"No, I don't thank you for the fish at all" (notindetroit)
12/06/2013 at 11:20 • Filed to: Hyundai Santa Fe, Crossovers, Snow, driving in the snow sucks, Hyundai Santa Fe is still a step backwards from the Hyundai Veracruz
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"No, I don't thank you for the fish at all" (notindetroit)
12/06/2013 at 11:20 • Filed to: Hyundai Santa Fe, Crossovers, Snow, driving in the snow sucks, Hyundai Santa Fe is still a step backwards from the Hyundai Veracruz | 0
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Yesterday I opined on !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and I mentioned that I not only actually like Jack Baruth but TTAC all-around. This !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! illustrates exactly why.
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I might have given the previous impression that !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! based on what the two Motor Mags (Trend and Week) have to say about it, but even they say the Santa Fe is a competent SUV if not exactly class-leading. TTAC's Winston Braithwaite seems more enthusiastic (or perhaps more fair) about it. But I don't want to go over the apparent quality or "class-leading-ness" of the Santa Fe again as so much as point out Braithwaite's defense of crossovers (something I feel I know quite well, especially lately):
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The math is simple. People want crossovers. Car companies make money by building what people want. That means lots of crossover choices. The end.
Besides, if wagons all of a sudden became the next big thing, people would hate them. That's how it used to be. If you hate crossovers or offer the "if you want a truck, get a truck, if you want a wagon, get a wagon" argument, they're not for you. Crossovers like the 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe are for THEM.
THEY are the folks with kids and dogs and fully-scheduled weekends. Rising stars who not only need to spend money, but have money to spend. Of course the Santa Fe isn't likely at the top of any driving enthusiast's list, but it ticks all the boxes for the Alternadult.
I know it's not exactly a very Jalop attitude, but I'm very glad someone's standing up for the crossover. I'm not exactly a rising star with money needing spent (or with much of a family for that matter) nor do I even have a freakin' clue what an "Alternadult" is even supposed to be beyond the product of the same mentality that gave us stuff like "ZDX," "MKZ" and "Genesis Coupe R-Spec." But I do have a previous-gen Santa Fe with AWD and, as I'm looking at -2 degrees F and a decent layer of tightly compacted snow all over the streets (those of you in warmer climates might not be able to visualize, but hours of heavy traffic have the same basic effect as a Zamboni), yeah, I'm pretty glad I have that Santa Fe.
There are specific reasons why crossovers (and Subarus) sell very well in certain parts of the country. Yeah, most manufacturers offer AWD options on their midsize or fullsize sedans as well. I don't know why those don't sell like gangbusters over crossovers - maybe it's an image problem. Maybe it's just a utility problem - the AWD Taurus has almost exactly the same mileage ratings as the tall station-wagon bodied version of the same car (also known as the current-gen Explorer) and if people are willing to pay the premium for the extra utility of that tall wagon body, why not? Either way, I agree with Braithwaite's assessment that crossovers are here to stay.
And I can live with that. Actually, I have to live with that.
Union of Smog Techs of CA
> No, I don't thank you for the fish at all
12/06/2013 at 14:20 |
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Yup, they are just things that move people around. People really enjoy getting butthurt and arguing over semantics though, passes the time I guess.
Textured Soy Protein
> No, I don't thank you for the fish at all
12/06/2013 at 16:38 |
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I understand why people like practical vehicles.
This past weekend my girlfriend and I took my recently acquired Grand Cherokee winter not-quite-beater to Walmart because while I'm not a huge Walmart fan, they have really good prices on furnace filters.
In addition to furnace filters, we picked up a christmas tree stand, kitty litter, and a few other random items. We chucked everything in the back of the Jeep and went home. In my main car (BMW 135is) this would have been an exercise in trying to fit items together like some kind of jigsaw puzzle, and put whatever didn't fit in the trunk on the back seat. But with the Jeep I didn't give it a second thought. Mmm...cargo space.
I actually commented to my gf, "if I were smart, I would be satisfied with just having this car as my practical car, but I'm an idiot and have that Bimmer too."