Topic: Day-by-Day Review: 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe XL; Day 1

[dkaz]

So dual zone auto climate control in the front and a manual zone in the rear. That's a cost cutting I would find unacceptable. The Nissan Pathfinder (all trims) and Toyota Highlander (LE Convenience Package and up) have three full automatic zones.

I speak from experience with the annoyance of the rear zone, my Honda Odyssey has an automatic front zone and manual rear zone. Well my experience is not really in the Odyssey but in the Sienna, sitting in the 3rd row, the temperature kept on fluctuating for some reason. I did not have easy access to the rear HVAC controls so it was bad, I was sometimes ok and sometimes roasting back there. I like automatic set and forget.

[wing]

That's actually in the third row not second.

[sacrat]

I find that with the "prestige nameplate", you often get little niceties that are not listed on media pamphlets.

I just discovered one of those "niceties" when taking a well worn 2003 Acura EL that we just helped our daughter buy into the local Acura dealer for recall work that had been left undone by the previous owner.

The dealership experience was top notch on all levels and I was  left  feeling that I was getting the same treatment as I would with a new MDX. This experience alone has me leaning toward  helping my wife buy a premium used vehicle for her next purchase, rather than new mainstream. My son had a similar experienced at the local Infiniti dealer with his recently purchased 2012 G37.

[Danno001]

Looks like Acura fans will be enjoying that dealer experience about 50% more to fix initial quality vs. Kia or Hyundai owners.

 

http://www.autos.ca/general-news/j-d-power-initial-quality-award-winners-announced/

[mmret]

If its good enough for the Pope.... 

Hah! I guess Pope Francis didn't want to be seen rolling around in that G-Class all the time.

[dirtyjeffer]

I find that with the "prestige nameplate", you often get little niceties that are not listed on media pamphlets.  For example, my parents' RX and my girlfriend's Forester both have automatic climate control.  Are they equal?  Objectively, by no means whatsoever.  The Subaru will blow air at you immediately, even if the car is cold.  The Lexus?  It won't blow any air until it's warm (in the winter, at least - AC compressors are pretty quick!).

the climate control in my Rio5 works like your Lexus...in the summer, the AC blows pretty quickly, but in the winter, the blower won't turn on until it warms up, so the fan speed is very low after a couple of minutes, then gradually increases as the coolant temps increase...perhaps a newer Subaru does this too?...what you are describing is not a very complex system, just a variable speed fan, a thermostat and a controller for them.

[dkaz]

That's actually in the third row not second.

Hm, I see that now. Not a bad idea.