The ride was smooth, the interior was very well crafted with no rattles, squeaks, or crackling sounds, unlike our rogue. Below is my brief thoughts on this car, piece by piece. All in all, everything from the heated steering wheel, to the leds, abundant amount of space, ergonomics = this car is a A+ in my book for the value ($35,XXX as tested)
TECHNOLOGY:
we didnt delve to much into the radio nor navigation on this test drive. we really just wanted to see the fit & feel of the car itself, and the drive. i didnt want to be taking my attention away from any possible road noise, poor craftsmanship, etc with the sound of music. so to be honest, i cant say much about the navigation nor screen setup, nor backup camera. but i do know it has a push-to-start, and the inteli key that has driver memory. it also has the exterior door handle button to unlock the car. i do know the car has built in blue-tooth like our rogue does. i do know that it has a premium Infinity Logic7 550-watt audio system with 12 speakers and a digital external amp. DID I MENTION: the front window detects moisture and turns on defroster?
When walking out to the car at night, the door handles light up.
ENGINE
its awd, and a 2.4L (190hp) 4 cyl engine. the engine didnt propel the car as fast as i think the rogue can, but it wasnt that bad. The santa fe is roughly 4000lbs! (compared to the rogue: 3400lbs), so i can see how the extra 20HP that the santa fe has, gets lost in translation. anyway, it still had some pep, but man- its not a lot LOL. if you can ignore the lack of power, and instead pay attention to the extra features this car has - you'll be fine. I KNOW HYUNDAI USED TO USE RUBBER TIMING BELTS: and i made them prove to me that they no longer do, well at least not on this car - PROVEN: ITS A TIMING CHAIN(just like nissan)
TRANSMISSION
its awd, as i have stated before, and its a slight different setup. it has something called TORQUE VECTORING(idk what Hyundai calls it, but thats the real name of it). it shifts the engines power from either front to back & applies the brakes to the inside wheels, to help steer the vehicle. the Infiniti FX & JX have that. so if you are making a quick lane change, it will help steer the car, by giving the rear wheels more power, while slightly applying the brakes to the car's inside wheels to help the car steers more precisely. same things with tire slip.
it also has HILL DECENT & HILL ASCEND assist. It also has AWD LOCK feature. its a 6-speed automatic transmission with SHIFTRONIC. All models have the "ECO System"; with the push of a button, it improves the performance of the transmission to help you get more MPG's.
FRONT INTERIOR:
wow! blown away. 2-toned, with a fake carbon fiber looking trim. blue LED accents near the shifter (in the AUX port area), plenty space in the doors, center area, and just an all around supple, soft leather feel to everything. nothing made noise while driving. the gauges felt like i was driving a super high end luxury car. puts the rogue to absolute SHAME!!! it has a high resolution LCD screen that shows many different things about the car, radio etc. then 2 other smaller LCD screens that show other gauges. the front headrests move up & down, and forward and backwards, so you can find your perfect setup.
STEERING:
GOING SLOWLY, ITS FEATHER LIGHT! its a really cool feeling to not have to have a heavy steering wheel, when in a parking lot situation. with my torn shoulder, it felt great!
CENTER CONSOLE / CONTROL:
It also has dual climate control.
REAR PASSENGER AREA:
the rear seats can move forward, backwards, and they recline to a more sleepy, relaxed position. i think that feature is AMAZING.(considering the infiniti JX & pathfinder JUST got it) the rear windows are not only tinted, but they have the signature BMW & Mercedes privacy screens that can come up for added privacy(hidden into the door panel). i think thats a small touch, that REALLY shows how they tried to squeeze every option they could for the money. big plus. the rear seats fold down, buy pulling a latch in the trunk. (helps when trying to shove something big in there)
SUNROOF:
the sunroof is giant, to say the least. it spans from the front all the way to the rear, just like the BMW x5. big plus. they took a winter, off-road SUV and made it fun in the summer. i think thats just another sign of how they tried to cross every T, and dot every I.
TRUNK:
TONS OF SPACE! gotta hand it, to the engineers. they gave you a ton of space, and pockets to put stuff in, under the trunk. (the spare is under the car- THANK GOD, because the last thing id want to do is to have to take all my crap out, just to get the spare tire out. ahum- cough cough ROGUE)
EXTRA FEATURES:
projector headlights, led headlight strip, and blue led interior accents around the shifter, comes with a tow hitch!
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as it stands, these are the major features that the rogue doesnt offer(no matter what trim you get) that the SF does offer
- exterior design: sharp, updated, and very classy. it looks like it was designed to be no less sexier than murano / bmw x5 / audi / mercedes ML. while the rogue is more of the SIMPLE design, designed to not stand out, so it wont kill the murano sales. what really catches your eye is the accents they did with the stainless steel skid plates(front & rear) and the over-tones of matt-black.
interior: multi toned, accented in sleek silver, dark tones and bright tones all give your eyes plenty to look at; and to be jealous of if you dont own this car. they really took the time to make this car appear as if its a $50,000 SUV
headlights: projector lowbeams, LED accent trim, sharp corners that give it a racier look
door pockets: large enough and specifically designed for a bottle of water
speedometer: awesome interactive lcd screen. great colors and multiple smaller lcd screens that give this speedo-cluster an updated/refreshed look.
center console: TWO cigarette lighter ports, AUX port and usb port. great use of cubby space where the rogue has the A/C controls. blue LED accent lighting to illuminate the dark/hidden spots.
a/c control: if you dont take the NAVI tech package, the A/C control will come with a push-button combo and a blue lcd screen below the radio area- that shows where the air is blowing, fan speed, temp, etc. (unlike the very simplistic turn knobs on the rogue)
rear seats: move forward & backwards and the back of the seat reclines as well. fully functional headrests. no rattle in the rear seat.
trunk: TONS of space, because they put the spare tire under the car. having the spare under the car opens up at least 3feet wide X 2feet tall, 10"deep pocket that has compartments.
otherwise its got all of the same features as my rogue: heated leather seats, tinted rear windows, awd, tinted rear windows, single chrome tipped exhaust,
fully interactive cluster
multiple easy to access power sources & aux jacks.
door panel with large bottle holders
amazing roof (only comes with the navi-tech package though)
front & rear stainless steel looking skid plates
rear seats have functioning headrests, and the side supports of an almost bucket seat.
space 1, with all the spare tire accessories.
space 2 in the trunk (where rogue owners would access the spare tire)
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DID I MENTION WE BOUGHT ONE!? fully loaded minus the navigation(which also removed the giant glass roof option)
EXTERIOR: 17" rims, led headlight accents, projectors, sporty styling. very modern.
(front)
(rear)
TRUNK:
INTERIOR: (front) touch screen & rear cam (no navi though)
(rear): heated rear seats! rear seats recline and move fwd/bck
