The Average New Car Costs $50K. So Does Our New Yearlong Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid

A couple months ago, the average new vehicle transaction price crested $50,000 for the first time. If that seems like a lot of money to you—and it likely does for the majority of Americans—you’ve probably wondered why new cars are so expensive and what exactly $50,000 buys these days. Here’s one answer to those questions: MotorTrend’s newest yearlong test vehicle, a 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Limited AWD, rings in just under the average with a sticker price of $48,325.

That buys you a midsize SUV that’s both sensible and indulgent. Hyundai’s smallest three-row model feels perfectly sized for a family of four, and its parsimonious hybrid powertrain covers 34 miles on a single gallon of gas, per the EPA combined rating. Our Limited model, which sits just below the top Calligraphy trim, spoils passengers with its upscale finishes and long list of creature comforts. In other words, our Santa Fe feels like the kind of vehicle someone might buy as a reward for long days in the digital coal mines while using its practicality to rationalize their purchase. Early impressions suggest Hyundai dialed in the perfect amounts of practicality, luxury, and value. Every time we’ve driven it so far, we walk away with the sense that it gives you a lot for your money. Not many vehicles manage to do that these days.

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A Bigger, Better, Boxier Box

The Santa Fe makes a loud visual statement, too, thanks to the 2024 redesign that traded generic curves for arrow-straight lines, flat sides, and H-themed flourishes sprinkled pretty much everywhere, from the headlights to the dashboard to the four dots of Morse code on the steering wheel. Whether you agree with what that statement says is a matter of personal opinion, as the exterior styling has drawn both praise and criticism from our staffers. Some editors love its utilitarian boxiness while others find the details and proportions fussy.

We’re at least in agreement that the Santa Fe’s cabin is a home run. Finished in Pecan Brown with faux wood trim and real leather on the seats, our test vehicle is a seriously nice place to spend time. Part of its appeal is simply a matter of size. While Hyundai calls the Santa Fe a compact SUV, there’s nothing small about it. The fifth-generation model stretched the wheelbase 1.9 inches and made the third-row bench standard. Our long-termer comfortably seats seven or stashes up to 40.5 cubic feet of cargo behind the second row, and as long as you’re not trying to do both of those things at the same time, it fits right in with suburban living. It’s large enough for a weeklong road trip with the family and tidy enough to easily thread through the Costco parking lot at 11 a.m. on a Saturday.

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What You Get for $50K

Back to that original question: What does $50,000 buy in 2025? We should start by pointing out that our long-termer is positioned well above the starting price of $35,795 for a front-wheel-drive Santa Fe SE with the gas engine. From there it takes $4,000 to jump to the entry SEL Hybrid (there’s a new SE Hybrid for 2026 that shrinks the hybrid premium to just $1,300). Splurging on the Limited’s luxuries adds $6,400, and all-wheel drive costs another $1,800. Hyundai could probably get away with charging for the Rockwood Green paint and Pecan Brown interior, but this handsome combination is gratis, as is the optional second-row bench seat in our Santa Fe. Our test vehicle’s sole extra-cost option is $240 worth of carpeted floormats.

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The long list of luxuries includes heated and cooled front seats, heated seats for the outboard second-row passengers, a heated steering wheel, and a dual-pane sunroof. A phalanx of cameras, radars, and ultrasonic sensors feed a 360-degree monitor, adaptive cruise control, parking assistants, blind-spot monitors, collision avoidance systems, and Highway Driving Assist, which keeps the vehicle centered in its lane as long as you keep a hand on the wheel. The dash is dominated by two 12.3-inch displays integrated into one curved housing, and a panel full of touch-activated climate controls. There’s a head-up display, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a wireless phone charger, a 12-speaker Bose audio system, six USB ports, and a 110-volt household outlet, all of which are sure to be used over the course of the next year. We’re less certain that’s true for our Santa Fe’s one oddball feature, a compartment ahead of the front passenger that can sterilize cell phones, sunglasses, and wallets with UV-C light.

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Eco Is the New Normal

The Hybrid sandwiches an electric motor between its 1.6-liter turbocharged inline-four and six-speed automatic transmission for a total system output of 231 horsepower. Compared to the standard 2.5-liter turbo inline-four, the Hybrid trades away 46 hp but gains a remarkable 11 mpg in the EPA’s combined metric. Thanks to a 17.7-gallon gas tank, it’s rated for a bladder-busting 602 miles of range (on paper at least), but the real-world fuel economy has been our biggest disappointment to date. We’re averaging 26.2 mpg at the moment.

There is no Normal mode in the Santa Fe with the SUV defaulting to Eco mode on startup. In what seems like a natural consequence of those decisions, the powertrain can be sluggish when you’re trying to jump off the line. Once it’s underway or with Sport mode selected, however, the 4,496-pound Santa Fe Hybrid has a nice pep in its step. It is certainly much swifter than its 19.1 pounds per horsepower weight-to-power ratio implies It did 0–60 mph in 7.6 seconds, stopped from 60 mph in 115 feet, and cornered averaging 0.83 g in MotorTrend testing. Those are legitimately impressive numbers for the class.

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On public roads, the Santa Fe is smooth, calm, and quiet. It’s graceful in switching the engine on and off, and the braking force builds naturally. The steering is accurate, and the ride quality is comfortable. It’s all so well dialed in that you never really think about the driving experience. Considering this is a family crossover, not a sports car, that’s what most buyers are looking for.

The Hard Part Starts Now

Our 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Limited AWD has made a strong first impression with our staff, but the hard part of a MotorTrend yearlong test is just beginning. Can the small three-row SUV live up to our big expectations when it comes to durability and reliability? Will the fuel economy rebound and crest the 30-mpg threshold? Will we be as impressed with it on day 365 as we were on day 1? The answers to those and other questions will determine whether we still think the Santa Fe is worth its nearly $50K price tag a year from now.