- suv 116,325
- Miami, FL
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- autoshopper.com
- suv 116,325 black automatic
2003 hyundai santa fe review this car review is specific to this model, not the actual vehicle for sale. Stylish sport-utility updated with practical features. introductionthe hyundai santa fe drives well on and off paved roads. It's an inexpensive, compact sport-utility with a tall seating position and generous cargo capacity. Its curvaceous body looks friendly, yet ready for the outdoors. All of this belies the santa fe's car-like ride and handling. 2003 santa fe models come standard with side-impact air bags. A gls option package 1190) adds anti-lock brakes (abs) and traction control and a power glass sliding sunroof. lx comes with abs and traction control and adds automatic air conditioning, heated front seats, a homelink transmitter and an electrochromic rear-view mirror. The monsoon stereo also gets an in-dash six-cd changer. Leather upholstery and brushed-stainless scuff plates bolster the lx model's up-market image. a new power sliding glass sunroof 595) is available for the gls and lx. . walkaroundthe hyundai santa fe was designed to look different from other sport-utilities. The friendly front end blends smoothly into gentle flanks. The design suggests sufficient robustness for off-road capability. Large wheel arches reinforce this impression of strength. But the windows in the rear doors still don't roll all the way down, a shortcoming shared with other small suvs. the santa fe's rear liftgate works well. Hyundai avoided the mistake made by the honda cr-v and toyota rav4, whose tail doors swing to the right, blocking access from the curb. That design is not convenient at u. By hinging the hatch at the top, hyundai provides a universal solution. Opening the rear hatch is a cinch with its pistol-grip latch handle and gas struts. Closing it is just as easy with a pull-down grip mounted inside. When open, the liftgate easily clears six-foot foreheads. . interiorgetting in and out of the hyundai santa fe is easy, thanks to its low step-in height. And rear-seat passengers don't need to turn their feet sideways to clear the doorjamb. once in, the interior is friendly to the touch. Large controls for the stereo and heating/ventilation/air conditioning offer easy adjustment. Climate controls look and feel and plasticky, though. for 2003, hyundai revised the center-stack section of the instrument panel, and moved the santa fe's digital clock from the overhead console to the middle of the dashboard where it's easier to see. The center air conditioning vents are larger now. Bright trim dresses up the inside door releases and parking-brake handle. On gls and lx, the shift knob and shift quadrant are brightened by chrome trim. Space-wise, the santa fe equals or betters the competition. Only the ford escape tops the santa fe by more than a half-inch in front-seat headroom or hip room. rear-seat headroom equals or beats all its competition, except for the suzuki grand vitara. Rear legroom in the santa fe equals or tops everyone's. Rear-seat cupholders are molded into the door-mounted map pockets. The rear seatback reclines, and last year's awkward reclining mechanism has been redesigned for 2003. hyundai has added isofix child-seat anchors at both outboard seating positions to the 2003 models. Head restraints and three-point seatbelts are provided for outboard passengers as well, while the center-rear passenger must make do with a lap belt only. The outboard shoulder-belt anchor loops are fixed, not adjustable (though we sometimes wonder whether anyone actually adjusts the adjustable kind). The brakes are refreshingly responsive, even before the abs steps in. we preferred driving the two-wheel-drive version. Those are good numbers when compared to the v6s offered in other compact suvs. Indeed, only the ford escpe and mazda tribute, which share an optional 200-horsepower, 3. 0-liter v6, offer more power in this class. Getaway from a stoplight is about as quick as a toyota rav4, but lags behind the cr-v, tribute and escape. Slamming down the throttle at highway speed brings on a smooth and prompt downshift, but acceleration that's less than fulfilling. A planetary differential inside the front transaxle splits the drive torque equally between the front wheels, and 60/40 between the front and rear axles. The latter figure is not arbitrary, but based on the santa fe's 60/40 front-to-rear weight distribution. A viscous coupling overrides the differential if the wheels at either end begin to slip. The system appears to do a good job of sending the torque where it's needed, even without the optional traction control. Power Locks✔ Anti-lock Brakes✔ AM/FM✔ Cruise Control✔ Air Conditioning✔ CD Changer✔ Sunroof/Moonroof
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