Santa Fe vs Equinox
 

My wife and I test drove a 2010 Santa Fe this weekend and also a used
2008 Entourage. I was quite impressed by the Entourage as compared to
my 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan. The only thing we really didn't like about
it was the entry method for the 3rd row. The Dodge middle row seat
slides way forward when you release the entry latch and then quickly
slides back into position. The Entourage middle row seat has to be
folded forward into a "cube" essentially and this wasn't that easy and
still provided much less entry space than the Dodge. And it was much
harder to get the middle row seat back into position. Other than that,
we really liked the Entourage other than the fact that we can't inherit
the 100K warranty. That latter thing was a deal breaker for us. I've
also pretty much decided I need to up my "fleet" average MPG and another
minivan won't do that.

We liked the Santa Fe, but it isn't the match of the Chevy Equinox in my
opinion. It is slightly smaller and gets a fair bit poorer fuel
mileage, by the EPA rating at least. And my experience with the Sonata
is that the EPA rating for Hyundai's is optimistic if anything. The
Sonata is the only vehicle I have for which I can't achieve the EPA
highway rating when on a long trip. My Dodge and Chevy will both meet
or exceed the EPA highway rating when driving on the interstate at the
speed limit. The Santa Fe had more responsive steering than the Equinox
which I like, but the ride was substantially harsher (both are AWD
versions). The ride is actually harsher than my old 1994 K1500 pickup
truck! We both found this very surprising. I have not driven any other
Santa Fe years. Was this also try on the 2009 and older editions?

I'm still not sure if I will buy a vehicle this year or wait another
year until more vehicles have the direction injection technology, but I
am leaning towards the Equinox at the moment as the Hyundai cross-overs
just aren't the match of the new Chevy ... as hard as that was to believe.

The Entourage would be attractive if Hyundai would transfer the 10/100K
warranty, as they were asking $18K for it with 33K miles and I suspect I
could get it for $17K with a cash deal. However, it is a program
vehicle (most likely a rental from the rash on the interior in the back
- just like my Caravan which was a program vehicle also) and I'd want
the longer warranty as these are often driven very hard and I fear
transmission problems with them. Chrysler gave me an extended warranty
on my Dodge and fortunately I never needed it, but it was nice to know
it was there.

Enough rambling for now!

Matt

Re: Santa Fe vs Equinox
 

On Jan 24, 1:19 pm, Voyager <m.whit...@computer.org> wrote:
> My wife and I test drove a 2010 Santa Fe this weekend and also a used
> 2008 Entourage. I was quite impressed by the Entourage as compared to
> my 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan. The only thing we really didn't like about
> it was the entry method for the 3rd row. The Dodge middle row seat
> slides way forward when you release the entry latch and then quickly
> slides back into position. The Entourage middle row seat has to be
> folded forward into a "cube" essentially and this wasn't that easy and
> still provided much less entry space than the Dodge. And it was much
> harder to get the middle row seat back into position. Other than that,
> we really liked the Entourage other than the fact that we can't inherit
> the 100K warranty. That latter thing was a deal breaker for us. I've
> also pretty much decided I need to up my "fleet" average MPG and another
> minivan won't do that.

The Entourage is nothing more than a rebadged Sedona with a few trim
changes. If you decide you're considering again, look at the Sedona.

> We liked the Santa Fe, but it isn't the match of the Chevy Equinox in my
> opinion. It is slightly smaller and gets a fair bit poorer fuel
> mileage, by the EPA rating at least. And my experience with the Sonata
> is that the EPA rating for Hyundai's is optimistic if anything. The
> Sonata is the only vehicle I have for which I can't achieve the EPA
> highway rating when on a long trip. My Dodge and Chevy will both meet
> or exceed the EPA highway rating when driving on the interstate at the
> speed limit. The Santa Fe had more responsive steering than the Equinox
> which I like, but the ride was substantially harsher (both are AWD
> versions). The ride is actually harsher than my old 1994 K1500 pickup
> truck! We both found this very surprising. I have not driven any other
> Santa Fe years. Was this also try on the 2009 and older editions?

Not sure what the question is here, but there are some changes for the
2011 Santa Fe. The 2.7 and 3.3 engines are no longer used, and the
2.4 (same as your Sonata) and 3.5 (stroked 3.3) are used instead. One
potential cause of a harsh ride is overinflated tires. The vehicles
are shipped with tires usually inflated to 40 - 45 PSI to prevent flat-
spotting. Sometimes the pressures don't get lowered or the vehicle
hasn't yet been inspected by the dealer.

> I'm still not sure if I will buy a vehicle this year or wait another
> year until more vehicles have the direction injection technology, but I
> am leaning towards the Equinox at the moment as the Hyundai cross-overs
> just aren't the match of the new Chevy ... as hard as that was to believe..

Haven't spent a lot of time in Equinox, so I can't opine on room and
comfort, etc., but everything I've seen indicates Santa Fe is much
more reliable.

Re: Santa Fe vs Equinox
 

On Jan 24, 2:06 pm, hyundaitech <hyundaim...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Not sure what the question is here, but there are some changes for the
> 2011 Santa Fe. The 2.7 and 3.3 engines are no longer used, and the
> 2.4 (same as your Sonata) and 3.5 (stroked 3.3) are used instead. One
> potential cause of a harsh ride is overinflated tires. The vehicles
> are shipped with tires usually inflated to 40 - 45 PSI to prevent flat-
> spotting. Sometimes the pressures don't get lowered or the vehicle
> hasn't yet been inspected by the dealer.

My mistake. This has already occurred for the 2010 model year.