Hyundai Santa Fe or Kia Sorento
I like your idea, but I'd go with the Sorento before the Santa Fe. HYundai's product has no direct injection if you go with the 4 cylinder and will get refreshed during 2012, which means that you can either het a great deal on it, but have a product that is a little bid behind other technology and look wise.
A 2012 Sorento EX Luxury leased for 60 months is $562.94 with delivery and destination charges and before taxes. This means a little dealing at the dealership can get her at the 550 she wants for and get a shitload of options :
18" alloy wheels (2 styles)
Leather seats with ventilated, 8-way power adjustable, heated and ventilated driver's seat
Dual-zone fully automatic temperature control
push button start
10-speaker stereo system (including front centre speaker, sub-woofer and external amp)
Heated steering wheel
Rearview camera
3.5-litre, 276-horsepower V6
6-speed automatic transmission
AWD
To me, that's a hell of a deal, especially since I drove the Sorento and really loved everything about it. And tha waranty should cover pretty much the leasing period is she's afraid of reliability (5-year/100,000 km).
Tell your mom to try it, I'm sure she'll love it.
And to those saying Kia and Hyundai are still making POS vehicles, shame on you, you clearly don't know what you are talking about.