Honda CR-V vs Hyundai Santa Fe

bokonon3

We've had good luck with the reliability of our 2007 Santa Fe (which is an early production model - one of the first run of production out of the US plant. We took a gamble).

The only problem we had in 35K miles is a faulty airbag sensor on the passenger side ... which Hyundai replaced. There is also an annoying issue with the black paint on the grille being vulnerable to stone chips ... which we get a lot here in Colorado. And I upgraded the stock stereo speakers, which were only adequate. But everything else has been great. It is a highly competent, robust, well engineered car. Or quasi SUV. Whatever the heck it is.

We were reminded of its good qualities when we took the Santa Fe up into the Rocky Mountains for a weekend of skiing. It charged up the steep hills and down the twisty roads, and never ran out of power or lost its composure - even on the steepest grades or on icy roads. And it has terrific brakes. Really, really good brakes. Being able to manually shift the automatic transmission is a great feature as well. Our car has the 3.5 liter V6, and we averaged 24 mpg overall for the trip.

My other car is a generation 7 Honda Accord - which has been a pretty good car, except for the usual symphony of interior rattles that those cars suffer (including a snare drum-like noise from the rear package shelf that drives me nuts). I switch back and forth between the Hyundai's controls and the Honda's all the time - and both have their benefits and weaknesses. I prefer the Honda's radio controls, and prefer the Hyundai's HVAC controls (which are bog simple).

Does your rental have the 4 cylinder or 6 cylinder engine?

ecotrklvr

My rental was 4-cyl AWD Model. It had 16k miles, and was solid - no squeaks or rattles. Very impressive for a rental car.

As far as power is concerned, I had 4 good-size guy in there most of the week, and it had no problem cruising at 75 mph on LA area freeways. Biggest guy was me - 275 - smallest was 175. Sure, it downshifted going up hills (like the 241 Tollway from the 91 to South County), but the engine remained smooth all the way up. Thanks to the 6 speeds in the Auto....

I just read an interesting post on the Borg-Warner AWD system. Their ITM 3e uses the same technology as they supply to Porsche. Not sure I need it here, but reviews on other sites are positive. Just my $0.02.

marig0107

thanks for the laugh. Don't think I'm at stodgy yet, but it's fast approaching. Hey, it's a nice enough car, just not what I was used to, and I tend to imprint with cars so if it wasn't second nature right away, it didn't give me warm and fuzzies. Still a good ride, but happy to be back in mine! Well learning mine anyway. The whole blue tooth thing threw me. :shades:

shelly2988

Hello,
I am a new driver and this is my first car. I am IN LOVE with the 2008 Pilot however want to start off "small" before I get to it! I have been interested in the Honda CRV 2000-2005 but have been recently introduced to the Hyundai Santa Fe. I must say I am interested in the Santa Fe as well. Honda's are great cars and want to make sure I am getting the same great quality if not better in the Santa Fe. Any suggestions on model, make, style? I also would like some help in determining things such as engine, wheels, the whole nine yards!

Thanks

Jay469

Most people don't know this but in the 90s Toyota was so confident that they invited anyone to come to there facilities to see how they made vehicles, hyundai sent a bunch of there engineers and designers to gather information then took all the best qualities and improved on them, now days whether you like it or not hyundais are some of if not the best vehicles on the road and reasonably priced, I've had several Hondas and hyundais plus I've been a mechanic for 15 years and although Hondas are still very good I found the hyundais more reliable more durable plus there cheaper and easier to fix.
I bought a 2006 santa fe with the 4cyl, manual transmission for $500 it has 450,000km and it just won't die, I've tried to kill it on several occasions.