https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEkm3BJg-tY
Savage G nukes it from orbit which is why I appreciate his reviews. He covers lots of technical details which is rare for other channels.
Anyway, in summary, the base 2.5L engine gets DI + port injection which is a huge deal in eliminating carbon deposits, but also a wonky transmission.
The hybrid's tranny seems to be refined, according to SG, but the engine is DI only. Pick your poison as they say...
Yeah he definitely was not impressed.
i got the impression that he liked certain aspects a lot, but the issue was the transmission and how the power is put down on the turbo model (wheel spin).
Could easily be an issue with his particular press car. Something to look out for on a testdrive. The car's underbody suggests solid engineering and attention to details. Oil gets its own access panel
i'm not familiar with this transmission, but it's also possible it just needs a software update and it works just fine...no idea if it's mechanical or software related (the issues he was mentioning).
A year back I had a passenger ride in a shuttle Santa Fe, I think that was an 8spd and while there was no hunting, I had a feeling that the shifts would annoy me if I owned the car.
When it comes to press cars, they are driven as if they were stolen, which is evident from SG's review as well, so there may be an simple answer to this transmission behavior. Of course the super low first gear is the programming/design but I noticed a lot of manufacturers do that for the cars to feel extra powerful.
FWIW my ride has a Hyundai designed 8 spd transmission and besides the missing dipstick I'm happy with it. The gears are spaced well, there was never any hunting and while it's not the smoothest one I've experiences, I can't really complain.