Take the loyalty discount money you saved, and put it towards
an air suspension!

You gotta have a raised suspension for off road use.
Thats what I would do. screw nissans , LOL j/k

but serously, why not Mod it with that saved money??

makes sense to me.

 

You only get the discount if you buy new... or maybe an 04 if they still have them around. That means he is still paying what, 15-17K for an economy SUV? Why not buy an 99-02 four door truck/Jeep/better SUV for less than that, and save the money he spent for raising the suspension a little...

You buy a hyundai SUV if your a soccer mom. Its not meant to be run off-road. If he takes it, goes out in the woods, breaks an axle, tears up the rear-end, screws up the allignment, etc. and then Hyundai voids the warranty because it was used off-road, then whats he going to to do? If he mods the car he loses the entire warranty, especially if you modify the drivetrain such as axles or if you raise the suspension.

Take a look under the car. You will see how weak the parts are. They won't take much abuse. Hyundai SUVS are not SUVS. They are not sporty in any way.

 

I wouldn't put much stock in the loyalty discount...they have ways of making their money back..

 

I did a little bit of research and it seems like the santa fe would be the better pick for off-road driving. Only mild off road driving though. I'd say if you could get there in a truck with little effort yould should be able to follow in the santa fe. if you planning on really doing some off-roading though then I'd get a dirt bike or 4-wheeler.

anyways my reasoning is this: the santa fe apparently has a better 4wd system plus you can get it with the 3.5L v6. it wieghs more and is build on a larger platform.smile.gif

 

get a hummer, if u realy want a good vehicle for off roading cheapest, get some cheap old frame, and build it yourself, as a fellow hunter who loves offroading when we go hunting in the mud, best things to get, ESSENTIALY 4X4, Large oversized with good deep thread tires (not good for driving on highway cuz they are realy loud), and well, a winch, thats a definate.

 

don't forget... the Santa Fe is being redesigned next model year i believe... albeit the Kia SUV (name escapes me right now)...

why the fascination w/ jeeps? unless you're willing to put money into it, off the lot they really suck. i'm sorry. This "trail rated" sh1t they put on the TV doesn't mean nething. its a term they made up (and trademarked) to try to sell more vehicles. and, unfortunately, its been working. the liberty? thats like a toy. reminds me of the new Durango. and i don't like the new durango at all. big wagon.

as far as off road vehicles to choose from... i don't know much about the new ones, but older XTerra's may do you well. of course old Jeeps (prior to 99 or so)...

off roading isn't my specialty, but there's my opinion

 

The Tucson and the Kia Sorento look almost identical to me except for the rear, is that what your thinking?


Kia Sorento


Hyundai Tucson

 

if i'm not mistaken... and i'm sure I could be:

right now, the Sorento is bigger than both. the Tucson is only 6 inches smaller than the Santa Fe... the new Santa Fe (06 model year) is going to be the same size as the Sorento.

 

Java, if you're throwing the Sorrento into the mix,... GET THE SORRENTO!!!
It's sweetness. The 5Spd is like Butter! GET THE 5spd. 4 Wheel drift in that thing! It's awesome.
One of our former mech. works for Kia, and when he goes on PDI's he comes by sometimes, and last winter when they got a 5Spd V6 Sorrento in, we went for a rip!!! IT WAS SWEET!
Not too sure about reliability, and any long term problems from it, but I'd pick one up! smile.gif

 

The Sorento is a Diff. league, larger (slightly) and heaviewr than the Santa Fe, MUCH bigger than a Tucson.
And, here's the important part, the Sorentos (at least here) are not AWD vehicles, they have transfer gear box (for lower gear) it has the classical 2H, 4H, 4L configuration.
Also, since Hyundai bought 90%+ of Kia Motors, now all diesel engines in Hyundais are Kia based engines (their expertise) and all Kia's gasoline engines are actually Hyundai engines re-badged as Kia. The 2.0 newer Kias are Beta II powered... I am guessing that V6 is actually the same on the Santa Fe.