2005: Tucson or Santa Fe?

[akboss]

Hi there,

Me and my wife are looking for a new(ish) vehicle, and both a 2005 Tucson and Santa Fe are on our list, both in AWD with 2.7L V6. Any recommendations as to which vehicle would be a better buy? So far I'm leaning towards the Santa Fe because it has very low insurance costs, but if there's some other advice out there I'd appreciate it also. Cost is a factor, so if we can save more money with one or the other, that would be a big bonus.

Thanks guys!

[DSHornet]

In 2005, the Santa was a mature four year old design. The Tucson was a new design, which many people like to avoid until at least the second model year to "shake down" any first year issues. Not that the first year Tuc was defective (far from it!).

My wife has an '07 Tucson and I have an '01 Santa Fe, both with the 2.7 V6. The worst problem I have with my Santa is the fact it weighs about 600 lbs more and is about 15 horsepower behind the Tucson. Hers will run off and leave mine. But my highway gas mileage is better than hers, which you'd think would be the opposite. Go figure.

Hers is front wheel drive. Mine has all-wheel drive ("4WD") and is probably the most stable car on the highway I've ever owned. Both cars have stability control, traction control, and ABS, and handle very well for small CUV's.

IMHO, either car would be a good buy. Check around this forum and others (tuscondrivers, hyundai-forum, hyundaisantafemessageboard - do a search and see what you can find) to get a better picture of what we think about our cars. Obviously, we wouldn't have bought the second car if the first was a bad one.

[akboss]

Thanks DSHornet, appreciate the post. I'm also surprised that your AWD Santa has better highway fuel economy that a FWD Tucson, which is, as you say, quite a bit lighter. I would guess the transmission ratios in the Santa are geared for cruising.

Cheers.