2025 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Road Test and Review

2025 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Calligraphy ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Hyundai makes some of the best electric cars on the market. Up and down its Ioniq lineup, Hyundai EVs drive beautifully, cover solid distances between charges, recharge quickly, and can be quite cheap to operate. 

But as automakers have figured out, not everyone wants an EV. For owners who can’t plug in at home, or who take frequent long trips, they can be expensive and inconvenient to recharge. It’s a lifestyle change that not everyone is ready for – regardless of an electric car's speed, quietness, and efficiency. 

Fortunately, Hyundai also has a lineup of gas-electric hybrids. These save on gas while imposing minimal sacrifices. Thanks to hybrid technology, the 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid is a luxurious three-row crossover SUV that gets up to 36 mpg. For this review, we just spent a week testing the Santa Fe Hybrid, priced from $37,800. Keep reading as we explore its pros and cons to see if it’s the right fuel-efficient SUV for you. 

Gas and Electric

Hybrid technology is nothing new. For a quarter of a century, Americans have bought cars like the Toyota Prius that pair a gasoline engine with a small electric motor. But it’s a convenient approach. 

The electric motor helps take some of the burden off the gas engine, meaning it’s not working as hard (thus burning less fuel). When the engine is running, it recharges the system’s small battery. And when the battery has enough charge, the Santa Fe Hybrid can cruise along with the gas engine switched off entirely. When construction zones and accidents dropped traffic down to a crawl, our test vehicle whirred along using almost no gasoline. In a non-hybrid, we’d have seen our trip computer report steadily lower fuel economy as we inched along.

The Santa Fe Hybrid can travel an EPA-estimated 637 miles without refueling. And when its range starts to dwindle, you fill up its 17.7-gallon gas tank just like a conventional car. Unlike some past years, though, you can't get a Santa Fe plug-in hybrid with a bigger battery that you can recharge from the grid.

2025 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Calligraphy ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Sips Gas Like a Small Car

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s engine is a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, paired with a six-speed automatic transmission. Together with the electric motor, this powertrain makes 231 horsepower. In EPA testing, it gets 36 mpg in the city, 35 mpg on the highway, and 36 mpg combined with front-wheel drive and 35 mpg city, 34 mpg highway, and 34 mpg combined with all-wheel drive. Our AWD test vehicle beat those numbers, getting 37 mpg during our weeklong test. We’ve tested economy sedans that got worse mileage. 

Meanwhile, the gas-only Santa Fe maxes out at 20 mpg city, 29 mpg highway, and 24 mpg combined, with AWD cutting another mile per gallon. So the hybrid may not save that much gas when you’re just cruising on the open highway – but at lower speeds and stop-and-go traffic, your fuel bill gets cut almost in half. 

2025 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Calligraphy ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Boxy Chic

The Santa Fe Hybrid shares its body with the gas-only Santa Fe, and both models got a dramatic redesign for 2024. With sharp corners, squared-off headlights, pronounced fender flares, rectangular windows, a vertical rear end, and a low rectangular lightbar spanning the rear of the vehicle, it embraces boxiness. It’s square as a styling statement, not merely for functionality.  

The Santa Fe is on the small side of the mid-size crossover class, evenly between the larger Hyundai Palisade and the smaller Tucson. Most crossovers this size – like the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Subaru Outback, Chevrolet Blazer, Nissan Murano, and the previous-generation Santa Fe – seat just five people and have less cargo room. So the Hyundai’s boxiness isn’t just for show. (Also, of those rivals, only the Jeep offers a hybrid option – and it’s an expensive plug-in hybrid.) However, if you aren’t in love with the Santa Fe Hybrid’s looks, you can get nearly as much space in its conventional-looking cousin: the Kia Sorento Hybrid. 

2025 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Calligraphy ・ Photo by Brady Holt

An Interior Like a Range Rover

The Sorento doesn’t have an interior like the Santa Fe’s, though. Nor do many other cars that cost less than a Range Rover – or even some that cost more. This cabin is a thing of beauty, modern yet rugged and exquisitely finished. 

The standard 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen connects across a single panel to the digital gauge cluster. This design fits seamlessly into a proudly rectangular dash, which complements the square exterior. We tested the top Calligraphy model, which starts at $47,850 and boasts ultra-luxe Nappa leather upholstery on the seats and dashboard. But even lesser models look and feel great. 

Plus, unlike a Range Rover, the Santa Fe’s cabin is also built for practicality. Most controls are easy to use, with simple buttons and knobs for common functions. And ample storage spaces include generously sized front cupholders, available his-and-hers wireless phone chargers, an open space below the center console, and multiple other bins and cubbies. 

We have a few nitpicks. The audio system’s knobs feel less fancy than the rest of the interior. We wish Hyundai hadn’t clustered all the climate controls so tightly. And most infotainment modes exclude information about the song playing on the radio. But overall, the Santa Fe Hybrid’s interior delivers a high-end vibe without losing the everyday functionality of an affordable family car. 

2025 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Calligraphy ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Three Rows of Seats

We mentioned that the Santa Fe Hybrid has three rows of seats. That’s a great perk for families who occasionally need extra passenger capacity. But since the third row isn’t huge, that’s how we recommend looking at it – as a bonus, not something to count on every day. 

When you’re carrying up to five people (or four with the Calligraphy model’s second-row captain’s chairs), the Santa Fe has plenty of room for everyone. And the Calligraphy even offers “relaxation seats” – a cushion that deploys from the front seats when you need to put your feet up and relax. (The driver’s side only works when parked.)

But when you need to use the third row, you’d scoot the second row forward to create more third-row legroom. Plus, the third row eats up most of the Santa Fe Hybrid’s cargo hold. There’s just 14.6 cubic feet of cargo space when it's in use, though that expands to 40.5 cubic feet with the third row folded and 79.6 cubic feet behind the front seats. Towing capacity is a modest 2,000 pounds. The redesigned 2026 Hyundai Palisade is introducing a new hybrid model for folks who want more space while saving gas. 

2025 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Calligraphy ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Smooth But Not Fast

We’ve mentioned that the Santa Fe Hybrid is smaller than most three-row crossovers. That helps it feel more agile and responsive when you tackle a winding road. The steering is firm and quick without feeling too heavy or darty, and the composed suspension inspires confidence at speed – and helps make this Hyundai feel expensive. The 38-foot turning circle is also pretty good for a mid-size SUV, making the Santa Fe Hybrid relatively easy to park, too.

As we mentioned, the Santa Fe Hybrid’s powertrain makes 231 horsepower between its little gas engine and its small electric motor. That’s a decent output, but it’s not a powerhouse. A 277-horsepower non-hybrid Santa Fe is notably quicker and a little quieter. But the hybrid gets the job done, too. We’d estimate that the gas model needs about 7 seconds to sprint to 60 mph while the hybrid needs about 8 seconds. That’s competitive with the Toyota Highlander Hybrid, and the Hyundai’s engine sounds nicer. The Santa Fe Hybrid’s six-speed automatic transmission shifts more smoothly than the gas model’s eight-speed, too. 

2025 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Calligraphy ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Lots of Standard Features

The 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid isn’t a cheap car. As we mentioned, it starts at $37,800. And our top-of-the-line Calligraphy AWD test model topped $50,000. 

On the other hand, most Santa Fe Hybrids cost less than the average new car in the U.S. today. And they come packed with amenities even on lower trim levels. The base SEL has leatherette upholstery with heated front seats, a power driver’s seat, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, a power liftgate, the ability to use your smartphone as a key, and the big 12.3-inch touchscreen. A similarly equipped Toyota Highlander Hybrid costs about $6,000 more. 

Other Santa Fe Hybrid trim levels are the $44,700 Limited (genuine leather, ventilated front seats, a sunroof, a surround-view parking camera, and more) and the $47,850 Calligraphy (Nappa leather, second-row captain’s chairs, a head-up display, and the “relaxation seats”). AWD costs $1,800 extra on each of the three trim levels. 

The Santa Fe Hybrid costs $1,000 more than comparable gas-only Santa Fe trim levels. However, you can’t get the hybrid with regular Santa Fe’s base SE trim level – which shaves off a couple thousand dollars to give you manually adjustable, unheated cloth seats and a few other downgrades. We wish hybrid buyers got that same chance to save a few bucks on luxuries they might not want to pay for. 

2025 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Calligraphy ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Competitors to Consider

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s closest competitor is its own cousin, the Kia Sorento Hybrid. It costs about the same as the Hyundai but is neither as fancy nor as roomy. It does come standard with second-row captain’s chairs (which Hyundai reserves for the top Calligraphy model), but it doesn’t give you the option for a three-passenger bench. If you’re not attached to the Santa Fe’s styling or interior, see if your Kia dealer will give you a better deal, but we prefer the Hyundai. 

We'd also pick the Santa Fe Hybrid over the Highlander Hybrid. The Hyundai costs a lot less, drives better, and gets nearly identical gas mileage. Toyota has a longer reputation for building top-notch hybrids, but Hyundai has also been selling gas-electric cars in the U.S. for 15 years. The Highlander has a little more cargo room behind the third row, though. 

If you don’t need three rows of seats and tons of cargo room, the wagon-like Toyota Crown Signia offers a low, sleek alternative to the oh-so-boxy Santa Fe Hybrid. And if you’re looking for fuel savings without all the luxury, the Hyundai Tucson Hybrid is roomy and economical at a starting price of just $33,465. 

2024 Kia Sorento X-Pro SX Prestige ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Efficiency, Luxury, Functionality, and Value

Not everyone will love the Hyundai Santa Fe’s styling. Others will want even more space or an SUV that can tow more. And some will pine for the gas-only model’s extra power. 

For everyone else, the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid should be incredibly appealing to a wide range of potential owners. It’s a family car. It’s a luxury car. It drives well. It’s roomy. It gets 36 mpg. And it’s packed with features at attainable prices. If you’re looking for a crossover SUV in this price range, don’t miss it. 

2025 Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy ・ Photo by Brady Holt