I drove Hyundai's all-new $40,000 Santa Fe SUV. These are my 19 favorite features.

• The Hyundai Santa Fe is a mid-size three-row family SUV that's all-new for 2024.
• I recently reviewed a well-equipped Santa Fe in the off-road focused XRT trim.
• I was impressed by the Santa Fe's rugged looks, useful interior features, and updated tech.

The Hyundai Santa Fe has long served a niche SUV customer: those looking for a stylish midsize SUV without the heft and price tag of a larger three-row vehicle — but with more utility than smaller rivals.

This year, Hyundai gave the Santa Fe a full-on makeover, complete with rugged, angular looks and a standard third-row seat.

While still slotted between Hyundai's compact Tucson and the brand's flagship Palisade , the new Santa Fe now has a distinct look and feel that stands out from the crowd.

I recently drove a $40,600 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe XRT AWD . I was impressed by my mid-grade Santa Fe XRT test car's Korean Land Rover aesthetic, well-thought-out cabin, and high-tech content.

Here's a closer look at some of my favorite features.

1. The XRT trim

The mid-tier SRT trim level is all-new for 2024 and is geared toward families who enjoy spending time outdoors, similar to the Subaru's Wilderness and Nissan's Rock Creek editions.

Aesthetically, the XRT trim is differentiated by blacked-out lettering, wheels, exterior accents, and front grille. To back up the looks, Hyundai gave the Santa Fe XRT standard all-wheel drive, 18-inch all-terrain tires instead of regular road tires, and a bump in ground clearance to a solid 8.3 inches.

2. H-themed headlights

H-shaped LED running lights dominate the Santa Fe's front fascia. The H theme runs throughout the vehicle, from interior accents to the Santa Fe's taillights. It's a not-so-subtle reminder that this cool SUV is Hyundai.

3. Active air flaps

The Santa Fe's front bumper is equipped with a pair of active air flaps that open and close automatically based on driving conditions. The SUV's computers position the airflaps to maximize engine cooling and aerodynamic efficiency.

4. Turbo power

The Santa Fe XRT is powered by a gutsy 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine.

The engine itself is terrific. It's smooth and quiet and produces a stout 277 horsepower along with 311 lb.-ft. of torque.

My only complaint is that Hyundai's cumbersome automatic start-stop system and sluggish throttle programming let down the engine, dampening Santa Fe's low-end acceleration. However, once underway, the engine power becomes plentiful, and the Santa Fe delivers strong acceleration up to highway speeds.

5. Panoramic curved display

The centerpiece of the Santa Fe's front dash is a single-piece panoramic curved display that houses a pair of 12.3-inch high-definition screens.

6. Standard third-row seats

Unlike previous generations of the Santa Fe, it now comes standard with a third row of seats.

As with most other offerings in this segment, the third row should be reserved for children, small adults, or short trips around town. With only 30 inches of legroom, roughly what you have in coach on some airlines, the Santa Fe offers a couple of inches more space than the Toyota Highlander but falls about an inch and a half short of the larger Palisade.

The Santa Fe's second-row seats slide forward with the push of a button, allowing for somewhat easy access to the third row.

7. Roomy, well-designed cabin

As a mid-tier model geared toward the outdoorsy types, the XRT isn't equipped with all the luxury bells and whistles of the top-spec Calligraphy trim like a head-up display or quilted Nappa leather seats.

Instead, functionality reigns supreme.

The cabin is roomy and well-designed, with good material quality. It also boasts a wide array of useful storage nooks for the whole family.

The Santa Fe offers more second-row legroom than the Subaru Ascent, Honda Pilot, and Toyota Highlander, all of which traditionally compete against the larger Palisade.

8. Updated infotainment system

Unlike the Palisade and Tucson, the Santa Fe boasts a newer version of the Hyundai user interface. The system looks fresh and modern, is easy to navigate, and comes standard with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

9. Unique shifter

The Santa Fe boasts a weird but intuitive shifter on the right side of the steering column where the ignition key lived once upon a time.

To shift into drive, twist the silver part forward. Twist it backward to shift into reverse, and press the "P" button at the end of the stalk to put the Santa Fe into park.

This design's biggest benefit is that it frees up space on the center console for storage, cupholders, and charging ports.

10. Safety tech

The Santa Fe comes standard with blind-spot collision warning, rear cross-traffic collision avoidance assist, park distance warning, ultrasonic rear occupant sensor, forward collision avoidance assist, lane keeping assist, driver monitoring, highway driving assist, and lane following assist.

11. Spacious center console

The Santa Fe's center console is massive, with giant cup holders and space for two smartphones lying side-by-side. The smartphone spot closest to the driver offers wireless charging, and another phone can be plugged into one of the nearby USB-C sockets.

12. Sounds of nature

The Santa Fe's infotainment system is equipped with a feature called Sounds of Nature that plays a variety of calming soundtracks for when the commute becomes too stressful.

13. Nifty storage spaces

The armrest between the Santa Fe's front seats is designed to open both forward and backward, allowing occupants in the front and back of the vehicle to access its contents. A useful storage drawer also slides out from under the armrest.

14. Built-in diagnostic system

The Santa Fe is equipped with a built-in vehicle diagnostic system. You can access the feature manually through the infotainment screen to check the vehicle's condition periodically.

15. Hidden grab handles

Behind the rear doors are a pair of concealed grab handles, which are very handy when you need to reach items stored on the roof rack. When not in use, these handles can be flipped closed and physically locked.

It's a cool and useful feature not commonly found on family SUVs.

16. Seatback USB-C chargers

The Santa Fe is equipped with USB-C charging plugs on the inside edge of its front seatback. It's a thoughtful design that allows both front and rear-seat passengers access to the charging plugs.

17. Usable cargo space

The Santa Fe boasts a maximum of 79.6 cubic feet of cargo room with second and third-row seats folded down. Even though it falls short of the Palisade by seven cubic feet, the Santa Fe's boxy shape makes the shape compatible with large loads.

18. Germ-killing gloveboxes

The Hyundai Santa Fe is equipped with two glove compartments. The upper glove compartment on pricier Limited and Calligraphy trim models are equipped with ultra violet sanitizing lights.

19. Spare tire

The Santa Fe's spare tire is underneath the cargo area. Spare tires are becoming increasingly rare features on modern cars and they can be essential in the case of a flat tire.

The spare tire is standard on all ICE variants of the Santa Fe but not available on the Hybrid.

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