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2011 Hyundai Santa Fe

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$21,845

starting MSRP

Key specs

Base trim shown

SUV

Body style

21

Combined MPG

5

Seating capacity

184.1” x 67.9”

Dimensions

Front-wheel drive

Drivetrain

Overview

(94 reviews)

The good:

  • Acceleration
  • Gas mileage
  • Modern styling
  • Steering-wheel audio controls
  • Stick shift available

The bad:

  • No third-row seat
  • Manual with front-drive only

3 trims

Starting msrp listed lowest to highest price

Wondering which trim is right for you?

Our 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe trim comparison will help you decide.

See also: Find the best SUVs for 2024

Notable features

  • USB stereo input standard
  • Bluetooth standard
  • Minor content upgrades

2011 Hyundai Santa Fe review: Our expert's take

By Scott Burgess


Compact crossovers are hot for good reasons: They provide great functional space, a higher riding position, decent gas mileage and a few truck-like characteristics without all of that pesky truckiness.

Most have smooth car-like rides out on the road due to their unibody construction, and there are plenty for consumers to choose from: the Ford Escape, the Honda CR-V, the Toyota Rav4, to name a few.

Some, like the Escape and Jeep Patriot, lean toward an SUV; others, like the CR-V and Nissan Rogue, feel more like a car.

The 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe falls somewhere in between, and not in any of the good ways. It was refreshed for the 2010 model year and will be replaced in the coming year or so. Good.

First, the Santa Fe is just homely looking. It’s as if Hyundai was trying out a few design languages at the same time. The front end is curvy and round, while the back end grows bigger — a product of that rising belt line and flared fenders. Its proportions look off-balance.

Hyundai has put out some striking vehicles recently, and those cars, namely the Elantra and Sonata, make the Santa Fe look so unimpressively normal. It may not be entirely fair to draw that comparison, but who wants to catch a glimpse of HDTV and then go back to black-and-white?

Not everything is bad on this vehicle. The lines of sight are good all the way around — one of the benefits of a compact crossover.

Comfort and function

The interior is comfortable, and it comes with a slew of features. Hyundai’s use of blue backlighting on everything from the instrument panel to the cup holders makes the cabin extremely appealing.

There’s also plenty of room inside, which is why so many crossovers are so popular. You can carry five people very comfortably as well as all of their stuff in the easy-to-load cargo area.

There are also all the luxury features so many people want, such as navigation, backup camera and Bluetooth connectivity. For this model year, Hyundai also added an optional 605-watt Infinity Logic 7 Surround Sound stereo system; it’s excellent.

This vehicle, however, needs a good stereo because it’s incredibly noisy on the road. Road and wind noise fill the cabin. One unscientific test I use on a vehicle is to count how many times I adjust the volume on my commute to work. A perfect score would be zero adjustments, simply playing the stereo from the last time I drove it. The Santa Fe scored an 8.

Truckish performance

Interior noise aside, the Santa Fe performed well on the road.

The ride is feels more truckish than carlike. The bumps are hard, and on the highway, I never felt confident in this vehicle. The power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering was fine in city driving, with a nice taut feel, but on the highway, it was too sensitive, which leads to lots of overcorrecting.

There’s nothing bad to say about the powertrains. The 3.5-liter V-6 matched to a six-speed automatic transmission was excellent. Unlike many crossovers, which have transmissions that race to sixth gear to improve mileage by sacrificing performance, the Santa Fe seemed to pace itself, providing good acceleration, highway cruising and everything in between.

It also gets good gas mileage, hitting 20 mpg in the city and 26 mpg on the highway. A 2.4-liter powertrain that produces 175 horsepower will get you two more miles per gallon on the highway, which makes it almost irrelevant. Why get the four-banger when the six provides 111 more horsepower and gets the same city mileage?

Safety galore

Hyundai also packs the Santa Fe with lots of safety features, such as six air bags, electronic stability control, tire pressure monitoring and brake assist, which will apply maximum brake force if it detects an emergency.

All in all, the Santa Fe isn’t a bad vehicle. But Hyundai has raised the bar on itself, and when you get into this vehicle, there’s very little that makes you say, “Wow, I really want one of these.”

Hyundai doesn’t even feel like the value vehicle in this segment, which is ground the carmaker often holds over the competition. It takes $23,000 to get a base model with an automatic transmission, and the top-of-the-line model cost more than $30,000.

With so much attention being paid to compact crossovers, the expectation has become that every vehicle needs to be the very best in the bunch.

The Santa Fe is not even in the top five.

sburgess@detnews.com (313) 223-3217

Consumer reviews

(94 reviews)
Rating breakdown (out of 5):
  • Comfort 4.5
  • Interior 4.5
  • Performance 4.5
  • Value 4.5
  • Exterior 4.5
  • Reliability 4.5
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Most recent consumer reviews

2011 Sante Fe Limited

I am definitely satisfied with my 2011 Sante Fe Limited 😁 I have exactly 195404 miles on it, no warning lights are on, and it’s super fast for a mid sized suv. Tomorrow will be the ultimate test I’m driving from California to New Orleans Tomorrow almost 2000 miles 😳😩so I will be back with another review once I reach my destination.

Rating breakdown (out of 5):
  • Comfort 5.0
  • Interior 5.0
  • Performance 5.0
  • Value 5.0
  • Exterior 5.0
  • Reliability 5.0
  • Purchased a Used car
  • Used for Transporting family
  • Does recommend this car
4 people out of 4 found this review helpful. Did you?
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Good vehicle, so far.

I bought my 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited AWD with just over 123,000 miles in August 2022. So far I’ve put over 5,000 miles on it and have had no major issues (issues I have had will be talked about later). I only have a few complaints about this vehicle. First would be that it would be nice to either have more rear heating/air conditioning vents or dedicated rear heating/air conditioning. The other complaint I have is that I tend to press the radio buttons on the steering wheel while turning. Another complaint I have is that I’m currently only getting 16-18 mpg city (whereas EPA estimate is 20). This was a little difficult to adjust to as I was getting 22-25 in my 05 Kia Spectra I traded in but is a bit better than the 8-10 in my 99 Dodge Durango (that I also traded in). The materials are ok for what they are as well. The plastics are plastic, but not flimsy. The carpet is carpet and does what it does. It doesn’t seem like cheap carpet, but it isn’t high quality either. I’ve got all weather floor mats, so not much gets on the carpet. I’ve got “leather” seats (front are heated as well) and the material is good quality (better than the plasticky leather I had in the Durango) and are for the most part comfortable. Soft touch places on the doors and other interior pieces are mostly the same texture and “cushion” as the seats. I’m mostly impressed with the sound system. The 10 speaker infinity system sounds better than most sound systems I’ve heard, I only wish that was Android Auto/Apple Car Play compatible. Only major issue I’ve had was the alternator and battery going bad (battery was about 5 years old, and alternator seemed to be original and was a pain to change). Also, when I bought it, I knew I had to replace front struts and ball joints as I could tell the alignment was off my tire wear. I replaced the struts and complete control arms (easier than just the ball joint). These parts were all original and there were obvious signs the vehicle was taken off road. An upcoming issue that I’ll probably have this summer is it looks like I’m going to be needing to change the water pump as I can see coolant leaking from around it. Other than my 2008 Subaru WRX I had a few years ago, this is the best running & driving vehicle I’ve had.

Rating breakdown (out of 5):
  • Comfort 4.0
  • Interior 4.0
  • Performance 4.0
  • Value 4.0
  • Exterior 3.0
  • Reliability 4.0
  • Purchased a Used car
  • Used for Commuting
  • Does recommend this car
10 people out of 11 found this review helpful. Did you?
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Was really impressed by the power the v6 motor has

This car meets my daily needs. I was looking for a daily driver so I could save on gas. The gas mileage is great and the v6 has plenty of power. I was very surprised at the power in this motor yet easy on gas. Especially when I was driving a truck that gets 11 mpg

Rating breakdown (out of 5):
  • Comfort 4.0
  • Interior 4.0
  • Performance 5.0
  • Value 5.0
  • Exterior 5.0
  • Reliability 5.0
  • Purchased a Used car
  • Used for Commuting
  • Does recommend this car
14 people out of 15 found this review helpful. Did you?
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See all 94 consumer reviews

Safety

Based on the 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe base trim.
Risk of rollover
17.4%
Rollover rating
4

Warranty

New car and Certified Pre-Owned programs by Hyundai
New car program benefits
Bumper-to-bumper
60 months/60,000 miles
Corrosion
84 months/unlimited distance
Powertrain
120 months/100,000 miles
Roadside assistance
60 months/unlimited distance
Certified Pre-Owned program benefits
Maximum age/mileage
Less than 80,000 miles; less than 7 years old (currently MY18- MY24)
Basic warranty terms
Remainder of the 5-Year/60,000-Mile New Vehicle Limited Warranty. From original in-service date and zero (0) miles.
Powertrain
10-Yr/100K-Mile Powertrain Limited Warranty. From original in-service date and zero (0) miles.
Dealer certification required
173-point inspection
Roadside assistance
Yes
View all cpo program details

Have questions about warranties or CPO programs?

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