The Tribute / Escape has a cage system that can be divided for 2 dogs to fit in. Just go here and look it's #'s 23 and 24. plus it protects the top of the rear seats.
Also I have a 2001 Ford Escape just go up a few posts and you will see it, and I've had to move 2 good sized antique dressers (1 with the rear seats up, and on with the seats down) one was a ladies, one a man's, I also got the mirrors and drawers in the escape with the dressers. I might look small from the outside but it does have a pretty good amount of room in it. This comming tues I have to use my uncle-in-laws van for a 5 peice PAhouse Entertainment center (have to use the van because the wife doesn't want me puting 50yr old furniture in a u-haul trailer), but the escape will be hauling the Wing chairs, tables, dining room set (8 piece), and some other goodies. I will try and take pictures and upload for you to see how well it holds it's own.
Santa Fe heavier body weight must do certain purposes, the add-on weights isn't free! Those people doesn't know Santa Fe they guess Hyundai can not build a light weight car, pls remmember they have built the almost the best small car in the world now (Elanta, Accent). The extra weight should be used for sound proofing & structure protection... etc. If Hyundai don't consider your safety, they can used more plastic/Fiberglass parts on the Santa Fe's body, but they don't they want the car solid & safe!
I almost treat the Shiftronic like the standard tranmission in SF, "Automatic" mode only use for the assisting purpose.
For those auto magazine SF's testing result commenting the Shiftronic "is not very useful(Motor Trend)", "Surprisingly the automatic mode is faster than the Shiftronic mode(Edmunds)", I totally disagree & oppose to them!
For the almost 9 months & 24,000km(trouble free) I've driven with my high-speed delivery XUV, I tested numerous times, I repeated "NUMEROUS TIMES", I guarantee the Shiftronic "Is very useful & is definitely faster than the automatic mode in real situations!"
It is true, when in "auto mode" the SF shifts to 2nd gear very fast, BUT in order to shift fr 2nd to 3rd it all depend on how hard u press the gas pedal (I have to reach at least 2500 RPM in order to shift successfully to 3rd gear). That is at least 1-2 second delay, u will definitely feel it when u going up a sloppy hill!
By using the Shiftronic (Sport Mode), even when go uphill I can shift from 2nd to 3rd gear in around 2000 RPM!
The Shiftronic claimed by Hyundai, is an average of .5 second compared to each manual stick shifting. Here .5 sec and there .5 sec faster shifting times the total will be a lot faster in performance. I used to drive in 120km/hr in 4th gear, when go to corning I just use my "SMALL FINGER" to shift down to 3nd gear or even 2nd gear, then a perfect cornering (While other cars have to apply brake/apply clutch to shift down manual stick(.5 sec more)/hardly shifts to "D3"/"D2" in some Automatic Tranmission (not practical in Escape/Mazda/"Even my Durango" steering column auto transmission stick).
The high RPM safety range in SF (can go to 6000 RPM w/o problem) also very helpful when u shift between 2nd/3rd/4th gears, u don't worry u will hurt your engine, the engine is build to last I really think it is! Otherwise they have to give me another engine soon!
As Hung's always mentioned, if u want to pass others, lamp signals first, then lower 1 gear (e.g. 4th-3rd or 3rd-2nd) press hard your gas pedal, don't be shy, harder, it won't hurt your powerful SF engine, u will pass your target car with no problem, unless they are doing dangerous driving(Want to hit your car & kill him/herself otherwise!)
That why I can beat even Celica in city racing, I really used to drive in Shiftronic. "Escape/Tribute" forget it, those light weight truck-base SUV just have starting power(too dangerous to me, I think will hit the cars in front of them easy if the car in front suddenly stop!), with their steering wheel columm transmission sticks, they won't be able to beat our experience SF "Shiftronic" drivers in highspeed cornering tests. I did upset an aggressively driving Escape SUV in the journey to Lake Louise, the Escape followed me almost 1 hour want to pass me but failed(We were racing in over 120+km/hr in up & down hill 2 lanes roads, I've 4 persons in my SF + 2 bicycles in rear, the Escape only have 1 young driver, the Escape finally disappeared behind my SF!)
To me the sluggish acceleration of the SF is just the 1-2 sec slower in 2nd to 3rd gear shifting. But fortunately the shiftronic can overcome the problem.
Of course if u don't try the Shiftronic mode, then u will become a very "GOOD DRIVER" in city (U definitely won't be able to drive aggressively, the police will love u!). But with the Shiftronic, if u're experienced, then u can easily be a really really "BAD BOY" like me!
I think I can use the Chinese chopsticks for the example. If u want to master the CHOPSTICKS, u got to practice more, Yes, u may successfully learn to use it in few minutes, but the first hour, u definitely won't be able to pick up food too well! The shiftronic sound easily to use, but to master it, I think we must spend few months time & encounter numerous situations(rain/snow/couples of thousand miles perhaps) before we can really feel the power of the "SHIFTRONIC"!
Sorry for the super long post, just want to clear up the wrong concept of sluggish performance put on Santa Fe by those non-SF owners.
**I am welcome to everyone who like to use my website for car discussion; I have no problem with it and I like it people to use if very often if they can***
I am writing here is "NOT" mean that I am backing up Bill Tung because it takes me about 3 days to get used to the Manual Shiftronic on the Santa Fe. I am finally doing lots of downshift as well now-a-day as because I have past the professional level and heading to Master level on using the Shiftronic now-a-day. It is hard for me to explain but I do ride my Santa Fe just like the Celica now-a-day even with the heavy cornerning making my Traction Control work for me at lower gear, etc............Everything Bill Tung said was correct for those who master in the Manual Shiftronic will understand it....I have mentioned about this many time before but seem like no one understand....I don't like to do argument....Learn it then you will understand.....
If Hyundai's small cars are "almost" the best, then which are the best?
Now, about the "bug or two" Ford has had. Steering wheels coming off are not just a bug, they are a very serious and potentially dangerous problem. More importantly, so is the fact that the problem passed all of Ford's quality control systems that are still in place today.
Also, it wasn't two, it was six.
Finally, it's not even an all new vehicle. In fact, with a chassis based on the 626, a transmission from the Contour, and an engine from the Taurus, it's hardly new at all.
At least they seem to have price and packaging right. Ford was always great at marketing.
Any mini-SUV with its folding seat function? On the long trip my wife just releasing herself in such a comfortable environment while listening CD! What Escape offer u?(How much u paid for all leather & how is the comforts & safe ratings?) U judge?
Never mind! No matter how good or bad the domestic-made car (not imported). Those government & coroporates still pick them because of low cost parts & easy to maintence. Look at the Poice car & Service truck/van almost 100% US made!
The top US seller mini-SUV doesn't mean is the best choice.
I do hope your wife didn't lie down while you were driving. I would think that any restraint systems (SRS, seatbelts) would be inneffective for someone lying prone. What does the owners manual say about that?
Quit going on about the steering wheel nut, it's old news, and not one came off. It was fixed very early, unlike when Toyota had a similar problem that affected 300,000 Camrys over several years of production. That was much more serious as there were hundreds of thousand lives in jeopardy.
Ever just wanted to sleep in the car while the wife went shopping and couldn't quite fall asleep cause your legs kept numbing up because you had all that pressure on them from trying to sleep on the partially reclining seat? LOL, did I lose anyone?
Yes, actually, both the CR-V and the Forester allow you to fold the front seat flat to meet flush with the rear like that. The CR-V actually leaves a far flatter surface than your Sante Fe.
tincup: that recall became personal when Ford pulled its Escape from the Edmunds Live test fleet, and I didn't get to test drive one.
It goes beyond that, though, when I read BlueOvalNews.com for a few days. Ford can be pretty scary. Ignorance is bliss, I guess.
Bill: you finally found something where the Sante Fe was actually top rated in its class. I'm surprised it took so long, actually.
The Hyundai Accent is Australia's Best Small Car for 2000, according to all six state road service motoring clubs in Australia.
The clubs, which have a combined membership of nearly seven million motorists more than a third of Australia's total population, voted Accent ahead of all other new small cars on the Australian market in 2000, not just newcomers released in the last 12 months.
...."the Toyota Corolla-sized Elantra recently won top marks for front-end crash results from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, beating rivals like Toyota's RAV 4 and Ford's Escape. Consumer Reports rates the Elantra as favorably as the Honda Civic....."
It's like deja-vu all over again. You just posted that link.
Did you really have to go all the way to Australia to find positive press on the Elantra?
I agree with that last article. Hyundai has made great strides, but they still have a ways to go. I'd start with a strict diet, and then add a healthy dose of exercise.
Anyone know if the Kia Sedona minivan is based on a Hyundai? It seems to offer great value, but it's overweight and gas mileage is below par for the class. Remind you of the Santa Fe, no?
What's with this then? I saw another article related to this where Hyundai asked the IIHS to retest the Elantra stating the leg injury results were not typical. In two re-tests of the Elantra, the knee injury was not repeated, however, the airbags deployed too slowly and the drivers head struck the steering wheel resulting in a probability of "significant" head injury.
Juice: May be the weigh in the van also contribute to the sound proof & body structure protection which I don't mind a little more on lower acceleration & gas comsumption. My comfort & safety first!
Thank you for telling me Santa Fe is not the only SUV with the fancy front seat flatten feature, even I don't know until somebody in the Santa Fe club mention recently, I think Hyundai catalogs should included these feature(may be more.. which has find out by the SF owners)
I think the TIME article not saying Elantra had a top mark on crash test, just Santa Fe.
But it said the Elantra is as favor as the Honda Civic!
I don't know much about Hyundai small car because I only interested on SUV! But I think for the past 20 years of export cars experience, they should be able to make very reliable small cars if you pay them fair enough!
had the BIG front seat that would lay flat and match the back seat, plus the back seat (with mounts removed) could lay ftal and give you access to the truck area for alot larger sleeping area. It's not a new idea.
This is a great feature! But I'm confused--how do you do that? You don't just recline the front seat and there you are, do you? Are there other parts you have to move around?
I take it that this is not possible on the Escape...?
Hey, our 1976 Dodge Monaco wagon had a rear seat which folded forward. You could then lay 4X8 sheets of plywood, sheetrock, or paneling in there (we did them all). You can also haul about 3/4 ton of bricks (did that). You can also haul a family of 6 and a dog and a boat (did that). You can also put 2 or 3 people back there with room to sleep (did that). It also had a 400ci V8 motor which cranked comfortably at 80-100 cruising speed. It was safe; I actually hit an oak tree and did no damage to the car. It also did OK offroad, but not much clearance. About the only drawback was the rear tailgate had some problems, and it was a gas hog.
Funny thing is the old Elantra had a better crash test result than the new one. That's not progress. Back to the drawing board.
Bill: I don't buy the extra sound insulation argument. Road noise is still a common complaint with many new Hyundais. They just are not weight efficient.
Many light materials are also very strong. They need to invest more in these technologies.
Diploid: the "you" in "your Santa Fe" was Bill, not you.
Look at Japanese Car as well: Nissan, Mitsubitshi, and Mazda! They are no better than Hyundai as well. Look at the latest model of the Hyundai car now and then judge for yourself. The XG300 and Santa Fe was the top model car in US and that should take considerated. The Sonata did very well too and not too bad either...Lower class car will not do very well and therefore they offer the price very competitive. The Civic and the Bettle was the best in small class car but compare the price with the small Hyundai car and see which it more affordable...
**A few days ago I went to played basketball with my friends! I parked my Santa Fe on the parking lot and then comes these husband and wife was driving a older model of Forester and parked next to my Santa Fe! They went out and stopped me and asked me what type of car is that and I told them it was Hyundai Santa Fe. No hesitation they ask me how the quality; heard that Hyundai is a very bad quality. I just told them that this car have a slightly better crash test than the Forester and plus cheaper and bigger. The ride is very smooth as well as I can drive A/T or Manual (built with Porsch and BMW transmission). I just told them to go on-line and find out more detail about Hyundai now-a-day because they are very very different compare to the past...I told them that I personally can afford the Mercedes, BMW, and Lexus but after my studied I choose Hyundai...They went on and say thank you and they will be looking forward to study about Hyundai and even told me that if everything as if I was saying then they will change their old Forester model to the Santa Fe...No Kidding..
I look at a Japanese manufacturer (Subaru), and I find consistently good scores. You just have to look a little harder. :-)
Remember, the Forester had slightly better scores in the head injury category, which to me is a lot more important than the structural scores Hyundai did slightly better on.
I'd much rather have damage to my Forester vs. a head injury. I guess you love your Santa Fe so much you'd rather protect it more. If so your priorities are questionable.
Hey! People ask me question and I just answer them. I think you guy are the one who are defensive about the car. I told the people to go and study about Hyundai. I did not tell them go ahead and buy Hyundai....You guys are all hard headed of every opinion I wrote...
Yes! That's right! Some people still does not believe it but I have own 3 cars right now. I still have the 1999 RAV4-L and 2001 Sienna XLE but I have sold the 1997 RAV4 for the Santa Fe. I will soon change the 1999 RAV4-L to the Santa Fe as well. I bought the 1999 RAV4-L for my sister (she is still in college). My sister really loves the RAV4 in 1999 but now she really like the Santa Fe much much better. I will soon change it for her. I bought the 2001 Toyota Sienna Van for my dad because that was the best Van in the market; especially the crash test and I want my parents to be safe...I am talking about my own parents who lived in my house in Sacramento...
Sorry, but I subjected myself to reading all of Hung's posts on this topic and my head still hasn't healed from repeated banging of it on my monitor. Disgust may be too strong of a word and wasn't my intention. Shall we say a distinct dislike of his writing style (language barrier not withstanding) and gall at the lack of his objectiveness! There....I feel better. :-)
Sorry to hear about your injuries. But there are certain rules that need to be followed in Town Hall, one of the most important being never read certain messages without the proper saftey gear. This should help you out next time: http://www.therupturedduck.com/WebPages/Otherhdgr/hg43.htm
Your entitled to your own opinion about the Santa Fe, just like I'm entitled to mine about the Escape. But I too could have bought everyone of the vehicles you named, and probally then some. I don't judge my character on the vehicle I drive (nor anybody else's) and I don't judge by people having or not having money, To each their own. But you on the other hand see to try every chance you get to rub peoples nose in that your Santa Fe is better then god himself . I know every vehicle has it's own special nitche but holy spit batman give it a rest. If you have the money, then good for you. Each manufacter has it's good and bad cars ( pinto, gremlin, tucker, delorean, etc, etc, ) If you want to put your car up on the pedistal then good for you (just hope you got a union to build the support stucture). I am happy for you that you got a good vehicle and wish you lots of luck with it and hope it lasts along time.
But I do believe that everyone's entitled to his or her opinion. And you everyone else is free to respond, whether it's in a negative or positive way. But that should be done with civility and maturity.
hello everyone...this is my first official post!...looks like there's a good discussion going on here...
i own a black gls santa fe fwd, and i love it! i have a little under 2000 miles on it, and so far so good...
although i own my santa fe, i do appreciate other vehicles in it's class...i like the new rav 4 body style, and the new escapes are very cool...i've seen the jeep liberty's on line, and i gotta tell ya, i was impressed by what i saw...
bottom line, if i had the cash, i'd buy one of each, but since i don't, i had to make a decision...and i chose the santa fe, simply because i liked it better...it's as simple as that...
1 of the reasons for me to purchase Santa Fe for my company AWD delivery vehicle is because I don't expect Hyundai will charge me any $$$ for its brandname.
I know a famous brandname is costly!
I did work in a food manufacturing company many years ago, I saw they packed the same product into different packages, the famous brandname package cost 30% more than the no-name package, actually all the packages contained the same things made in the same manufacturer.
Can anybody here tell me which famous automakers don't markup their car price because the famous/popular of their brandname?
Another reason I chose Santa Fe is because I want to take advantage of this try to surviving automaker efforts.
I strongly believe all automakers know exactly what they are making, they markup exactly what they have built (plus its famous brandname value)! All automakers can have the technology of other company by highpaying to hire the engineers from the other automakers, & all excellent engines can disassemble to investigate/examine. It won't take long to fully understand how it works. Remember those are obvious thing not secret code/assemble machine language. Can do it or not just depend on how rich the automaker. Glad Hyundai is supported by the Korea government like Ford supported by USA government. With its relatively low labour costs, I feel Santa Fe is the top notch in compact SUV catagory(Thank you for placing Santa Fe in mini uti catagory, SF should match medium Uti like RX300).
Of course I also considered for so many other factors before I picked SF! Nobody said SF is the best mini uti but just overall the best choice in mini uti in their opinions.
Sorry to show u guys Santa Fe is ranked the top mini SUV in carpoint. Hope it won't disappoint to the enjoyment of your non-Hyundai SUV, hope Hyundai power-train will completely failed soon, so all of your anti-Hyundai guys will LOL & feeling better!
Remember nothing can stop a happy & satisfy costomer to proud of what he/she had purchased.
What so important to the SF headrest injury rating?
The little bit low mark in SF headrest may be different if the driver seat was adjusted in different settings (remember the driver seat can adjust manually). Bear in mind if not the headrest deducted marks in the test, then Santa Fe will become the "BEST PICK" in this catagory, that is not what you guys want to see (if my guess is right)! The size of the dummy is also important, because the height of the person affects the head position.(if u don't adjust the headrest to match your head, then u know what happen?)
That Trib looks good, except the 18.2mpg. They're probably lead foots, though. I still find the Tribute more elegant than the Escape.
Not headrest injury, HEAD injury. Forester had better head/neck injury measures, while the SF's safety cage held up better. To me, the former is clearly more important.
Tony: maybe Hyundai should make those very same leather helmets standard to prevent those head injuries? ;-)
The SF needs about 50hp and about a decade of proven reliability and customer service to match the Lexus RX300. Plus luxury, content, style, ... the list goes on.
Base on all you anti-SF guys opinions, Santa Fe is a No-No SUV in the mini catagory. some said "Ugly look", some said "Poor performance", some said "Unreliable", some said "Cheap",.....
& The Hyundai name is sooooooo BADDDDDDDD! HA HA HA. U guys all guess Hyundai will break down soon, right? Why not posted there to tell them Hyundai have a veryyyyyyy Badddddd history, & tell Santa Fe buyers abandon their SF & new buyers to stop looking on that poor name XUV????
Do you guys think other already well established automakers can give you FREE quality products like Hyundai now? (I don't mean SF give you free, but at least very reasonable price with the long warranty)
Comments
http://www.partscheap.com/forda.htm
Also I have a 2001 Ford Escape just go up a few posts and you will see it, and I've had to move 2 good sized antique dressers (1 with the rear seats up, and on with the seats down) one was a ladies, one a man's, I also got the mirrors and drawers in the escape with the dressers. I might look small from the outside but it does have a pretty good amount of room in it. This comming tues I have to use my uncle-in-laws van for a 5 peice PAhouse Entertainment center (have to use the van because the wife doesn't want me puting 50yr old furniture in a u-haul trailer), but the escape will be hauling the Wing chairs, tables, dining room set (8 piece), and some other goodies. I will try and take pictures and upload for you to see how well it holds it's own.
Odie
I know Subaru has the cargo/dog guard, but they don't have the cargo divider.
Bob
http://www.y2kcatalogs.com/santafe/
Click on "In Trunk" on the left side and then click "Cargo Organiser"
This is a link directly from Hung's website.
Hope you don't mind, Hung.
I almost treat the Shiftronic like the standard tranmission in SF, "Automatic" mode only use for the assisting purpose.
For those auto magazine SF's testing result commenting the Shiftronic "is not very useful(Motor Trend)", "Surprisingly the automatic mode is faster than the Shiftronic mode(Edmunds)", I totally disagree & oppose to them!
For the almost 9 months & 24,000km(trouble free) I've driven with my high-speed delivery XUV, I tested numerous times, I repeated "NUMEROUS TIMES", I guarantee the Shiftronic "Is very useful & is definitely faster than the automatic mode in real situations!"
It is true, when in "auto mode" the SF shifts to 2nd gear very fast, BUT in order to shift fr 2nd to 3rd it all depend on how hard u press the gas pedal (I have to reach at least 2500 RPM in order to shift successfully to 3rd gear). That is at least 1-2 second delay, u will definitely feel it when u going up a sloppy hill!
By using the Shiftronic (Sport Mode), even when go uphill I can shift from 2nd to 3rd gear in around 2000 RPM!
The Shiftronic claimed by Hyundai, is an average of .5 second compared to each manual stick shifting. Here .5 sec and there .5 sec faster shifting times the total will be a lot faster in performance. I used to drive in 120km/hr in 4th gear, when go to corning I just use my "SMALL FINGER" to shift down to 3nd gear or even 2nd gear, then a perfect cornering (While other cars have to apply brake/apply clutch to shift down manual stick(.5 sec more)/hardly shifts to "D3"/"D2" in some Automatic Tranmission (not practical in Escape/Mazda/"Even my Durango" steering column auto transmission stick).
The high RPM safety range in SF (can go to 6000 RPM w/o problem) also very helpful when u shift between 2nd/3rd/4th gears, u don't worry u will hurt your engine, the engine is build to last I really think it is! Otherwise they have to give me another engine soon!
As Hung's always mentioned, if u want to pass others, lamp signals first, then lower 1 gear (e.g. 4th-3rd or 3rd-2nd) press hard your gas pedal, don't be shy, harder, it won't hurt your powerful SF engine, u will pass your target car with no problem, unless they are doing dangerous driving(Want to hit your car & kill him/herself otherwise!)
That why I can beat even Celica in city racing, I really used to drive in Shiftronic. "Escape/Tribute" forget it, those light weight truck-base SUV just have starting power(too dangerous to me, I think will hit the cars in front of them easy if the car in front suddenly stop!), with their steering wheel columm transmission sticks, they won't be able to beat our experience SF "Shiftronic" drivers in highspeed cornering tests. I did upset an aggressively driving Escape SUV in the journey to Lake Louise, the Escape followed me almost 1 hour want to pass me but failed(We were racing in over 120+km/hr in up & down hill 2 lanes roads, I've 4 persons in my SF + 2 bicycles in rear, the Escape only have 1 young driver, the Escape finally disappeared behind my SF!)
To me the sluggish acceleration of the SF is just the 1-2 sec slower in 2nd to 3rd gear shifting. But fortunately the shiftronic can overcome the problem.
Of course if u don't try the Shiftronic mode, then u will become a very "GOOD DRIVER" in city (U definitely won't be able to drive aggressively, the police will love u!). But with the Shiftronic, if u're experienced, then u can easily be a really really "BAD BOY" like me!
I think I can use the Chinese chopsticks for the example.
If u want to master the CHOPSTICKS, u got to practice more, Yes, u may successfully learn to use it in few minutes, but the first hour, u definitely won't be able to pick up food too well! The shiftronic sound easily to use, but to master it, I think we must spend few months time & encounter numerous situations(rain/snow/couples of thousand miles perhaps) before we can really feel the power of the "SHIFTRONIC"!
Sorry for the super long post, just want to clear up the wrong concept of sluggish performance put on Santa Fe by those non-SF owners.
I am writing here is "NOT" mean that I am backing up Bill Tung because it takes me about 3 days to get used to the Manual Shiftronic on the Santa Fe. I am finally doing lots of downshift as well now-a-day as because I have past the professional level and heading to Master level on using the Shiftronic now-a-day. It is hard for me to explain but I do ride my Santa Fe just like the Celica now-a-day even with the heavy cornerning making my Traction Control work for me at lower gear, etc............Everything Bill Tung said was correct for those who master in the Manual Shiftronic will understand it....I have mentioned about this many time before but seem like no one understand....I don't like to do argument....Learn it then you will understand.....
Now, about the "bug or two" Ford has had. Steering wheels coming off are not just a bug, they are a very serious and potentially dangerous problem. More importantly, so is the fact that the problem passed all of Ford's quality control systems that are still in place today.
Also, it wasn't two, it was six.
Finally, it's not even an all new vehicle. In fact, with a chassis based on the 626, a transmission from the Contour, and an engine from the Taurus, it's hardly new at all.
At least they seem to have price and packaging right. Ford was always great at marketing.
-juice
Any mini-SUV with its folding seat function?
On the long trip my wife just releasing herself in such a comfortable environment while listening CD! What Escape offer u?(How much u paid for all leather & how is the comforts & safe ratings?) U judge?
Never mind! No matter how good or bad the domestic-made car (not imported). Those government & coroporates still pick them because of low cost parts & easy to maintence. Look at the Poice car & Service truck/van almost 100% US made!
The top US seller mini-SUV doesn't mean is the best choice.
Anyway, that picture is marvelous.
tincup: that recall became personal when Ford pulled its Escape from the Edmunds Live test fleet, and I didn't get to test drive one.
It goes beyond that, though, when I read BlueOvalNews.com for a few days. Ford can be pretty scary. Ignorance is bliss, I guess.
Bill: you finally found something where the Sante Fe was actually top rated in its class. I'm surprised it took so long, actually.
-juice
..."the Elantra came seventh in the Compact Car category, ahead of the Toyota Corolla, VW Jetta (Bora in Europe) and Subaru Impreza"....
http://www.autoweb.com.au/start_/showall_/id_HYU/doc_hyu0011131/article.html
The Hyundai Accent is Australia's Best Small Car for 2000, according to all six state road service motoring clubs in Australia.
The clubs, which have a combined membership of nearly seven million motorists more than a third of Australia's total population, voted Accent ahead of all other new small cars on the Australian market in 2000, not just newcomers released in the last 12 months.
http://www.autoweb.com.au/start_/showall_/id_HYU/doc_hyuhyu0102191/article.html
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101010716-166702,00.html
...."the Toyota Corolla-sized Elantra recently won top marks for front-end crash results from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, beating rivals like Toyota's RAV 4 and Ford's Escape. Consumer Reports rates the Elantra as favorably as the Honda Civic....."
Did you really have to go all the way to Australia to find positive press on the Elantra?
I agree with that last article. Hyundai has made great strides, but they still have a ways to go. I'd start with a strict diet, and then add a healthy dose of exercise.
Anyone know if the Kia Sedona minivan is based on a Hyundai? It seems to offer great value, but it's overweight and gas mileage is below par for the class. Remind you of the Santa Fe, no?
-juice
What I want to say (Accent & Elantra) should be "almost one of the best 2001 small car in the world" instead of "the best"!
http://www.highwaysafety.org/vehicle_ratings/ce/html/0103.htm
What's with this then? I saw another article related to this where Hyundai asked the IIHS to retest the Elantra stating the leg injury results were not typical. In two re-tests of the Elantra, the knee injury was not repeated, however, the airbags deployed too slowly and the drivers head struck the steering wheel resulting in a probability of "significant" head injury.
May be the weigh in the van also contribute to the sound proof & body structure protection which I don't mind a little more on lower acceleration & gas comsumption. My comfort & safety first!
Thank you for telling me Santa Fe is not the only SUV with the fancy front seat flatten feature, even I don't know until somebody in the Santa Fe club mention recently, I think Hyundai catalogs should included these feature(may be more.. which has find out by the SF owners)
But it said the Elantra is as favor as the Honda Civic!
I don't know much about Hyundai small car because I only interested on SUV! But I think for the past 20 years of export cars experience, they should be able to make very reliable small cars if you pay them fair enough!
I think in order to make the seat like mattress, we need a few extra pillows(I prefer fold down the back seats).
When driving it can only serve as a leg support or Lazy boy chair (Seating in the back seat).
Odie
I don't own a Santa Fe, I was just commenting on the picture from billtung.
I take it that this is not possible on the Escape...?
Bill: I don't buy the extra sound insulation argument. Road noise is still a common complaint with many new Hyundais. They just are not weight efficient.
Many light materials are also very strong. They need to invest more in these technologies.
Diploid: the "you" in "your Santa Fe" was Bill, not you.
-juice
**A few days ago I went to played basketball with my friends! I parked my Santa Fe on the parking lot and then comes these husband and wife was driving a older model of Forester and parked next to my Santa Fe! They went out and stopped me and asked me what type of car is that and I told them it was Hyundai Santa Fe. No hesitation they ask me how the quality; heard that Hyundai is a very bad quality. I just told them that this car have a slightly better crash test than the Forester and plus cheaper and bigger. The ride is very smooth as well as I can drive A/T or Manual (built with Porsch and BMW transmission). I just told them to go on-line and find out more detail about Hyundai now-a-day because they are very very different compare to the past...I told them that I personally can afford the Mercedes, BMW, and Lexus but after my studied I choose Hyundai...They went on and say thank you and they will be looking forward to study about Hyundai and even told me that if everything as if I was saying then they will change their old Forester model to the Santa Fe...No Kidding..
Stephen
???
Remember, the Forester had slightly better scores in the head injury category, which to me is a lot more important than the structural scores Hyundai did slightly better on.
I'd much rather have damage to my Forester vs. a head injury. I guess you love your Santa Fe so much you'd rather protect it more. If so your priorities are questionable.
-juice
Bragging alittle huh Hung?
I just couldn't help but laughing my rear off at that statement.
Odie
Stephen
http://www.motortrend.com/july01/tribute/tribute_f.html
What next, you planning to sue him?
Odie
i own a black gls santa fe fwd, and i love it! i have a little under 2000 miles on it, and so far so good...
although i own my santa fe, i do appreciate other vehicles in it's class...i like the new rav 4 body style, and the new escapes are very cool...i've seen the jeep liberty's on line, and i gotta tell ya, i was impressed by what i saw...
bottom line, if i had the cash, i'd buy one of each, but since i don't, i had to make a decision...and i chose the santa fe, simply because i liked it better...it's as simple as that...
Stephen
I know a famous brandname is costly!
I did work in a food manufacturing company many years ago, I saw they packed the same product into different packages, the famous brandname package cost 30% more than the no-name package, actually all the packages contained the same things made in the same manufacturer.
Can anybody here tell me which famous automakers don't markup their car price because the famous/popular of their brandname?
Another reason I chose Santa Fe is because I want to take advantage of this try to surviving automaker efforts.
I strongly believe all automakers know exactly what they are making, they markup exactly what they have built (plus its famous brandname value)! All automakers can have the technology of other company by highpaying to hire the engineers from the other automakers, & all excellent engines can disassemble to investigate/examine. It won't take long to fully understand how it works. Remember those are obvious thing not secret code/assemble machine language. Can do it or not just depend on how rich the automaker. Glad Hyundai is supported by the Korea government like Ford supported by USA government. With its relatively low labour costs, I feel Santa Fe is the top notch in compact SUV catagory(Thank you for placing Santa Fe in mini uti catagory, SF should match medium Uti like RX300).
Of course I also considered for so many other factors before I picked SF! Nobody said SF is the best mini uti but just overall the best choice in mini uti in their opinions.
Unwilling to listen to qualify Santa Fe owners voices, please read this http://carpoint.msn.com/jump/windowshopping/jncbswin_4020223.asp
Sorry to show u guys Santa Fe is ranked the top mini SUV in carpoint. Hope it won't disappoint to the enjoyment of your non-Hyundai SUV, hope Hyundai power-train will completely failed soon, so all of your anti-Hyundai guys will LOL & feeling better!
Remember nothing can stop a happy & satisfy costomer to proud of what he/she had purchased.
The little bit low mark in SF headrest may be different if the driver seat was adjusted in different settings (remember the driver seat can adjust manually). Bear in mind if not the headrest deducted marks in the test, then Santa Fe will become the "BEST PICK" in this catagory, that is not what you guys want to see (if my guess is right)!
The size of the dummy is also important, because the height of the person affects the head position.(if u don't adjust the headrest to match your head, then u know what happen?)
Same with Saab, I'm sure they are great cars but again, if I have to think of crying every time I see the name, then no go!!
Not headrest injury, HEAD injury. Forester had better head/neck injury measures, while the SF's safety cage held up better. To me, the former is clearly more important.
Tony: maybe Hyundai should make those very same leather helmets standard to prevent those head injuries? ;-)
The SF needs about 50hp and about a decade of proven reliability and customer service to match the Lexus RX300. Plus luxury, content, style, ... the list goes on.
-juice
Base on all you anti-SF guys opinions, Santa Fe is a No-No SUV in the mini catagory. some said "Ugly look", some said "Poor performance", some said "Unreliable", some said "Cheap",.....
& The Hyundai name is sooooooo BADDDDDDDD! HA HA HA. U guys all guess Hyundai will break down soon, right? Why not posted there to tell them Hyundai have a veryyyyyyy Badddddd history, & tell Santa Fe buyers abandon their SF & new buyers to stop looking on that poor name XUV????
Do you guys think other already well established automakers can give you FREE quality products like Hyundai now? (I don't mean SF give you free, but at least very reasonable price with the long warranty)
Nobody want to response???
Can we lurch out of the gutter and onto the curb now?
Steve
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