I started out skeptical of Hyundai’s hybrids. Perhaps it’s a weird fixation or quirk of mine, but hybrid cars that aren’t mechanically simple weird me the hell out. To me, we hit peak hybrid back in 2003 with the second-generation Prius. This triangle-shaped car with a mechanically robust eCVT and 1.5-liter naturally aspirated engine was ideal. Sure, it was slow and ugly, but incredibly reliable. There’s a reason why it’s not hard to find them with upwards of 300,000 miles with minimal maintenance; it’s just a damn good car. I would know. I had one.
So, when Hyundai started putting its own hybrids on the roads, I was skeptical. These cars had turbocharged, direct-injected engines that sent power through a real planetary-gearset transmission, just like a regular ‘ol internal combustion car. To me, this felt like a complicated solution compared to what we’d get with a Toyota or Honda. Certainly, these cars would not be as good on the roads as a Toyota, no?
Well, I’m eating crow. I spent a week with the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid and found it to be really good, especially at electrified driving. So good at electrified driving, in fact, that I wondered why the hell Hyundai didn’t just cut the middleman and go electric. This car wants to be an EV so damn badly.
2025 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid
Gallery: Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid (2025)
What’s a Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid?
We don’t delve too much into pure ICE cars here, but the Santa Fe is a midsized crossover that sits below the full-sized Palisade, but above the compact Tucson. Hyundai keeps its combustion-powered cars somewhat sectioned off from its EVs, but there is some overlap. If you’re in search of a full electric EV about this size, a Hyundai salesman would likely point you to the slightly larger Ioniq 9.
Whatever the case, there’s a pretty sizable demand for electrified SUVs in some fashion, even if they aren’t full EVs. Hyundai added its hybrid system (once found only on the Hyundai Ioniq and Sonata Hybrid) to one of its volume-selling combustion-crossovers. For 2024, the whole model line was completely redesigned, with faux-Land Rover styling and a whole new vehicle platform. The engines and transmissions, though, were carryovers from the old car, including the hybrid system. Power for all Santa Fe Hybrids comes via a 1.6-liter turbocharged and direct-injected four-cylinder and an electric motor. Shifting is handled through a six-speed conventional automatic. Total system output is 231 horsepower.
What’s Good About The Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid?
There’s a lot to like about this mid-sized, three-row SUV. For starters, the Santa Fe is really, really good at engine-off EV driving, despite its measly 59 horsepower electric motor and 1.49 kWh traction battery.
Some have called Hyundai’s hybrid system simple. It places its 59-horsepower motor between the gas engine and transmission. This means that the electric motor effectively has to turn through a transmission, a setup that some have criticized as inefficient compared to an eCVT in a Toyota Prius.
But, this setup has a clutch on the engine/electric motor side, allowing the Santa Fe to drive completely engine-off at speeds much, much faster than, say, a Toyota Prius. With a light enough foot, the Santa Fe will accelerate to about 45 mph before the engine starts. By comparison, most modern Toyotas (not including the Hybrid Max system in some newer big Toyota crossovers like the Grand Highlander) top out around 20 mph in EV mode.
This nearly pure electric driving experience is intensified by two things: the Santa Fe’s clever Green Zone EV drive and its adjustable EV-like regenerative braking. When the Green Zone EV drive feature is turned on, the car uses GPS location to prioritize quiet and lower-emission EV driving in certain areas of town, like near parks, schools or hospitals. And it really does work; while driving around my town of Columbus, Ohio, it would turn off its engine and drive on EV power whenever I got close the school near my house. Add in the relatively high-speed EV driving, and I was amazed at how much engine-off EV driving I could do in the Santa Fe for a car that has no plug. An unofficial test shows that it would do about a mile under ideal conditions before starting its gas engine.
Then, like Hyundai’s EVs, the Santa Fe has three levels of adjustable regenerative braking. Of course, there’s no one-pedal drive, but the level of adjustability makes the crossover feel remarkably electrified, even when its engine is running. Set it to max, let off the throttle, and watch the battery replenish just like it would on an Ioniq 5 or Kona Electric. If you’re like me and interested in recapturing electricity and using that electric power whenever possible, you’ll fall in love with this feature.
Overall, the Santa Fe is simply a pleasant, well-finished and well-packaged crossover. The one that Hyundai loaned to me was a fully loaded Caligraphy model with every box checked, of course. It stickered at $51,675, which in this day and age sounds like a bargain. Fit and finish are impeccable, and every button and switch felt hefty and high-quality. The infotainment and HVAC buttons worked flawlessly the entire time I had the car, a seemingly not-so-easy accomplishment in a world where everything is a computerized screen.
The Santa Fe also has a lot of interior space. Its short length means that you’ll have to choose between cargo space or a third row seat, but when in place the Santa Fe’s third row seat is very usable. This crossover can take six adults in relative comfort, a task that some physically larger crossovers can’t do as well. Anecdotally, I understand why I see so many of these things on Ohio roads. When considering the roughly $34,000 base price for its combustion-only variant, the Santa Fe is one of the best values for money on the market.
What’s Not So Good About The Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid?
When the Santa Fe (and its Hybrid sibling) was updated for 2024, we lost the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version, which is a damn shame. The car is so good at driving in engine-off mode, it’s clear that it would benefit from more available energy. The adjustable regenerative braking is such a nice feature, only limited by the Santa Fe’s small 1.49 kWh battery and somewhat weak 59-horsepower electric motor.
The thing is, only the North American market Santa Fe lost the PHEV option. In most markets where the Santa Fe is sold, it comes with a 13.8 kWh battery with about 35 miles of range. It also gets a more powerful electric motor. Both of these would make the car’s energy recapture and engine-off electric driving significantly easier.
Perhaps the Korean-made PHEV model is hard to justify against the American-made combustion-powered variant, or the American-made new Hyundai Ioniq 9. Still, I’d argue that the Ioniq 9’s weird styling, super-sized dimensions and not-cheap price aren’t exactly a 1-to-1 comparison for the Santa Fe Hybrid. How hard would it be to give us a full EV version of the Santa Fe? I mean, they’ve already halfway there with the driving experience, just go all the way.
Also, despite the car’s penchant for engine-off driving, I only averaged about 28 mpg mixed. This is below the 35 mpg mixed that it’s rated for.
Verdict
This car is really good at simulating an electric driving experience, but it’s not electric. On one hand, I think it is a great way to get consumers acclimated to a full electric driving experience without any compromises of charging infrastructure or elevated purchase price.
On the other hand, we’re still using gas. With me driving, too, it used more gas than initially advertised.
Still, the package is very pleasant and easy to use. It’s spacious, well finished and reasonably priced for what you get. C’mon, Hyundai, just cut the middleman, dump the gas engine stuff and make the Santa Fe electric, already.
Hell, I’d even accept an EREV.
Contact the author: Kevin.Williams@InsideEVs.com
