Hi everyone, I recently joined the Santa Fe group with a 2025 hybrid. For those who’ve taken it on a long trip, what stood out to you? What did you like or find annoying? How did it handle the distance? Any unexpected things you noticed?
I’ve got the 2025 limited, and I’m not sure what counts as a long trip for you, but I drove it about 600 miles each way to Montana. The best part was the fuel economy; with the hybrid, I got around 32 MPG. The comfort was also fantastic—seats were great for the 10-hour drive, and the stereo was solid. Honestly, the whole trip was a pleasure. My previous car was a 2006 Honda Pilot, which I loved, but the Santa Fe is way better for road trips.
@Barack
We’ve had a 2006 Pilot for about 13 years too! Took it on a big trip to Glacier National Park and Canada in 2014, and it felt pretty good for the time. Can’t wait to see how our new Santa Fe compares on a long drive.
I regularly do 22-hour round trips, and I love the driver assistance features. They make a huge difference—less fatigue compared to my old car.
No real surprises, but the comfort is great, and those nap features? Thought they were just a gimmick, but they’re actually useful! The only downside I’ve noticed is that temperature control can be a bit uneven. Sometimes the legs and cabin don’t match up, but I’ve found ways to work around it.
@HyundaiDriveHub
I’ve noticed the cold feet issue too. What’s your workaround?
Dolph said:
@HyundaiDriveHub
I’ve noticed the cold feet issue too. What’s your workaround?
I just close all the other vents and blast the heat on my feet. It works since I usually drive alone, but I can see it being tricky if you have passengers.
I’ve had mine for 6 months now and driven almost 10k miles, including two longer trips. Highway Drive Assist (HDA2) is great for long stretches, though it took some tweaking. I turned off the ‘slow down for turns’ feature and adjusted the follow distance to suit me.
The seat was tricky to adjust for super long drives—I found raising the front edge a bit helped avoid soreness. On mountain roads, I learned that once the battery’s full, you lose regenerative braking, which was a bit annoying after getting used to it. On flat highways, the mileage is better at lower speeds, but I still get no less than 28 MPG on average.
@SueJohnson
There’s a Downhill Brake Control (DBC) button on the lower panel for steep descents.
XG350Xpert said:
@SueJohnson
There’s a Downhill Brake Control (DBC) button on the lower panel for steep descents.
True, but it only works at speeds under 35 mph and still uses the brakes.
@SueJohnson
When regen braking isn’t available, switch to Sport mode and use the paddles for engine braking. It works well for me.
I really like my Santa Fe SEL hybrid for road trips, but there are a few annoyances. The driver attention alerts go off when my arm blocks the monitor, and I haven’t found a good seating position to avoid it. The steering assist also seems to hug the right side of the lane, especially near semis.
Another thing is the AUTO climate mode—it often switches airflow to the feet. Not sure if that’s intentional or just how it cycles through different settings.
@Lucypiper
That’s frustrating about it hugging the right. I have the same issue with my 2023 Telluride and was hoping the newer system fixed that.
I love almost everything about it—comfort, gas mileage, driver assistance. The only thing I really dislike is the forward attention warning. It doesn’t seem to work well with my glasses, and it drives me crazy.
We took our 2024 Calligraphy on an 18-day, 4200-mile trip this summer. It handled everything well, including mountain passes in Montana and Colorado, and had no trouble keeping up with traffic on Wyoming’s no-speed-limit highways.
The only downside was the lack of engine braking on descents. The downhill assist feature works but only at low speeds and relies on the brakes. The DCT doesn’t really help with slowing the car when downshifting.
@MissNicklaus
Can you explain more about the lack of engine braking? I haven’t tried using the paddle shifters much yet.
GoslingManstein said:
@MissNicklaus
Can you explain more about the lack of engine braking? I haven’t tried using the paddle shifters much yet.
It’s just how the Dual Clutch Transmission works. Downshifting doesn’t provide much resistance, so you end up relying more on the brakes compared to traditional transmissions.
I’ve got a 2024 Hybrid and put 6000 miles on it in 3 months. Super comfortable car, and I love the HDA and LKA features.
My only issue is that I usually get 27-30 MPG, which is lower than the 34 MPG Hyundai advertises. I drive at or just above the speed limit, so not sure why that is.
@StellarStrike
My 24 hybrid also gets less than claimed MPG. I’ve tried changing driving habits, but it doesn’t seem to make much difference.