I had the opportunity to test drive the 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport for a week. As always, all opinions are my own.
Hyundai is a car brand that I never really gave much thought to until we drove my mother in law’s Hyundai Accent for a bit. I was immediately smitten with its sleek design and how well it handled. I found an even deeper love for the brand when I learned all about Hyundai during the Chicago Auto Show?and last week, I had the pleasure of driving the 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport and my whole family was impressed!
We took a quick weekend road trip, with no specific destination in mind other than the open road that fell before us. We ended up in Dubuque, Iowa, crossing the huge bridge on Hwy 151, which was pretty awesome! From there, we traveled?along the Great River Road for a couple of hours and stopped?in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin for the night.
I cannot boast enough about how well the?2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport handled during this trip. If you’re unfamiliar with The Great River Road, it’s actually a 2,000 mile stretch of road that runs along the Mississippi River and through 10 states. Certain portions of this road, like the part that we traveled are designated as a national scenic byway and we drove between high and low altitudes and twists and turns the entire time. It was pretty amazing and the scenery was just breathtaking!
The?2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport took it all in like a champ and provided great acceleration while going up the hills and the brakes were wonderful as I relied on them often going down the hills. The steering and suspension is super snappy, allowing a nice, smooth ride through it all. This is definitely an ideal vehicle for a road trip because the back seat is spacious enough to comfortably fit 3 teenagers and has a nice armrest divider with cup holders for when there is only one or two passengers in back. The back storage space was plentiful for our luggage and a cooler, with plenty of room to spare. The hands-free smart liftgate with auto open was quite the handy feature for this trip too.
I just love the Storm Blue color along with the?2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport’s sporty and sleek design, all of which make it really appealing to the eye. But in fact, it’s aerodynamic design isn’t only for looks because it can also help improve MPG, which means less stops to refuel on the road.
I’ve got a thing for wheels and the 19 inch alloy wheels are pretty sexy. The huge panoramic sunroof was pretty sweet, allowing for ample sunlight to shine through and lots of fresh air when we wanted it. We went through a lot of areas with rocky walls during our trip too, so the kids really enjoyed seeing them through the sunroof, in addition to out the side windows.
Some of the inside features include:
- Prox Key with Push Button Start
- 8-inch Touchscreen navigation system with Android Auto
- AM/FM/HD Radio/SiriusXM/CD/MP3 w/ Infinity Premium Audio with QuantumLogic Surround Sound & Clari-FI(TM) Music Restoration Tech
- Sirius XM w/ 90 Day Trial
- Dual Automatic Temperature Control w/ CleanAir Ionizer
- Multi-View Camera System
- Integrated Memory System for Driver Seat
Of course, we all know that features aren’t everything because safety and powertrain mean the most when it comes to driving a vehicle and that’s why Hyundai stepped it up with advanced safety features like Vehicle Stability Management (VSM) w/ Traction Contlrol, Tire Pressure Monitoring System and Blind Spot Detection System. There are also Front, Front Side Impact, Side-Curtain and Driver’s Knee Airbags.
Powertrain technology includes 2.0L Turbo Gasoline Direct Injection 4-Cylinder Engine, 240 Horsepower @6,000 rpm / 260 lb-ft Torque @ 1,450-3,500 rpm, 6-Speed Automatic Transmission w/ SHIFTRONIC Active Comering Control AWD w/ AWD Lock, Drive Mode Select.
The?2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport has heated and ventilated front seats, along with a heated steering wheel and back seats. Large families will appreciate that optional third row of seating, allowing for 7 passengers and those with little ones will be thankful for the optional side window sunshades. Overall, the?2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport is a really sweet ride and it’s no wonder that it was voted “Family Car of the Year” by Cars.com!
