2013 Hyundai Santa Fe has SUVs ranging from the Ford Escape to the Honda Pilot in its crosshairs

What happens when the world's fifth largest car maker gets its most popular crossover line to hit the sales sweet spot? The consumer gets better choices. The Hyundai Santa Fe has been a key model in the company's sales surge in America. Introduced in 2001, the Santa Fe has outlived such contemporaries such as the Pontiac Aztek and the Mazda Tribute. In fact, the nameplate has been so good for the brand that the Hyundai Veracruz three row crossover was discontinued and replaced as the latest expression of the Santa Fe.

In Spanish, Santa Fe means "holy faith." Though New Mexico's capital is only the state's fourth largest city, it is the most culturally significant one, a blend of Spanish Colonial architecture overlaid upon an ancient base of Pueblo Indian history in the surrounding area. For those in the know, "Santa Fe" is about as exotic as the continental United States gets.

Hyundai

Hyundai's vehicles rival its Japanese competition in offering more high-end features, like touch-screen navigation systems, at a lower cost.

Thanks to the inscrutable ties that bind family founded South Korean "chaebol," or conglomerates together, Hyundai also gets a second bite at the crossover market with the virtually identical Kia Sorento. Though Hyundai and Kia "compete," their two row CUVs in America are both built in West Point, Georgia and the three row variants are run alternately at the same factory in South Korea. The two companies even share a design center in Irvine, California.

The "holy faith" plan of Hyundai is building quality vehicles that rival the best of the Japanese manufacturers while delivering more lavishly equipped vehicles at lower cost. To meet this objective, the two row Santa Fe is now designated the "Sport," while the long wheel based three row version soldiers on without an added word. Now the Santa Fe covers a large swath of the mid-sized crossover market, opening at around $24,500 for a base five seater up to nearly $40,000 for a fully equipped six/seven seat model. With this price versatility, Hyundai has squarely put everything from the Ford Escape, to the Toyota Highlander, up to the Honda Pilot in its crosshairs.

Hyundai

Versatile seating, as well as an optional third row, make the Santa Fe roomy enough to transport bulky items or seat up to seven passengers.

The Santa Fe now known as the Sport received a freshening for the 2012 model year. The seven seat Santa Fe is all new. The Santa Fe Sport features a base 2.4L I-4 engine that makes 190 BHP and 181 ft.lbs. of torque. An optional 2.0L I-4 turbo, borrowed from the Sonata, makes 264/265 respectively. A 3.3L V-6 is only available on the LWB Santa Fe. That engine is borrowed from the Azera and makes 290 BHP and 252 ft.lbs. of torque, and also enables it to tow 5,000 pounds.

All Santa Fe models come standard with six speed automatic transmissions mated to a front wheel final drive. All models can be optionally equipped with all wheel drive that has a user selectable electronic lock system, while costing one mpg both city and highway.