The Hyundai Santa Fe has been through many changes during the four generations and 23 years that it’s been sold here in the U.S., but none more dramatic than what is being offered for 2024. This fifth-gen Santa Fe is certainly bigger and definitely boxier, but is it a better Santa Fe?

This 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe is indeed a major departure from the wide-mouth, chrome-clad, swoopy-styled midsize five-passenger utility that we’ve known for the last 5 years, and it brings some other big changes with it.

The look is now more slab-sided, slimmed-down, and off-road inspired; drawing comparisons to Land Rover from just about everyone we encountered. The wheelbase has been extended by almost 2 inches, which adds to interior space; so much so that a third row of seating is now once again standard in the Santa Fe. Like many major departures when it comes to styling, time will tell how well it ages, or if there will be another big swing next time around. Many on our staff were not fans of the 21-inch wheels that come with the top Calligraphy trim; and it does appear like they ran out of ideas when they got to the back and called it a day.

But that flat tailgate is 6 inches wider than the previous gen, allowing for very-much minivan-like access to the cargo area, which Hyundai says is the launchpad for adventures, no longer just a simple cargo bay. There’s room for 14.6 cu-ft of adventure gear, or just groceries, behind the third row, 40.5 cu-ft behind the second row, and a max of 79.6 cu-ft with all seatbacks folded. And if you can’t fit everything back there, Hyundai has integrated a cool grab handle into the C-pillar for helping you load stuff up top.

The cockpit of this adventure vehicle feels much more like a luxury car than a rugged utility. Maybe that’s the Land Rover influence again. But really, it’s mostly on-brand from what we’ve been seeing from Hyundai lately. That’s especially the case when you escalate things to top Calligraphy trim. Its $12,500 over base and comes with features such as quilted Nappa leather seats, Eco-suede materials, dual wireless phone chargers, a sweeping panoramic curved dual screen display that we’re more accustomed to seeing in Genesis, with sturdy captain’ chairs with lots of adjustments in the second row. Two-place seating in the standard third row means a capacity of six; lesser trims come with a second-row bench upping that number to seven.

The 2.5-liter I4 turbocharged engine returns, but now as the standard powertrain, getting slightly detuned to 277 horsepower but with the same 311 lb-ft of torque as last year. All-wheel drive is an $1,800 option for all trims except in the off-road inspired XRT where it is included. A 231-horsepower Hybrid is optional. This is a lot of vehicle for the standard four-cylinder to move, even if it is turbocharged, but that seems to be the way things are heading these days. So, we’ll just have to accept the tepid jog to 60 of 7.0 seconds. To be fair, it’s still plenty quick for running errands with the family.

It uses a dual-clutch eight-speed transmission rather than a traditional automatic. Gear changes were smooth with some power drop with each upshift. We reached 95 mph at the end of the quarter-mile in 15.4 seconds. This bigger Santa Fe felt very stable at speed going down the track. It was more in its element in our handling course, with sharp and responsive steering, great balance, and lots of feedback; all making it easy to keep momentum going through the cones. We saw plenty of nosedive with a soft brake pedal in our panic braking runs. But results were quite good, with stops from 60 averaging 111 feet.

Government Fuel Economy Ratings with all-wheel drive are 20 City, 28 Highway, and 23 Combined; rounding up our 22.6 mpg of Regular average puts it right on.

An ever increasingly wide bandwidth of options has the base Santa Fe starting at $35,365 and reaching all the way up to $47,915 for top Calligraphy; the Hybrid is available in SEL, Limited, and Calligraphy trims only.
Love it or hate it, the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe has made a bold step in style, but it still has plenty of substance to back it up. So yes, it is a better Santa Fe, and now with a definite upmarket push, it lands as an even greater mid-size utility value.