The Veracruz never stood a chance. With a lackluster advertising and promotional campaign behind it, the 7-seat Hyundai crossover never gained traction with consumers.
So, when it came time to redesign the 7-seat crossover, Hyundai decided to ditch the old name, instead banking on the market-strong Santa Fe badge to succeed where the Veracruz failed.
Instead of building a one size fits all body that would either be too large for two row seating applications or too cramped for three rows, Hyundai is building two lengths of Santa Fe. The shorter Santa Fe is the Sport which was released earlier this year. Available with a choice of four cylinder engines, one turbocharged and one not, the Santa Fe Sport is more of a compact crossover and seats only five passengers.
As it stands, the American made Santa Fe Sport is maxing out its production capacity and sales are up 35% from September to February, compared to the same time period a year before. But the Santa Fe Sport is bought primarily by members of the pre or post family cycle; empty nesters, singles, childless families, etc. Hyundai is fully aware, and fully admits that they are lacking sales, and a product, from those within the ‘family’ cycle – those with kids. To address this, the built in Korea long-wheelbase Santa Fe is being introduced.
Read the full article: http://www.autoguide.com/manufacturer/hyundai/2013-hyundai-santa-fe-review-2495.html
FAST FACTS |
1. The three-row Santa Fe comes standard with a 3.3L V6 making 290 hp and is available as FWD or AWD. 2. Two trims are available, a GLS with 7-seats and a Limited with 6. 3. Pricing starts at $28,350 and tops out at $37,750 for the fully loaded Limited Technology AWD. 4. The FWD Santa Fe is rated at 18 MPG city and 25 MPG highway, while AWD gets 18/24. |
Honestly I find it one of the nicest SUV's out there. Good job because the Veracruz was really fugly.