2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Heads to Market Priced from $28,350

As you may have noticed if you watched the Super Bowl, the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe—which starred in three of the automaker’s five Super Sunday commercials—is now on its way to dealerships with an MSRP that will open at $28,350 and actually represent a bit of a value play in the segment: Hyundai is positioning the Santa Fe as the “most affordable standard seven-passenger crossover on the market,” and explicitly notes that it will cost less than rivals like the 2013 Ford Explorer, 2013 Nissan Pathfinder, 2013 Toyota Highlander and 2013 Honda Pilot.

(Just keep in mind that, technically speaking, you can get into a seven-seat 2013 Dodge Journey for thousands of dollar less than that; it’s just that the Journey is a five-seater in its standard configuration—which also does mean significantly smaller third-row dimensions than in the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe.)

Regardless, John Krafcik, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America, has no doubts about which vehicle delivers more of what today’s customers demand in a bigger crossover: “Santa Fe continues Hyundai’s unmatched value proposition of providing customers more standard features at a price point that beats the competition.

“The Santa Fe features seven airbags, Hyundai Blue Link, 18-inch wheels, more horsepower and better fuel economy than the outgoing Veracruz at the same price. The Santa Fe lineup of five-, six- and seven-passenger CUVs offers something for everyone in the crossover segment.”

To be clear here, the five-passenger, two-row member of the lineup is the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport—which happened to win Autobytel’s most recent Crossover of the Year prize—and is on sale now; the bigger 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe is slated to go on sale before the month is out.