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2019 Hyundai Santa Fe First Drive Review | A safely stylish crossover

To help it stand out in today's crowded, highly competitive midsize crossover market, Hyundai has given the new 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe has a bolder SUV-like exterior design. The Santa Fe's changes are evolutionary rather than seismic, but in a market that includes rivals like the Ford Edge, Jeep Cherokee, Nissan Murano, Chevrolet Equinox, and Honda CR-V, every detail matters. Buyers still have a choice of two four-cylinder engines - just like the outgoing Santa Fe Sport – one of them turbocharged, with each paired to an updated 8-speed automatic transmission. The Santa Fe also offers all-wheel drive across its five trim levels, while delivering a modest bump in overall cargo space and rear legroom. A few notes before we dive further in: The new Santa Fe doesn't include the "Sport" in its name. Anyone in immediate need of a Santa Fe with a third-row seat will have to settle for the Santa Fe XL, a one-year-only offering based on the previous generation model. We highly recommend test driving the new model, if you can do without a third row. Some form of hybridization is also planned, though Hyundai would not comment on technical aspects or a projected on-sale date. Ahead of taking the wheel on the wide-open roads surrounding the charming ski-cation town of Park City, Utah, Hyundai told us that they strove to make it less of a high-riding minivan, both in terms of its style and stance on the road. To do this, Hyundai shortened the front overhang, added a more upright front grille with a chainmail pattern, and pushed the headlights lower in the front fascia. Those slim lighting units that flank the grille are the LED daytime running lights and turn signals. (Yes, it's okay if you initially thought they were super skinny headlights, too.) The 2.6-inch longer wheelbase makes the Santa Fe look more planted, while adding about an extra inch of rear legroom compared to the previous model. The more horizontal side profile and large glass area – especially the small side windows, ahead and behind the A- and C-pillars – help improve visibility. And unlike some SUVs and crossovers that opt for tapered tail-ends that look sporty, but create claustrophobic-levels of cargo space, the squarish rear of the Santa Fe translates to 35.9 cubic feet of cargo room behind the second-row seats. That's up from 35.4 cu-ft. offered in the previous model. Styling is subjective, but to our eyes, the Santa Fe has a lot more presence than it previously did.

Hyundai recalls 883k Sonatas over detaching shift cable

There are plenty of things that can go wrong in a car, some more vital than others. Automakers try their best to make sure they don't, but things slip through, like the shift cables on the Hyundai Sonata.
Hyundai and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have found that, on 883,000 units of the MY2011-2014 Sonata manufactured between December 11, 2009, and May 29, 2014, the shift cable in the transmission is prone to detach from the shift lever. As a result, the gear indicated and the gear engaged might not match, which could set the vehicle in motion unexpectedly. Worse than that, the Park position might not engage altogether, and without the hand brake pulled, that could lead the car to roll away without warning.
In an entirely separate recall affecting a much smaller number of 2015 Sonatas, Hyundai has found that the front brake calipers could fracture. This second recall affects a relatively small 5,650 units manufactured between April 25 and June 16, 2014.

Hyundai brings 1,000-hp Genesis Coupe to SEMA, and plenty more [w/video]

Hyundai has a thirst for horsepower. How else could we explain the scene you see above, in which there exists a 708-horsepower front-wheel-drive Sonata tuned by Bisimoto (black and white, above left) powered by Hyundai's 2.4-liter Theta II engine? Or the little red number you see hiding in the background, which, at an even 1,000 horsepower, is "the most-powerful 2.0-liter Genesis Coupe ever built," says Hyundai?
In addition to those two powerhouses, the white Sonata (above right) was styled by John Pangilinan to "[connect] Los Angeles street art culture with automotive enthusiasts," whatever that means, and it joins an ARK Performance-tuned Genesis Sedan meant to go head-to-head with Mercedes AMG and BMW M and another Genesis Sedan tuned by Toca Marketing Group with a twin-turbo'd 5.0-liter Tau V8.
All in, that's five heavily modified vehicles being shown at the 2014 SEMA Show by Hyundai (not to mention any more customs not actually sponsored by the automaker itself), and each of them is pretty successful as far as we're concerned. Check them all out for yourself in the image gallery above, and read all the details in the press release below, where you'll also find a video of the builders discussing each of their creations.