It's easy to mistake the Hyundai Santa Fe for a high priced, luxury mid-size SUV. But despite its upscale exterior, the Santa Fe turns out to be an affordable way to haul a family around. It has plenty of cargo space and even has a third-row seat if the need ever arises to accommodate more passengers. Even better, Hyundai offers the Santa Fe as a hybrid, making it even more practical. Let's look at the 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid.
The Santa Fe Hybrid was redesigned in 2024 along with the rest of the Santa Fe lineup, where it received bold new styling, more space, and a big tech upgrade. This fifth-generation Santa Fe features a distinctive squared-off, rectilinear body that really makes a fresh statement. Even after a few years, it still stands out as being a unique looking crossover SUV.
Hyundai clearly had luxury on their mind when designing the Santa Fe's interior. Just about every item you touch, like the like door handles, controls and even the dash vents, have a solid, positive feel, giving you the impression that you are in a much more expensive vehicle. The overall cabin vibe is that of an upscale design with modern tech integrated throughout. Upper trims can be fitted with high-quality materials and luxury features, including Nappa leather seat upholstery, an extendable driver footrest, and wood trim. All trims get a responsive 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen that has a logical layout with large icons and easy-to-read text.
Whether in the front-row or the second-row, passengers will be very comfortable in the Santa Fe. The seats have enough side bolstering to hold you securely when cornering but not so much to hamper getting in and out. The third row isn't as roomy as the ones you'll find in the larger Hyundai Palisade, but it'll fit kids and smaller adults just fine for short trips.
Keeping the third row down means when you open the large tailgate you are exposed to nearly 40.5 cubic of cargo area. Need to move? Fold down the second row of seats and there is nearly 80 cubic feet of room. Gonna tow a trailer? If it's 3,500 pounds or less, you should be good to go.
Under the hood of the Santa Fe Hybrid is a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder gas engine and an electric motor. Combined output is 178 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque. This replaces the all-gas version's 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that makes 277 horsepower and 311 lb-ft of torque. Obviously, going with the hybrid means a less powerful vehicle, with the Santa Fe taking nearly 10 seconds to reach 60 mph. The Santa Fe Hybrid uses a six-speed automatic transmission, and front-wheel drive is standard while all-wheel drive is available as an option.
While the Santa Fe Hybrid may be slow getting out of the blocks, it makes up for it by bringing in 36 mpg in the city and 35 mpg on the highway and can even go up to 637 miles on a full tank. Those numbers drop slightly when equipped with all-wheel drive (35 mpg city / 34 mpg highway).
Hyundai spared no options in the Santa Fe Hybrid that they sent to me - an all-wheel drive version in their plush Calligraphy trim. The MSRP that came with it showed a price tag of a very reasonable $52,985. Other trim levels that the Santa Fe Hybrid is offered in is the SE which is the base model and gets 18-inch wheels, hands-free power liftgate and dual-zone climate control, the SEL which adds synthetic leather interior, heated front seats, power driver's seat, and third-row air vents. Move up to the Limited and things get really luxurious with real leather, a panoramic sunroof, power passenger seat, heated rear seats, side window sunshades, a heated steering wheel and a full digital instrument display. The Calligraphy takes it up a notch by changing the leather to an updated premium leather with quilted stitching, suede headliner, a heads-up display and unique exterior trim. It rides on 21-inch wheels. Pricing for the 2026 Santa Fe Hybrid starts at $36,400.
For 2026, updates include third-row USB ports for the SEL model, second-row captain's chairs and dual wireless phone chargers for the Limited trim level, and a new Pecan Brown Nappa interior is available on the Calligraphy trim. The base SE trim is also new for 2026.
Although it's not very quick, the Santa Fe Hybrid makes up for it with smooth power delivery, composed handling, and a generally comfortable ride. There are also plenty of advanced driver aids. Along with automatic emergency braking, lane-keeping assist and a driver attention monitor, there is also blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert. On the Limited and Calligraphy models additional goodies like Remote Parking Assist, lane centering and adaptive cruise control are available. The Remote Parking Assist has to be the best show-off feature as it allows drivers to navigate their vehicle into tight parking spaces from outside the vehicle.
That's the 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid - a crossover SUV, that makes you feel as if you are in a luxury SUV, boasting bold styling and available all-wheel drive, it’s built for everything from daily commutes to weekend adventures - and it does so all while achieving excellent fuel economy.