Honda CR-V vs Hyundai Santa Fe - opinions?

[StevenYoo]

Hello all,

the family is considering purchasing a small or midsize SUV.

How is the Honda CR-V and the Hyundai Santa Fe?

the honda has that honda reliability but the hyundai has that 10 year warranty.

the santa fe is a little bit more powerful and I like the way it looks. But in comparison to the CR-V, it will be more prone to breaking down, right?

I dunno much about cars, so don't throw out ricer terms at me. Just tell me what would be important to the normal consumer, like fuel efficiency, maintenance, power, and RELIABILITY (most important here)

 

[schizoid]

I dunno.

 

[RossMAN]

Honda CR-V or Subaru Forrester

I'd buy a Suzuki Grand Vitara before I bought a Hyundai Santa Fe.

 

[isekii]

Hyundai has been pretty good with their cars lately

i'd take the Santa Fe

it's has better power~ um.. mileage is about the same I believe... and you do have that 10 year warranty..

if you decide to keep it for a long time..

I have a 99 crv
it's been good~ wish it just had a tad more power

 

[waggy]

if you can afford the honda then get that.


they hyundai is a cheap and a ok car. But the resale value on it stinks. if you get one plan on driving it untill the wheels fall off.

witht he honda the resale value is very very good.


but if you plan on keeping the car for like 5-8 years then sure get the hyundai.

 

[rufruf44]

CR-V Advantage:
- It's a Honda, good reliability and resale value
- Good fuel economy for a small SUV.
- Very good crash rating
- Handling and ride is Honda's quality

CR-V Disadvantage:
- It's a Honda, its really expensive when bought brand new or used
- No available V6
- Forget it if you want to take it for off-roading-
- Only available in 4WD (limited selection)
- Honda's dealer = pain in the butt to haggle (not really a disadvantage, just for the ferengi, aka Rossman)


Santa-Fe Advantage:
- From price perspective, it offers the most value for your $$$ (cheap + lots of features)
- More room and cargo space than the CRV.
- 10 yr warranty from Hyundai (only valid for 1st owner though)
- V6 Availability
- More different type of selection (2WD, 4WD, AWD)

Santa-Fe Disadvantage:
- Reliability is still questionable
- 4cyl engine is a tad weak
- Resale value = horrible for the Hyundai clan

Just to name a few differences.

 

[ivol07]

Originally posted by: waggy
if you can afford the honda then get that.


they hyundai is a cheap and a ok car. But the resale value on it stinks. if you get one plan on driving it untill the wheels fall off.

witht he honda the resale value is very very good.


but if you plan on keeping the car for like 5-8 years then sure get the hyundai.

True, if you plan on reselling this SUV then don't get the Hyundai. But if your going to drive it for at least five years get the Hyundai. I'm going to buy one for the wife next year after her Honda Civic lease is up. I have a Hyundai Elantra and it runs like a dream. VERY RELIABLE! I just turned 50k miles yeseterday. I've had it since April 2001. Only problem has been a blown out headlight. The warranty fixed it, no problem.

Go with the Hyundai, but be prepared for ignorant people to turn their noses up at you.

 

[RossMAN]

ivol07 - What year Elantra do you have? Is it the GLS sedan (4 door)? Automatic or manual?

How is the build quality inside and out, rattles, squeaks, paint, fabric, etc.

 

[GroundZero]

i have some serious safety and durability questions about the cr-v.
if you take a look at the rear axels, you will notice that there is no housing on them, and the axels themselves are realy small in diameter (maybe an inch if they are lucky)
i personally wouldn't feel safe in one of them. and would always be afraid of breaking an axel at the least.

 

[conjur]

Originally posted by: rufruf44
CR-V Advantage:
- It's a Honda, good reliability and resale value
- Good fuel economy for a small SUV.
- Very good crash rating
- Handling and ride is Honda's quality

CR-V Disadvantage:
- It's a Honda, its really expensive when bought brand new or used
- No available V6
- Forget it if you want to take it for off-roading-
- Only available in 4WD (limited selection)
- Honda's dealer = pain in the butt to haggle (not really a disadvantage, just for the ferengi, aka Rossman)

Uhh...The CR-V LX comes standard as 2WD. 4WD (RealTime 4WD is an option on the LX). We were just running a sale on an LX that was on the lot. It went out at like $18,900.

 

[rufruf44]

My bad, forgot about the 2WD LX, was just looking at the 4WD EX & LX

 

[phaserx]

Why not go with a mazda tribute or ford escape (same car basically).. Are you trying to stay under $20k? If not, i'd go with the tribute.. I drove that and liked it..

As for looks and features, i'd go with the santa fe though.. But again, i'd question their reliability.. Though the santa fes have been around for a couple years now and most people i know who drive them, like them..

Check out car review forums and see if people rated the two..

 

[conjur]

Originally posted by: phaserx
Why not go with a mazda tribute or ford escape (same car basically).. Are you trying to stay under $20k? If not, i'd go with the tribute.. I drove that and liked it..

As for looks and features, i'd go with the santa fe though.. But again, i'd question their reliability.. Though the santa fes have been around for a couple years now and most people i know who drive them, like them..

Check out car review forums and see if people rated the two..

Had a guy come in the other day looking at the CR-V. He could get a Ford Escape very cheaply as part of friends and family plan but he still came back to buy the CR-V. The Honda reliability and the way it drove and felt, to him, were much better than in the Ford.

 

[GroundZero]

Originally posted by: conjur

Originally posted by: phaserx
Why not go with a mazda tribute or ford escape (same car basically).. Are you trying to stay under $20k? If not, i'd go with the tribute.. I drove that and liked it..

As for looks and features, i'd go with the santa fe though.. But again, i'd question their reliability.. Though the santa fes have been around for a couple years now and most people i know who drive them, like them..

Check out car review forums and see if people rated the two..

Had a guy come in the other day looking at the CR-V. He could get a Ford Escape very cheaply as part of friends and family plan but he still came back to buy the CR-V. The Honda reliability and the way it drove and felt, to him, were much better than in the Ford.

i am thinking you sell hondas for a living...
so what is the deal with those housingless rear axels?

 

[Spoooon]

What about a Kia Sorento? I suppose it has a poor image, but I think it looks pretty good. Edmunds had some good things to say about it.

Pros
Great value, class-leading warranty coverage, long list of standard features, solid construction, true off-road capability.

Cons
Engine needs more power, subpar fuel economy (15,20mpg), seat upholstery could stand improvement.

I'm not a fan of the Santa Fe's looks. If it came down to a choice between the CR-V and Santa Fe, I would opt for the CR-V.

 

[ivol07]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
ivol07 - What year Elantra do you have? Is it the GLS sedan (4 door)? Automatic or manual?

How is the build quality inside and out, rattles, squeaks, paint, fabric, etc.

It's a 2001 GLS 4 door. It's not a luxory car but for the dough I spent it's well worth it.

On the inside the fabric could be a more attractive color, mine is grey, but it's very good cloth. Hasn't ripped anywhere. Or even shown signs of wear. The floor mats are worn out where my foot constantly is because of shifting. I have a manual trans. It used to rattle a bit on the passenger side door but I smacked it and it pretty muched stopped. It was never a huge rattle, but enough that you could hear it with the radio off. No squeeks at all, the paint still looks new when it's clean. The hub caps seem to be peeling, or the front passenger anyway. But I think I hit a curb while parking. Oh, and I have a crack in the windshield. Overall it feels like a solid car, I feel alot safer in this car then in my wifes civic which has less miles and is a 99. Now that car has all kinds of problems. But thats a different post.

Anyone want to take over payments on a 99 2 door Honda Civic?