- The Santa Fe gains hybrid power, 36 mpg combined
- It outdoes the Toyota Highlander Hybrid and Kia Sorento, and looks like a Land Rover
- The Hybrid model costs only $500 more than the gas-only Santa Fe
A three-row crossover SUV with a hybrid powertrain may be nothing new, but packaged with a blocky Land Rover look and an interior that puts the utility in SUV, the redesigned 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid stands head and shoulders above the dozens of other cars we considered for our Best Car To Buy 2025.
Each year at The Car Connection, we drive more than a hundred new vehicles and decide which ones set new benchmarks. We judge comfort, efficiency, refinement, performance, and style—and pick the winners and name the also-rans. It exceeds the expectations and the impressions of our four other finalists, including the Chevy Equinox EV and Subaru Forester. New for the 2024 model year, it just missed out on the due date for last year’s competition.
How did it rise to the top this year? For one, the dramatic styling took over the reins from the last-generation Santa Fe. That car had a pleasing shape and some decidedly upscale interior appointments at the high end. This one? Its raffish, angular charm bears not a little in common with vehicles from Land Rover and Rivian, at tens of thousands of dollars less. It’s boxy, lengthy, and attention-demanding where most big SUVs give up pizzazz in the name of utility. Inside the story’s even stronger: the Santa Fe Hybrid boasts twin 12.3-inch displays, one a touchscreen that delivers wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It rests atop hard climate controls that refuse to be buried alive in layers of digital interface.
The wrapper’s a delight, but the Santa Fe Hybrid’s powertrain perks up our interest even more strongly. The basic 277-hp turbo-4 in the Santa Fe cedes the fuel-economy wars to the 231-hp hybrid. It pairs a 1.6-liter turbo-4 and 6-speed automatic transmission with a 47.7-kw electric motor and a 1.5-kwh battery pack. In symphony, they put out 231 hp and 271 lb-ft of torque, granting the three-row SUV a quicker step off the line and more responsive power on tap than the turbo-4. The hybrid bits coordinate smoothly with the legacy gas pieces, and can even be stoked into stronger responses with a Sport mode and paddle-controlled shifts. The Santa Fe also recaptures otherwise lost braking energy with four regenerative-braking modes, which can recharge the battery or let the hybrid coast, with battery power on tap to keep it rolling efficiently.
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid
The Santa Fe Hybrid, so outfitted, can hit a peak of 36 mpg combined in EPA ratings. That’s a big nod in its favor—but so is the Santa Fe’s glowed-up cabin that seats up to seven people, with terrific space and comfort allocated to those in rows one and two. Interior trim’s on the average level in the base model, but the Calligraphy sports a truly luxurious cabin, outfitted with leather upholstery, especially good adaptive cruise control, and heating and cooling for the driver and front passenger.
The Santa Fe has performed well, so far, in crash tests. All models get automatic emergency braking and blind-spot monitors, while the upper trim levels can be fitted with driver assistance that backs up an attentive driver with extra help for braking, steering, and cruising over long distances.
Here’s what really gets us: the Hybrid model costs only $500 more than a similarly equipped gas-only model. The recommended $38,615 Santa Fe Hybrid SEL’s price rises to $48,865 for the Calligraphy—but in any trim, the extra gas mileage makes an offer no driver should refuse. Of course, Hyundai has an upcoming electric SUV, the Ioniq 9—a relative of the Kia EV9, which was Best Car To Buy 2024—but for those who aren’t quite ready to take the EV leap, the Santa Fe Hybrid makes eminent sense.
Read the performance and green winners on our other websites, Motor Authority and Green Car Reports.