Five-Point Inspection: 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe

3. High Speed Stability

After finishing doing a few ‘sno-nuts’ (snow donuts) in the parking lot, we heeded out onto the highway. With speeds averaging 50-60 MPH, the road conditions were highly variable, ranging from completely clear to buried under several inches of fresh snow.

SEE ALSO: 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Review

Hyundai worked hard to eliminate the audible and physical clunk that can occur when a vehicle transitions from front-wheel drive to all-wheel drive. The hard work by the engineers has paid off as there is no noticeable transition when the Santa Fe begins sending power to the rear wheels. At a constant 60 MPH on the aforementioned variable condition mountains roads, the Santa Fe remained planted to the road and never felt skittish.

Power delivery is smooth and linear so there is no sudden power bursts to break traction in snowy conditions. It has a certain reassurance in its snowy driving behavior that’s usually reserved for Subarus and Volvos.