a 2 year wait.

at 450 km in the city gas mileage is 13 l/100 and edges down to 12.5 highway combined. It’s not broken in so gas mileage isn’t stellar but better than my previous gas car. Im hoping it willl approach near 11 l/100 city. Thormaxx1234 is way better than me.

I don’t have kids and a dog so if this were strictly a city vehicle I would have gotten something different regardless of trim. I would have gotten a smaller suv but I think that Hyundai gave a lot of bang for the buck vs others. The fit and finish in the Santa Fe is really nice. The ford escape feels a bit “cheaper” but costs a bit more. The outlander offers good competition except on price.

I know that if the Santa Fe fits your needs checklist then you will be happy.

 

[Thormaxx1234]

at 450 km in the city gas mileage is 13 l/100 and edges down to 12.5 highway combined. It’s not broken in so gas mileage isn’t stellar but better than my previous gas car. Im hoping it willl approach near 11 l/100 city. Thormaxx1234 is way better than me.

I don’t have kids and a dog so if this were strictly a city vehicle I would have gotten something different regardless of trim. I would have gotten a smaller suv but I think that Hyundai gave a lot of bang for the buck vs others. The fit and finish in the Santa Fe is really nice. The ford escape feels a bit “cheaper” but costs a bit more. The outlander offers good competition except on price.

I know that if the Santa Fe fits your needs checklist then you will be happy.

On a full tank the estimated range is just under 1000KM... which is pretty crazy! The HEV model shares the same fuel tank as all other ICE models (75L), but the PHEV drops to a much smaller fuel tank (45L I think). HEV's are happiest in the city with stop and go traffic as it allows it quickly drop into EV mode with speeds as high as 80 KM/h. Highway driving should still get decent mileage as there will be a filp flop between hybrid mode (ICE engine and electric motors running at the same time) and charging mode (ICE engine running exclusively). We get pretty cold winter in Ontario... so mileage will be affected... however with less than 500KM on the car I am getting I am getting about 11L / 100KM - keep in mid that the engine runs more often in the winter especially if you have the HVAC heater turned on. Summer time is when this car should really shine as the dependency of the engine is significantly reduced. I expect day the day should drop into the 7-8 L/100KM range.. but we shall see this summer. Another cool thing... the AC can operate without the need of the ICE engine until the hybrid battery requires a charge.

 

[Mediaman]

An issue is beginning to surface with PHEV models and not Hyundai specific. I’ve been able to find reports of oil dilution (gas contaminants in the oil) going back to 2011 Prius PHEVs.

All phev vehicles have this issue.

It occurs because the ice engine doesn’t run long enough to get hot to burn off the contamination in the oil. What is the duration of running the ice engine long enough? That is a time at certain temperatures duration and not just driving ice only for x number of minutes.

The more I learn the more it makes me rethink a phev choice. It’s unfortunate as the phev concept really suits my current lifestyle and the Santa Fe PHEV is a great vehicle but what does 5 years down the road look like?

This makes me want to call my dealership to see if I can switch to an HEV but we all know that’s impossible.

 

[Thormaxx1234]

An issue is beginning to surface with PHEV models and not Hyundai specific. I’ve been able to find reports of oil dilution (gas contaminants in the oil) going back to 2011 Prius PHEVs.

All phev vehicles have this issue.

It occurs because the ice engine doesn’t run long enough to get hot to burn off the contamination in the oil. What is the duration of running the ice engine long enough? That is a time at certain temperatures duration and not just driving ice only for x number of minutes.

The more I learn the more it makes me rethink a phev choice. It’s unfortunate as the phev concept really suits my current lifestyle and the Santa Fe PHEV is a great vehicle but what does 5 years down the road look like?

This makes me want to call my dealership to see if I can switch to an HEV but we all know that’s impossible.

Looks like 2024 will not even offer the PHEV... I wonder if these issues could be linked to the decision to cut it.

 

[Mediaman]

Looks like 2024 will not even offer the PHEV... I wonder if these issues could be linked to the decision to cut it.

I think it is a minor factor but it’s most likely a financial decision. Hyundai wants the US market and to get that it’s BEV and meeting Biden’s tax rebate criteria. HEV will become the “bridge” vehicle. BEVs are less cost to manufacture as only one technology is supported; not three.

 

[Mediaman]

From chevron

"The ICE component of a hybrid electric vehicle shuts down while the battery powers the vehicle, the average engine oil temperature is approximately 25% lower than equivalent ICE.

Plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) require the ICE to run infrequently and at a lower temperature than a conventional ICE. When the engine oil does not reach its normal operating temperature, there is an increased chance of water condensation from the engine blowby and higher levels of fuel dilution into the crankcase, creating engine oil emulsion that can impair lubricant performance and raise the risk of rust, corrosion, and increased sludge formation"

So a possible maintenance step would be to go out on the highway once a month and take an hour drive on ice only….no hybrid/phev assistance. Basically take your horse out for a good gallop once a month.

 

[ELP_JC]

The HEV model shares the same fuel tank as all other ICE models (75L)

That figure of 75L or 19.8-gal is incorrect. Even the larger Palisade holds 71L or 18.8-gal. The Santa Fe size is 67L or 17.7 gal, even though some searches erroneously say the Palisade's size of 18.8 gallons. Still very decent, but wish it was 18.8, which would have been great... and 19.8 even better. Oh well.

 

[Thormaxx1234]

That figure of 75L or 19.8-gal is incorrect. Even the larger Palisade holds 71L or 18.8-gal. The Santa Fe size is 67L or 17.7 gal, even though some searches erroneously say the Palisade's size of 18.8 gallons. Still very decent, but wish it was 18.8, which would have been great... and 19.8 even better. Oh well.

OOps... my bad.

 

[Alexey]

you might be interested in newish 2023 Luxury trim Hybrid review
One thing I didnt know - it has automatic windshield wipers activation.

 

[Thormaxx1234]

This just came up on my fb:

grrrrrrrrr.

 

[Mediaman]

Some (and I bet it is a large majority) dealerships are just selling cancelled/declined orders instead of offering to the next person on the list. You should inquire what the price is. I think it will be higher than MSRP.

 

[Thormaxx1234]

Some (and I bet it is a large majority) dealerships are just selling cancelled/declined orders instead of offering to the next person on the list. You should inquire what the price is. I think it will be higher than MSRP.

In ontario it is illegal to sell above msrp.

 

[Mediaman]

In ontario it is illegal to sell above msrp.

but not illegal to bolt on a lot of hard adds (paint protection, key fob add ons, undercoat, etc etc) and lowball the trade in and the 0% is over 84 months which is just another way of hiding profit)

What is the difference between car salespeople found dead on the road and snakes found dead on the road? Skid marks in front of the snake.

 

[Thormaxx1234]

What is the difference between car salespeople found dead on the road and snakes found dead on the road? Skid marks in front of the snake.

ouch