2025 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid: Land Rover Lite!

Large, roomy and approachable are how I would describe the 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid. 

With an average miles per gallon of 34, this gentle giant (which is actually a midsize SUV on a car platform) offers a little bit of everything for everyone.  For Bears, there is plenty of room inside for you and all your gear, whether you are a woodsman, an art student, a helping hand or even a light hoarder.

This year’s Santa Fe has shed its more humble roots and has grown a lot in size.  

A gainer if you will.

At first glance, it resembles a Land Rover and has the outward bulkiness and handling of one, so be careful when driving over Hill, Yard or Dale – and that animal you thought was just a feral squirrel.  

I say ‘Land Rover Lite’ because this is not what I would call an aggressive vehicle.  True to the origins of Hyundai, which were meant to be cars for the everyman, this year’s Santa Fe has a big presence but a rather tame side.  That means you can drive around (a lot) and yet always feel comfortable and safe.  Yes, you can take it off-road, but this is more of a road-trip kind of vehicle. Ya know, for when you are with your friends Hal and Dale (sung to the U.S. Army theme song Over Hill Over Dale). Or Chip and Dale.

You’ll get a 1.6-liter inline-4 turbo that will give you 231 horses.  That sounds like a lot, until you realize this little engine that could has to pull a vehicle that weighs about 4,500 pounds.  Thusly, acceleration drags a bit. Again, Land Rover Lite.

But that should not discourage you unless you need not lots of power behind your girth and mirth.  Yet if you like to sit back, relax and enjoy the ride while listening to Samara Joy or Jill Sobule (R.I.P.), this year’s Santa Fe (minus the hot chilis) could be your ticket to the balloon races. 

Also, there is a third row of seats, so fold those down and you have 40 cubic feet of cargo space.  Fold down the second row and now you have almost 80 cubic feet of space.

Now let’s hit the road, Jake! But first, the social forecast:

Trump and his tariffs have caused so much grief that even business titans don’t know what the near future will hold because of all his gobshite. Translated: car prices will go up the roller coast – and we will be dropped to the ground without a parachute.

Now that the U.S Supreme Court has decided that it’s okay to erase Trans People from the U.S military – without a trace – I really am scared.  (In fact, the justices did it without a hearing or signing their names to the order.) Few people know that the U.S. Supreme Court can do whatever it wants to do.  And a long time ago, the Supreme Court said slavery was okay.  In time, we got wiser, sorta.  I just don’t know about this time.

On a lighter note, the Vatican Conclave to pick a new pope has begun.  When black smoke billows from the Sistine Chapel, it means no new pope has been chosen.  Paul Lynde on the old Hollywood Squares once quipped that black smoke means “the Cardinal has burned the lasagna again.”

To help celebrate, here’s a chicken lasagna recipe from Big Gay Steve from Texas. I don’t know if it’s any good, but he does encourage libations to go with his meals. 

Sometimes you need lasagna, booze and a big dose of Bear to get through times like these.

Happy Mother’s Day (US).