I purchased a new Santa Fe AWD Limited 2.4L in Oct 2018. I need AWD to get through difficult winter roads conditions living on a curvy road in the SE MN woods plus for other midwest winter family visits. We did not need the turbo, the 2.4L is fine in the flat Midwest; dealer says 90 percent of sales here are not turbos but in a hilly area may be different. While I owned 2 Jeep Grand Cherokees in the past 18 years I no longer tow anything more than a wood splitter and never took them off roading, so a SUV with FWD based intelligent AWD is fine although I wanted the option to have 4WD lock at lower speeds on slippery roads. My wife wanted heated (real) leather seats and a power liftgate & power passenger seat, while I wanted Android auto & safety features. As we age the safety features (blind spot, fwd/rear collision, lane assist) were requirements along with excellent headlights. The Santa Fe Limited met & exceeded all our main requirements, here is a very early pre-winter snow review after 200 + mi of around town & some freeway driving.
Santa Fe Limited PROS
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QUIET comfortable roomy interior w/excellent infotainment
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Safety features easy to use. Auto stop at lights kinda weird but ok so far, responsive.
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Like the easy to switch Smart mode, Comfort (ECO) mode, Sport mode which is sporty on this smooth 8 speed tranny.
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4WD lock operational up to 40mph in 2019s GREAT in snow
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LED auto headlights excellent range, work fine on 2 lane roads
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LOTs of hidden storage in rear under carpet (we got the hatch cover unfortunately it costs extra)
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Hyundai warranty 5/60 full, 10/100 powertrain is the best. As brand rated 10/30 in CR reliability
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Remote start & car status free with Hyundai internet control WORKS!
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- OWNED SINCE OCT 18, 98% positive! 2.4L works ok with 8 spd, put in SPORT mode if need more power. Some 2.4 GDI quality/longevity concerns; plan to trade b4 100k mi.