Are you curious about your 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe longevity expectations, or are you thinking of purchasing a used Santa Fe? You aren't the only owner that has noticed that the Hyundai Santa Fe seems to be one of those cars that last for a long time.
The History of Hyundai Santa Fe
The Santa Fe was introduced by Hyundai in 2001. It was Hyundai's entrance into the SUV market, and considered by most experts to be a crossover vehicle based on the Hyundai Sonata.
Restructuring to Transform the Company Image
Throughout the 1990s, Hyundai developed the unfortunate image of being a "throw away" vehicle. Typically, the vehicles were built with lower quality materials and parts, and lasted only a fraction of the lifespan of competitor models. By the late 1990s, the company went through a major restructuring, and by 2000, the goal was to transform its image from a "throw away" cheap vehicle into a high quality reputation.
Higher Quality Leads to Better Safety
The Hyundai Santa Fe targeted the highly competitive and very popular market segment of SUVs in the late 1990s. While it wasn't until the second generation of the Santa Fe that Hyundai won the a safety award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the fact that the 2002 model had few modifications from the first generation reflected well on 2001 models as well.
The New Warranty Turned Heads
While Toyota and Honda became very competitive in U.S. markets due to proven quality and longevity, Korean automakers like Hyundai and Kia struggle from the beginning. The struggle came from poor quality early on tainting all future models. Hyundai's president, Finbarr O'Neill, eventually introduced an unheard of warranty that made most car consumers do a double-take.
O'Neill introduced Hyundai's ten-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty to the automobile marketplace. The warranty was a way for the company to stand behind the quality of its vehicles and to transform the image from a throw-away vehicle to one that owners could be proud of. The 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe was actually one of the first truly high-quality vehicles that the company used to break into the SUV market in a big way.
The Surprise - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe Longevity
The engine in the 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe was a 2.4-liter, 4-cylinder designed by the Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance (GEMA), which was a team effort between Chrystler, Hyundai, and Mitsubishi. The collaborative effort produced a high quality engine that has a typical life of 200,000 to 250,000 miles.On most automotive forums and forums devoted to Hyundai customers and enthusiasts, many owners reported the 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe longevity reaching into 195,000 miles and more. The difference between owners that had good experience with the Santa Fe versus those that didn't boiled down to whether the owner followed the proper maintenance schedule. Those owners that performed regular oil changes and other scheduled maintenance saw the 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe last upwards of 200,000 miles.
Santa Fe Ratings Today
As a testament to the quality of the line, even today Hyundai continues to receive high ratings for the Santa Fe. The following ratings prove that this model is an excellent choice:
- Car Advice offered three and a half stars out of five.
- Car Review gives the Santa Fe four out of five stars.
- Consumer Guide gave the 2001-2006 models a forty eight out of on hundred rating and listed several documented failures to consider when you purchase the vehicle.
- MSN Autos gave the 2001 Santa Fe a reliability rating of four out of five.
- Insurance Institute of Highway Safety provided the 2001 with the highest overall rating and high marks for structure and safety.
As you can see, ever since its initial introduction into the market, the Santa Fe proved to the world that Hyundai has the capability to produce high-quality, dependable cars.
