The Hyundai Santa Fe and Honda Pilot are two popular picks that represent the shape of today’s family wagons. Both models work well for four or more, allowing enough flexibility for restocking the pantry, fitting infant seats, cargo-carrying, or even expeditions to a weekend campsite.
The Hyundai Santa Fe has been treated to a modest update for 2017 with a new look inside and out, but it remains essentially the same underneath for 2017 as it was when it arrived in 2013.
Both models offer automatic emergency braking.
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The value picture
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Hyundai has been a step ahead of Honda for a long time in value for money, and the same holds true this year, with the Santa Fe and the Pilot—even if Honda is coming to its senses about value, not only by packing in more standard features but by making certain desirable features more widely available across the lineup. On the Pilot, standard features now include touch-screen audio with audio streaming and Bluetooth, cruise control, air conditioning, and power accessories; but you’ll need to move up to higher trims to get satellite radio, leather upholstery, and heated/ventilated front seats. The Santa Fe, on the other hand comes with more; and you can add heated seats, heated mirrors, heated second-row seats, a heated steering wheel, a power passenger’s seat, navigation, and premium audio to the base GLS for a modest amount. And even base models with all-wheel drive get a windshield-wiper de-icer. The top end for a fully optioned Santa Fe Limited is nearly $42k, while you can run a Pilot Elite (with navigation) model up to nearly $47,500.
