Overall, Santa Fe's proportions are nicely balanced. The friendly front end blends smoothly into gentle flanks that suggest sufficient robustness to promise an off-road capability beyond that which most owners will expect or explore. Large wheel arches reinforce this robustness. The glasshouse is adequately sized. Like many smaller SUVs, the rear door side windows leave about four inches of glass showing when rolled all the way down.

The rear liftgate avoids the mistake made by the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, whose right-side hinged tailgates force U.S. buyers to walk around the tailgate to load and unload from the curbside. The nifty, pistol-grip latch handle makes opening the gas-strutted liftgate a one-handed cinch, while the inside-mounted pull-down grip make closing it easy. When open, the liftgate easily clears six-footers.

Being new to the genre, Hyundai didn't have any mistakes to undo. And it hasn't made any.