2021 Hyundai Santa Fe: Nice, Comfortable, Plenty ‘O Room

My friends Eric and Ted, both of whom I have known almost since Texas had the sense to have Ann Richards run the state (yes, personal commentary here), were kind enough to let me borrow a 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe while I was driving around Dallas having a gay old time earlier this Fall.

This is considered a small to Midland TX vehicle where there is plenty of room and plenty of manly power for y’all, and I would not lie to you about that (since now you know how I really feel about Texas politics).

The 2021 Santa Fe is an SUV that (if you can still find one at the starting price of $27K US –- which is nowadays cheap!) is definitely something you should check out if you are shopping for new.

I got all my friends inside comfortably as I forced them to listen to all my old-time country western music: Tammy Wynette, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn…. ya know, the good stuff.

I am all about safety, and if you have ever driven any two-lane highways –- and Texas has plenty of them –- you can use all the help you can get.  Standard on all Santa Fe’s is lane-keep assist, forward-collision mitigation and adaptive cruise control.  You even get standard trailer-sway damping, which helps adjust your braking when you are towing something –- ya know, like horses or a Pride float.

I test the Limited-trim Hybrid trim, which is just one below the top-tier Calligraphy trim, which starts at $40,750 US. Most reviewers recommend that if you can (financially, of course), go for the Limited or the Calligraphy.  You can get items like a heated steering wheel, 19 or 20-inch wheels, blind-spot camera, surround-view camera (always a gem, especially in the parking lots in Cedar Springs), ambient lighting, heated seats and steering wheel –- and a turbo!

On the upper trims, there are also some accessory packages you can add-on that, while upping the price, can make the ride more enjoyable.  Naturally.

U.S News and World Report ranks the hybrid is their Number 1 pick in the class, and I could not agree more. Cargo space is 36 ½ cubic feet with the back seats up and about 72 cubic feet when you put the seats down. 

Mileage is a combined 32 mpg.

Still, buying a car is not a ‘let’s watch a movie on Hulu and how ‘bout we order a pizza’ moment.  Please go to a dealer or a broker or somewhere.  Get in, sit in it, drive around and see how you like it.

You didn’t decide to get married just because the man looked good on the cracked screen on your phone, did you?

You did go for a test drive, yes?