I bought my vehicle used from a dealership when it was 5 years old. It only had around 32,000 miles on it at the time, and now has well over 130,000. IT has gotten me around not only the city that I live in, but also between home and Kansas City, MO and St. Louis many times. I have found it to be reliable, and maintenance has been relatively easy. The acceleration of the 4 cylinder engine was a bit of a sore spot in the beginning; I was used to a much more powerful engine previously. However, much to my relief, once I got used to the vehicle, it really wasn't a concern. However, now that the vehicle is aging, the acceleration has gotten more delayed, and a bit jerky. The vehicle is a base model, and was cared for very well by the previous owner. I can't lie, I've been pretty hard on it, and it's done very well and held up surprisingly well. I think that if I had been more on top of the regular maintenance and oil changes, I would be able to give this vehicle five stars. One thing I will say, is that the steering wheel seems to just crumble upon touching it, during the summer. Pretty much all of the exterior of my wheel is gone, and there are huge gouges in what remains.

The Santa Fe is a great "compromise" car -- it's roomy enough for our three kids and their assorted sports gear but small enough to get decent gas mileage. We actually downgraded from a Suburban due to gas/maintenance costs, and were worried we'd miss the room -- but we love the car. It met all our requirements -- enough room for us and our stuff and AWD (or four-wheel drive) since we live in the snowy Midwest and mid-range gas mileage.