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Hyundai is back with the Santa Fe for another model year, same familiar shape and a handful of worthwhile upgrades. The 2027 updates refine what already works rather than reinventing the three-row SUV. If you're weighing a family hauler for the Dallas area, the 2027 Santa Fe is on our lot now, so you can browse current inventory at Huffines Hyundai Plano and see the trims side by side.
What's New for the 2027 Hyundai Santa Fe
The 2027 Santa Fe is a refinement rather than a redesign. The boxy shape, flexible seating, and gas and hybrid powertrain choices carry forward. What changes is equipment availability across trims, including Digital Key 2 Premium from the XRT up and an Advanced Rear Occupant Alert that adds a radar sensor and Bluelink integration on XRT, Limited, and Calligraphy, where SE and SEL use the door-logic system.
For shoppers, the practical question is what comes standard and what requires stepping up. That's what the rest of this covers.
Bold Three-Row Design Built for North Texas Families
The Santa Fe's upright, squared-off styling isn't just a design statement. It gives the cabin more air, makes the cargo area easier to load, and turns three rows of seating into something that actually holds up for everyday errands and school pickups around Plano.
Boxy Exterior and Spacious Cabin Layout
The Santa Fe rides on a 110.8-inch wheelbase, stretching 190.2 inches long, 74.8 inches wide, and 67.7 inches tall in standard form (69.7 inches on the XRT). For comparison, the Tucson runs 182 inches long and the three-row Palisade stretches to 200 inches, so the Santa Fe lands right in between: easy enough to park during Coit Road errands, still roomy enough for a road trip.
Cargo capacity behind the front row reaches 79.6 cubic feet, dropping to 40.5 cubic feet behind the second row and 14.6 cubic feet behind the third. That last figure is plenty for backpacks and grocery bags but tight for anything larger, so families who regularly use all three rows should plan cargo expectations accordingly.
Seating splits by trim. SE, SEL, and XRT seat seven on a second-row bench. Limited offers six or seven, and Calligraphy comes only as a six-seater with captain's chairs. If you want captain's chairs, that means stepping up to Limited at minimum. Every trim gets a dual-level center console that opens from the front or back seats, and the XRT adds an assist handle at the C-pillar.
Dual Wireless Device Charging and Cabin Tech
Dual wireless charging pads come standard on XRT, Limited, and Calligraphy, letting two phones charge at once. SEL gets a single pad; SE gets none. For families running kids between practices along I-75, that's one less cord to manage. The 12.3-inch touchscreen is standard across the lineup, though XRT and up swap the base display audio for a version with onboard navigation, traffic data, and a Wi-Fi hotspot.
Trim Lineup Updates Across the 2027 Santa Fe
The 2027 Santa Fe returns with five trims: SE, SEL, XRT, Limited, and Calligraphy. Think of the lineup as a progression rather than a set of equal choices. SE covers the essentials, SEL adds everyday comfort, XRT leans into capability, and Limited moves upscale with additional visibility technology. Calligraphy sits at the top for shoppers who want the fullest equipment list Hyundai offers on this SUV.
Here's how the trims compare:
| Feature | SE | SEL | XRT | Limited |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine/Powertrain | 2.5L turbo gas or 1.6L turbo hybrid | 2.5L turbo gas or 1.6L turbo hybrid | 2.5L turbo gas | 2.5L turbo gas or 1.6L turbo hybrid |
| Drivetrain | FWD, AWD optional | FWD, AWD optional | AWD standard | FWD, AWD optional |
| Transmission | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Horsepower/Torque | 277 hp / 311 lb-ft gas, 231 hp total hybrid | 277 hp / 311 lb-ft gas, 231 hp total hybrid | 277 hp / 311 lb-ft | 277 hp / 311 lb-ft gas, 231 hp total hybrid |
| Fuel Economy | Gas 20/29/24 FWD, 20/28/23 AWD; Hybrid 37/36/36 FWD, 35/34/35 AWD | Gas 20/29/24 FWD, 20/28/23 AWD; Hybrid 37/36/36 FWD, 35/34/35 AWD | 19/25/21 (AWD only) | Gas 20/29/24 FWD, 20/28/23 AWD; Hybrid 37/36/36 FWD, 35/34/35 AWD |
| Cargo Volume | 79.6/40.5/14.6 cu ft | 79.6/40.5/14.6 cu ft | 79.6/40.5/14.6 cu ft | 79.6/40.5/14.6 cu ft |
| Notable Tech/Styling | 12.3-in touchscreen, hands-free liftgate | Wireless charger, roof rails, heated seats | Dual wireless chargers, all-terrain tires, matte black cladding | Blind-Spot View Monitor, dual-pane sunroof, surround-view camera |
SE, SEL, and Limited Trim Refinements
The SE includes blind-spot collision-avoidance warning, front and rear park distance warning, a hands-free smart liftgate, and the 12.3-inch display, covering the basics without pushing buyers upmarket. SEL adds H-Tex leatherette seating, heated front seats, an 8-way power driver's seat, wireless charging, and roof rails, along with Forward Attention Warning and Smart Cruise Control 2.
Limited adds genuine leather upholstery, ventilated front seats, heated second-row seating, rear sunshades, a dual-pane sunroof, hands-free parking assist, and surround-view and blind-spot cameras. This trim is aimed at buyers who want the Santa Fe to feel more premium day to day, not just functional.
XRT Trim: Rugged, Off-Road-Ready Styling
The XRT comes standard with AWD, where it's optional elsewhere in the lineup, on 18-inch black wheels wrapped in Continental all-terrain tires. Ground clearance goes from 7.0 inches on standard trims to 8.3 on the XRT, a full inch that also improves the angles that matter: approach rises from 17.4 to 19.3 degrees, departure from 20.3 to 21.8, and breakover from 17.0 to 19.1.
Styling cues include matte black cladding and skid plates, side steps, exclusive 18-inch dark alloy wheels, and roof rails, so the XRT actually looks different from the rest of the lineup instead of just wearing a badge. Towing goes from 3,500 pounds on other gas trims to 4,500 on the XRT, a thousand-pound jump with trailer brakes. Sand and Mud modes are XRT-exclusive within HTRAC, and trailer pre-wiring plus Trailer Sway Control come standard across the lineup. Worth knowing the hybrid tows 2,000 pounds, so if a trailer is in the picture, that narrows the powertrain decision quickly.
For North Texas families who like weekend trips within an hour of Plano, whether that's hauling a small trailer to a lake or tackling a gravel campground road, the XRT is built for that. Standard tech includes onboard navigation with a Wi-Fi hotspot, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, Digital Key 2 Premium, Dynamic Voice Recognition, Hyundai Pay, and a 115-volt outlet.
Standard Safety Suites for Coit Road and I-75 Commuters
Every 2027 Santa Fe includes Hyundai SmartSense®, and the standard list runs deep: Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist with pedestrian, cyclist, and junction-turning detection, Lane Keeping Assist, Lane Following Assist 2, Driver Attention Warning, Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Warning, Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist, and Safe Exit Assist. Smart Cruise Control with stop and go is standard on every trim too, moving to the navigation-based version from XRT up, which reads the road ahead and adjusts for curves and speed limits. That's genuinely useful in I-75 rush hour.
Higher trims add Blind-Spot View Monitor, Surround View Monitor, Parking Collision-Avoidance Assist in reverse, Remote Smart Parking Assist, and Highway Driving Assist. The Blind-Spot View Monitor, reserved for Limited and Calligraphy, shows a live camera feed in the instrument cluster whenever the turn signal is activated, a genuinely useful check when merging on a busy stretch like Coit Road. Rear occupant alerts, LATCH anchors, multiple airbags, stability control, and tire pressure monitoring with individual tire indicators round out the package.
It's worth being clear about what these systems do and don't do. They keep an eye on traffic and help hold your lane and check your blind spots, but they don't replace driver judgment or take over full control of the vehicle. The current Santa Fe earned an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ and NHTSA 5-star ratings, though those results are tied to 2026 testing and haven't yet been confirmed for the 2027 model year.
Powertrain Lineup and Electrification Preview
The gas and hybrid Santa Fe models are built around different priorities. The gas engine favors stronger acceleration and towing flexibility, while the hybrid favors fuel efficiency, and both preserve the same three-row practicality that defines the SUV.
Gas and Hybrid Powertrain Highlights
The 2.5-liter turbocharged gas engine produces 277 horsepower and 311 lb-ft, running through an 8-speed automatic. The 1.6-liter turbo hybrid pairs a 178-hp engine with an electric motor for 231 horsepower and 271 lb-ft combined, through a 6-speed automatic. Fuel economy tells the real story: the gas FWD returns 20/29/24 while the hybrid FWD reaches 37/36/36, a 12-mpg combined gap that adds up fast on regular Plano-to-Dallas runs.
Front-wheel drive comes standard, with Hyundai's HTRAC® All-Wheel Drive available depending on trim. That gives shoppers a real choice between prioritizing cost and efficiency with FWD or added traction with AWD, particularly useful during North Texas's occasional ice events.
Hyundai's Montgomery-Built EREV: Over 600 Miles of Range
Hyundai has confirmed plans for a Santa Fe EREV, or Extended Range Electric Vehicle, expected to deliver more than 600 miles of total range on a full charge and full tank. CEO José Muñoz confirmed the EREV plan at Hyundai's Investor Day, targeting an early 2027 arrival. The vehicle is set to be built at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama in Montgomery.
Beyond the range figure and production location, most specifics remain unconfirmed. Some early reports describe a dual-motor AWD setup paired with a smaller battery than a full EV would need, but Hyundai hasn't finalized those details publicly, so we're treating them as expectations rather than facts. If you want to see how the current gas and hybrid Santa Fe models compare while the EREV rollout takes shape, you can browse new Hyundai inventory at our Plano dealership.
Why Huffines Hyundai Plano Is North Texas's Santa Fe Headquarters
We built our approach around no-pressure shopping and customer-focused service, which matters most when a vehicle has this many trim-level variables to sort through. Our team at 909 Coit Rd. in Plano helps shoppers compare seating layouts, trim features, and gas versus hybrid driving experiences side by side, so the differences between advertised equipment and what's actually on the lot are clear before you commit to anything.
We serve families across Plano, Arlington, Mesquite, Rockwall, and Dallas, about 25 minutes from downtown Dallas for anyone coming in from the city. With 2027 Santa Fe models on the lot, you can sit in an SE next to a Calligraphy and feel the difference between H-Tex, leather, and Nappa rather than reading about it.
Visit Huffines Hyundai Plano to Test Drive the 2027 Santa Fe
What to Compare in Person
Third-row access, child-seat fit, cargo loading with the third row up or folded, touchscreen usability, and outward visibility are all things you have to experience firsthand. Compare a gas model against a hybrid, and step between SEL and XRT, so your decision reflects how your family actually drives rather than a spec sheet.
Schedule Your Visit
Come drive one. Check our current Hyundai offers before you visit, or call 972-867-5000 to line up a time. We're at 909 Coit Rd. in Plano, ready to help you sort through which 2027 Santa Fe trim fits your family.
