4th Place: 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, LW

This recent comparo must’ve been a somewhat humbling experience for the Santa Fe Sport. After all, it’s probably grown used to sweeping the top spots, and yet this time, it only managed a respectable fourth.

So what went wrong? Not that fourth is a bad place to be by a long shot, it’s still a respectable ranking that many carmakers would give their left lugnut for.

The Santa Fe is still the value-packed, easy-to-live-with all-rounder that it always was, but the other contenders are ramping up their games.

Who would have thought that Honda’s mainstream utility vehicle would boast such decent handling dynamics, or that the Rogue and the CX-5 would score so high in flexibility and amenities?

And that, folks, is why we continue to pit these vehicles against each other, because even we’re surprised by the outcomes.

The Santa Fe Sport ranked right at the top for exterior styling, but not many of us were impressed with the interior, as it fell to just below mid-pack. Comments ranged from “a bit dated” to “the most styling, if not the most stylish” (Laurance).

Ergonomics, quality and gauges were all mid-pack – which is surprising because in the past we’ve praised the intuitive interface.

Likewise for driver position and comfort. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing – the Santa Fe has nicely bolstered, comfortable seats, but they just didn’t stand out in this category.

Ah, but when it comes to looking after passengers, this is where the Santa Fe shines. With its plush, heated and reclining rear seats, wide opening rear doors and easy child seat installation system, the Santa Fe swept the top spots.

Most of these have a decent level of content, and despite the unusual bonus of a heated steering wheel and rear seats, ranked mid-pack – largely in part due to its lack of navigation and driving aids.

Being a half-size larger than most of these compacts, it was the undisputed champion of cargo space, handily beating out all the other contenders. Flexibility and interior cabin storage were again at the top thanks to its sliding, tilting seats and underfloor storage space.

The Santa Fe is pleasant to drive, with top scores for noise and vibration, though it’s not fast by any means, carrying around the most weight with average power. It feels solid and well-damped over bumps and ranked upper mid-pack for refinement and handling. Thanks to that sloping rear roofline and fat c-pillar, however, it tied dead last with the Cherokee for visibility. Ease of driving and parking were at the bottom of the pack, again, largely due to visibility and size.

We ranked the Santa Fe in the upper mid-pack for value with plenty of practicality and solid quality for the price, but not quite a leader feature-wise. It lost a few points for having one of the worst fuel consumption ratings of the bunch, but it earned them back by having the best warranty.

Overall, the Santa Fe Sport continues to be a practical and stylish choice, and the base engine isn’t too far off the efficiency and performance of the best in this class, and it’s not that it has fallen off, just that others have risen to the challenge.

Pricing: 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport Luxury
Base Price: $26,899
Tested Trim: $34,999
Options: N/A
Freight: $1,795
A/C Tax: $100
Price as Tested: $36,894

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