Hyundai Santa Fe's New XRT Trim

If you don't see the "Hyundai" logo on the hood of the new Santa Fe, you will never guess this is a Hyundai. It looks more like the Land Rover with its style jumping miles away from where it was within the previous generations.

The 2024 Santa Fe is about to hit the market and it hopes that the market will not hit it. But I can't help but think about the consequences of this "Land Rover" style. And while I was thinking about that, the off-road trim was presented and killed my understanding of what was happening in the design office of Hyundai.

The 2024 Santa Fe XRT is an illegal sister of the Land Rover Defender to me and I can't take it seriously because of that rude plagiarism in design. When I looked inside, I was stunned by the same feeling - it still looked like Land Rover. But OK, let's investigate the trim!

XRT - what engines will you get?

So, the new Santa Fe is going to have two well-known engines under the hood. And the 1.6L turbo is only going to power the hybrid version. In the first years, you will only get the mild-hybrid which is impossible to charge and it has zero all-electric range. The plug-in hybrid is likely to appear a little later.

But the XRT is probably going to be powered by the 2.5L Turbo engine which is a much more reasonable option for such a trim of the new Hyundai SUV. It offers 277 horsepower and the torque is pretty good - 311 lb-ft. I believe the Santa Fe XRT will be able to master some pretty tough off-road terrains.

But I wouldn't like to comment on its durability. I already wrote about this engine with some modifications installed in the Sonata N Line - you may read that article here.

One thing that drives me a little mad is the 8-speed dual-clutch transmission that comes as the only option for the decent 2.5L engine. If you don't want to have anything to do with the DCT, you will need to opt for the 1.6L Hybrid that offers the conventional 6-speed automatic transmission.

Dear Hyundai, if you are reading this, I want to tell you that your DCT is not the best transmission in the world. Installing any other automatic transmission in the Santa Fe XRT would be a much better choice.

What will the XRT trim actually give you?

As of now, we still don't know the price of the XRT trim as well as the price for any other trim level of the new Santa Fe. But I believe the difference between lower trims and the XRT will be just huge.

If the starter version costs about $34,000 (which is more or less what Hyundai may want to offer), the XRT will beat the $40,000 threshold for sure. So, will you want to pay that much for a Hyundai? Let's see!

Here's what you get with the XRT:

• 30-inch all-terrain tires with new-style rims - I should say they really look very cool;
• additional ground clearance of 1.3 inches - not a bad bonus for off-roading;
• rear ladder - well, you can climb onto the car if you want, maybe save yourself from coyotes in the desert;
• roof rack - a pretty good thing for adventure traveling and it makes the car look nicer;
• camera mount on the front fender - at least, they were presented in the concept;
• lots of black trim pieces in the style - this certainly makes it look better;
• overall, mightier look - it makes you think that the Santa Fe XRT really can tackle off-road terrains;
• XRT badges in the interior, new type of seats for more comfortable off-road driving.

If the XRT trim succeeds in fooling you into believing that it's an off-road vehicle, it's good that you still have time to think. This is the SUV that is made for city roads and highways. It will hate any challenge even though Hyundai will take a hundred beautiful pictures of the Santa Fe XRT in super complicated terrains.

But still, these addons make it look better and I should say make it much closer to the Land Rover Defender than you might think.

What I really like about the 2024 Santa Fe XRT?

Well, this is a cool vehicle that looks really good. Yes, you will compare it to the Land Rover all the time but I believe it's Land Rover owners who should worry about that, not Hyundai owners!

The engines are predictable. I wouldn't say they are really good and long-lasting, but at least this is not a completely new powertrain that you may have a hundred problems with. So, I like this and I can rely on the 2.5L Turbo.

The interior looks a little more practical than in the previous model. The design concept of the interior shifted miles away from the 2023 model and I like it. Now, it looks more convenient and understandable to me.

I also like the front headlights. This is something new and I hope they will be functional. But they really make the front of the car look good and unusual.

What I don't like about this car?

I het the 8-speed DCT and I really don't know why they don't use a simple automatic transmission. I bet this would make the Santa Fe a much more desirable vehicle in the American market. I believe, American buyers have had enough of those DCTs and will be hard to fool again.

Also, I hate the look of the rear end of this car. It's box-shaped and this is quite OK but the shape of the tail lights makes it look like it was designed about 25 years ago and now Hyundai found those concepts and thought: Wow, we should obviously manufacture this car!

I wouldn't say I like the hybrid version. The little weak 1.6L engine is not going to provide you with proper driving. You will choke it to death every time you are driving and it will die much sooner than you expect.

And I hate the pricing. Yes, there are still no official prices but some information has already leaked and the 2024 Santa Fe is going to cost about 10% more than the 2023 model. And this is depressing.

So, is the XRT version worth it?

Well, it really depends on what you want from a car. If you want to go off-roading, you better get something with more off-road capabilities. If you just want your car to look cooler than your neighbor's vehicle and have a beautiful back ladder, then why not pay several thousand extra to just fulfill those wishes?

Jokes aside, I do think that the XRT package makes the new Santa Fe look much more beautiful and authentic. I love it but my decision on whether it's worth the money will come after I see the price difference between the cheapest trim and the XRT.

What do you think about the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe XRT? Let me know in the comments below!