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Is This SUV Overhyped?
How are GM, Ford and Stellantis coping with tariffs? Volvo is taking evasive action. Prices for new cars seem to hold, for now. Tesla is changing strategies, and much more!
Bernardo Montes de Oca
April 12, 2025
Issue 105
Hello!
We read this news and it had us scrathing our heads. Things have really turned for Tesla. The company now refuses to accept its own older models!
Market News
How are the big three adjusting to the new automotive reality from more expensive cars to more localized production?
Honda and Ford are two companies that are more than ready to cope with tariffs.
Stellantis is in hot waters for misleading ads about American cars.
Volvo is one of the most vulnerable brands to tariffs, but adjusting to them might take up to two years.
Car insurance won’t stop climbing; here’s why.
The average price for a new car held steady despite the tariff war. However, this aspect did change.
Tesla removed two models from China after the tariff war.
Speaking of Tesla, Hyundai promises to take on the Tesla Model 3 with all the punches. Here’s what it offers.
Safety and Recalls
The NHTSA sees a major drop in estimated traffic fatalities in 2024. That’s great news!
Audi recalls 45,000 cars over defective gauges.
30,000 child car seats are recalled for this critical issue.
This $3 component can leave your Jeep stranded. Here’s how to prevent it.
Car Culture
Before you buy a kei-car, check out the states that allow them!
Jeep has released its latest concepts. We love some. We hate some. What do you think?
A multimillionaire sports car company CEO drives a Toyota; here’s why.
Here’s why the 1969 Ford Mustang Boss is so important in US automotive history.
Do you imagine the Chevy Corvette and the Porsche 911 as direct competitors? Here’s how they’ve stacked up through time.
Thieves steal two muscle cars and do this outside the dealer.
Someone stole three Kia engines from the factory in India per week! Here’s how Kia lost almost 1,000 engines in five years.
Do you want an ultra-low mileage EV at a great discount? Hertz can help you.
Video of the week
What are some fun, reliable, and affordable cars you should buy? James Pumphrey tells us!
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IN THE KNOW
Is this Korean SUV so good? Not quite. Here’s what we mean.
The past thirty years have seen Hyundai Motors skyrocket in the US, going from a small Korean company producing small econoboxes to a serious contender for the best brand in the country.
In 2024, it ranked 4th in overall sales in the US, trailing only GM, Toyota, and Ford.
Check out this chart (a bit weird, we must say), describing the 2024 automotive market share.
There are a lot of crucial ingredients to Hyundai’s success recipe.
In its earlier years, it made massive leaps in quality, while on the cheaper side.
This 2004 article by the Wall Street Journal showcases how Hyundai reduced problems by 29% per year and earned the lowest number of problems in JD Power rankings since the test began.
That wasn’t the only significant change.
Hyundai's initial offer was comprised of small sedans, but it quickly understood that the US was looking for SUVs.
So, it launched a limited array of SUVs to test the waters, and they were quite a hit. The first models included the Tucson and the Santa Fe; the company hit it out of the park.
For example, the first-generation Santa Fe is still one of the highest-rated models in the lineup for its reliability and versatility. Check out how the others rank.
From there, Hyundai climbed up the ranks and even mimicked Honda and Toyota by launching a luxury brand, which eventually would be called Genesis.
It also began upgrading its models, slowly becoming the perfect balance between creature comforts, price, and versatility, including the Santa Fe mentioned earlier.
The Santa Fe’s latest iteration is a boxy, long SUV that has wowed the American consumer.
Car and Driver ranks it sixth among 3-row SUVs, while iSeeCars rated it 2 of 39 in the same category. Some interesting vehicles are in the latter, so you can check it out here.
Does this mean the Santa Fe is a shoo-in for a great buy? Not quite, especially with the latest generation.
While ratings are usually high, the problems are also noteworthy, such as this sad story of Hyundai buying back a new Santa Fe, because they were unable to fix it.
It turns out that the Santa Fe isn’t the perfect car many thought it would be. So, why do people keep buying it?
After all, it was the 20th most-sold car in 2024, with 119,000 units sold.
Here are the 20 cars that beat it. Are there any surprises?
We wanted to understand the Hyundai Santa Fe more in-depth, so we researched eight of the most critical drawbacks that you can find in this SUV.
Plus, we explain why people keep buying it. You can read our article below
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