I recently partnered with Hyundai Canada to test drive several of their 2017 line up of vehicles. This time around I got a chance to drive the Hyundai 2017 Santa Fe Sport. This five seat vehicle is perfect for growing families, dog lovers, and those that just find themselves frequently hauling a lot of stuff around, whether it be friends, groceries, or things for their garden. There is a ton of room inside the vehicle and you’ll never feel cramped for space. There is also a bunch of really cool safety features that help keep your family safe. So without further delay, let’s check it out.
Under the Hood of the Hyundai 2017 Santa Fe Sport
The 2017 Santa Fe Sport was a lot of of fun to drive. It was immediately responsive to the gas pedal, with a generous amount of power for overtaking, merging, or changing lanes. I generally drive a smaller car, and by switching to this car for a week, I was immediately able to appreciate the boost in power and acceleration. Under the hood is a powerful 2.0L turbocharged GDI engine with an available all-wheel drive option.
The AWD option would make navigating the long and often treacherous Canadian winters much safer and less stressful. AWD also does a fantastic job of steadying your vehicle during summer rain flash floods, such as those we’ve been treated to this summer. The Hyundai 2017 Santa Fe Sport also features Active Cornering Control. This feature allows the Santa Fe to direct power to the wheels that need it when cornering or driving on ice or snow. This helps to improve vehicle stability, and to reduce over-steering and under-steering. This is a great feature to have in a climate as wide and as varied as Canada’s.
Size of the Hyundai 2017 Santa Fe Sport
There is ample space inside the 2017 Santa Fe Sport to accommodate five passengers comfortably. There is plenty of legroom in the back seats, and behind them you’ll find ample additional cargo space. You can get the kids AND the groceries home without issue. There is also dual-zone climate control so that other people in the car can have a warmer or cooler temperature than you, based on their preference.
Power in your Car
Before we get into the power behind the Hyundai 2017 Santa Fe Sport, let’s take a moment to go over exactly what horsepower and torque actually are. These terms are often used to describe a vehicle’s performance, but what do they mean?
Torque
The measurement of torque is stated as pound-feet and represents how much twisting force is at work. Let’s break that down to a real world example. Let’s say you get a flat tire and you need to remove the lug nuts on the car tire. You get out your trusty 1-foot tire iron wrench and attempt to stamp down on the wrench so it twists the lug nut free. You apply 25 pounds of force on the end of the wrench, and hopefully, the lug nut comes off. If the lug nut were particularly rusty though, you may need to get a longer wrench. A longer 2-foot wrench and the same 25 pounds of force will produce 50 pounds of force. Torque is that measurement of twisting force. Your car engine has this force happening inside it. When an engine is said to make “200 lb-ft of torque”, it means that 200 pounds of force on a 1-foot lever is needed to stop its motion. Torque is what helps get the car moving and is also what helps you pull a trailer up a hill attached to the vehicle.
Horsepower
Horsepower has its roots in 18th-century engineer, James Watt. He observed the work performed by a horse as it operated a gear driven pump. He stated the horse hauled a 33,000-pound load one foot in one minute, so that is one horsepower (hp). Horsepower has become the measurement of the work required to get you down the road quickly and is related to the speed at which you do it.
There are much more complicated math formulas involved in the whole thing but hopefully, you have a little better of an idea now.
The Hyundai 2017 Santa Fe Sport has 240 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque. This amount of power beats out a lot of the competition and will make sure you get where you need to be.
Safety
A key component of any car buying decision is the vehicle’s safety system as well as its safety track record. You want to do everything you can to protect and keep you and your family safe, and thankfully there have been many advances in technology in the recent years. The 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport has many of these safety features built right in. So let’s take a moment to explore them together next.
Autonomous Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection
While we all strive to keep our eyes on the road and hands on the wheel, temporary distractions, such as wildlife crossing the road, are inevitable. In situations like these, the autonomous emergency braking system (AEB) is there to help you out. This smart car feature will display audio and visual warnings that something has moved in front of the car, allowing you time to respond and stop. If you don’t respond, the car itself can apply the brakes to avoid or reduce the severity of any potential collision.
HID Headlights with Adaptive Cornering System (ACS)
High-intensity discharge (HID) headlights make more visible light per unit of electric power consumed than fluorescent and incandescent lamps previously used in many vehicle headlights. These lights offer that crisp, white light, that fully illuminates the road ahead. When you turn your car’s steering wheel left or right, the Adaptive Cornering System (ACS) mirrors this movement by turning the headlights slightly in the same direction. This lights up the road in the direction you are turning and offers additional visibility and greater safety because of that. There is also a really interesting optional feature called High Beam Assist. This option includes a front camera that will continuously monitor traffic situations to automatically turn high beams on or off based on oncoming traffic.
Multi-View Camera System
The Multi-View Camera System is upgrade to the typical camera system found on many vehicles today and goes a fair deal beyond the typical backup camera. You can select one of several views on the touch screen to give you a wide multi view display of what is going on around you. This is helpful for backing up into really tight spots. There is also an aerial view of the car to help give you the full picture of the environment surrounding the vehicle.
Final Thoughts on the Hyundai 2017 Santa Fe Sport
The 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport offers a powerful, large vehicle that is great for families, those needing to move larger items around with always a bit more space there if you need it, or those that want peace of mind knowing their vehicle has some top safety features to help keep their loved ones safe. There are several options depending on your budget and needs, so check them out and in more detail on the Hyundai Canada Website.
Packages of the Hyundai 2017 Santa Fe Sport
Hyundai 2017 Santa Fe Sport FWD Starting at $28,599
