With seat heaters, Santa Fe is a truly hot SUV

Stan Honda / AFP - Getty Images file

The Hyundai Santa Fe crossover SUV is a hot new model from the Korean automaker.

By Dan Carney, NBCNews contributor
Hyundai Motor America has a hit on its hands with the company’s new Santa Fe crossover SUV.

With the introduction of the Santa Fe, HMA president and CEO John Krafcik says Hyundai is going to offer seat heaters, front and rear, in all new Santa Fe SUVs, whether with fabric or leather upholstery. Then they are going to do the same thing with the rest of the lineup. Soon, every new Hyundai will have front and rear seat heaters available.

Domestic brands have long led the way when it comes to climate control, but Hyundai is in the thick of things in that area. In addition to those seat heaters, the Santa Fe offers a heated steering wheel and a de-icer for the windshield wipers. It is also ready for summer, with a chilled glove compartment for keeping that bottle of white wine cool on the way to a dinner party. It seems like Krafcik’s accelerator foot is on the floor and he doesn’t plan to lift it any time soon.

Dan Carney

In addition to seat heaters, the Santa Fe offers a heated steering wheel and a de-icer for the windshield wipers.

At the same time, Hyundai is simplifying its SUV lineup, dropping the Veracruz three-row model and introducing the new Santa Fe in two versions. One is the two-row, five-seat, four-cylinder Sante Fe Sport, and the other is the three-row, seven-seat Santa Fe with a base four-cylinder engine and an optional V-6.

In a market crowded with similar crossover SUVs, sticking with one name — Santa Fe — should help consumers remember it, whether it is the medium or large variant.

Krafcik says that I, a family man who is active in my own and my kids’ sports, qualify as one of the Santa Fe’s target customer demographics, labeled “alternadults.” Hmm. I’m not sure that isn’t an insult, but nevertheless, Hyundai likes the members of that demographic and thinks they will like the Santa Fe.

To handle an "alternadult's" need to juggle kids, adults and sporting gear, the Santa Fe’s back seats are not only heated, but are also multiadjustable. They slide fore-and-aft, and the split is 40/20/40 for maximum flexibility between people and long, bulky items.

Like many of its "alternadult" target customers, Hyundai is pursuing weight reduction. This helps fuel efficiency, acceleration, braking and handling, as the Santa Fe's weight is hundreds of pounds lighter than most of its competitors. Weight reduction is an emerging industry trend, one that is difficult to achieve in the face of stiff crash-safety tests that demand more protective steel in vehicle designs. But as in so many other categories, Hyundai is showing the way.