So as the questions states, im thinking of buying the santa fe xl limited in Ontario, and having never owned a Hyundai; i was just wondering what peoples thoughts are on owning the vehicle.
What do you guys likes/dislikes?
Annoyances that have come up over the period of ownership?
Any major issues that have arisen?
And most importantly would you recommend this vehicle why or why not?
Other vehicles i'm considering are the Buick Enclave, Lincoln MKT and Ford Explorer
I came from 2009 Toyota Highlander, which was a decent vehicle, but I much prefer the aesthetics of the XL over it. And I have had much fewer problems with my XL in the almost 2 years of ownership than I had with my Highlander. My major gripes have been with Hyundai remote starter they installed. The first few batches were buggy and it took a while to get that resolved.
Like every brand, there are bugs and lemons. Even the luxury brands have more than their share of complaints with flaws and issues.
Can't say anything about the other vehicles except that I did test drive an Explorer when looking for a replacement for my Highlander and must say it was gutless as sin. I kept checking the rear view to verify that i wasn't pulling a trailer. Immediately turned me off.
We have a 2014 GLS AWD. So far we love it, it has plenty of power and rides pretty well. Overall it is pretty quiet also. We traded a 2004 Lexus GX for it. For the price of the Santa Fe you get a lot of convenience features / safety features. We average about 21mpg for our driving, which is daily on mountainous roads. On the highway of course we get better. We have about 15,000 miles and no significant problems. One issue was the bluetooth not working correctly, the head unit of the radio / navigation system was replaced under warranty and it solved the problem. No annoyances with it have popped up for us yet. I would recommend driving all the vehicles you are considering but I would recommend the Santa Fe based on our experience.
I test drove the 2013 Explorer and I was not happy about performance compared to my previous 2007 SantaFE. The 2013 SantaFe is way better than the 2007 version. It is roomy, classy and versatile. My wife uses it for taking the kids to schools, shopping... I go windsurfing, camping, skiing. I have also pulled a 19ft travel trailer a couple of times. It suits nicely a wide range of activities. We have also been in long trips, like 2,000 miles within a week.
A friend recently got the 2015 highlander, we do windsurfing together. The first thing he noticed is that the roof crossbars are fixed. That is not so good when you want to carry long items, like the windsurf board, on the roof. And the 2nd row on HL does not split 40/20/40. That is not so good wen you want to carry long items inside the car, like mast and sails...
The only complain I have so far, in 24,000 miles, are:
1. the red paint scratches too easy.
2. a rear creaking noise. I took me 5 trips to the dealer to get it fixed. No big deal, as long as you are polite with the dealer, understand it is not always easy to find the root cause of issues, they will try their best to fix it under warranty.
If I had to buy an SUV today that would be a SantaFe again, maybe just not red ;-)
The thing I don't like on my 2013 LWB is that the rear suspension can be rather jarring going over potholes and railroad tracks. Otherwise I like it and as a others have said, there is no perfect vehicle. Maybe it's been improved for 2015.
I did test drive the latest Highlander but throttle response on the highway was lacking and it was just way more money ($6,000 more) than the SF; with the SF the dealer was willing to negotiate whereas no such luck with Toyota.
I did not consider the Enclave and Explorer as they are bigger than I need.
We bought the 2014 SF Limited Ultimate... We love it (8000 miles). My only real gripe is the door armrests are not that comfortable. Otherwise, it's an excellent SUV with tons of features plus in central Florida I average 27 MPG -- lots of highway . I would buy it again without hesitation. Best of luck in making the correct choice for your location (AWD?).
We just traded our 2013 Santa Fe Sport on a new '15 Santa Fe XL premium. Really surprised how much different the XL felt, much more refined in every respect. Definitely a much stronger engine as well. Primarily bought it because we now have a need for more towing capacity.
This is our 5th Hyundai and while I look at other cars I keep coming back to Hyundai. We have yet to have any issues with any of these cars other than the odd recall, definitely the most trouble free cars I've ever owned.
I was pretty miffed about the gas mileage BS that went on, but considering at the time pretty much all car companies were exaggerating their mileage it was not just a Hyundai deal, though they did at least do something to make it right, sort of.
Great deals from the company and the dealer. Looking for a toy car now, the Genesis Coupe RSpec is high on the list. Hard to beat the value and quality of these cars.
Bought ours in December 2014. Have really enjoyed it so far. Great vehicles. I went in to the dealership to test drive a SFSport. I really didn't like either 4 cylinder engine so my salesman suggested the SF V6. I told him that it was too big and that I wasn't interested. 2 weeks later I signed the papers on a car I had no intentions of buying. Happy ever since!
I've been researching these as well.
For Buick Enclave in particular I suggest you do more detailed research and be sure in 2015 they fixed carbonizing of the intake valve on their GDI engine (likely not due to inherent engine design). And also the issue with a Wavy Plate in transmission. That metal plate, which costs maybe $1, shatters and destroys the rest of the transmission. The issue existed on older models, so not sure it they fixed it in 2015.
Hey Guys,
I bought a 2015 XL Limited in Iron Frost 3 weeks ago and just waiting delivery. I requested a factory order on purpose as I have always factory ordered my vehicles. I cannot wait till I get it and the dealer invoice pricing and the 0% finance was a no brainer!
We ordered ours as well a few weeks ago. It's delayed because last minute, we decided we wanted the saddled color seats instead of the black one.
We ordered the white XL limited. We currently have a 2007 Tucson. No major issues with this vehicle so we decided to pull the trigger and order a Santa Fe.
Yeah, the dealer invoice and 0% was a factor as well.
If you have children of any age you will quickly realize Hyundai forgot to add cupholders in models with the 2nd row captain chairs. Really inexcusable.
7 seaters are fine. The 7-seaters have a small console in the backrest in the middle that folds down between the two outboard seats, and there you will find two cup holders. Only the 6-seaters lack proper holders. There is a separate thread about this where people have looked for or found options, including buying a small console to place between the two captains chairs.
My biggest complaint has nothing to do with the vehicle. I love the car I purchased, a 2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Limited however, it turns out that Hyundai USA is downright incompetent. Be warned, that if you are considering purchasing a Hyundai try giving their customer service line a call to get a feel for what your in for. Oh, and absolutely positively make sure you get an owners manual!!! Just trust me, when you drive off the lot you are on your own.
I also have to agree, Hyundai Canada customer service is also non existent. Having to have oil changes every 5k is a definite pain where as a Ford is every 8k My biggest complaint is the consent up sell at the dealer when it goes in for oil changes.Price wise the Santa Fe XL is a good deal and is a good looking vehicle. My wife luvs the vehicle ,but is definitely getting tired of the repeated trips to the dealer for oil and warranty issues The downside to buying a Hyundai is when you want to trade it in,unless you are staying with the Hyundai brand
This is my first and will definitely be my last Hyundai.Customer service and dealer relationship are very important to me.I was also lead to believe their warranty was a 5 year bumper to bumper, only 3 year on electronic issues .Will definitely be looking at the all new Edge,Explorer and Lincoln when it is paid off
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