Correct. "M" has completely replaced "L" in any vehicle with manual shifting mode. If you want "L", you put the car in manual mode and choose whatever "low" gear you want. My 1st car with manual shifting automatic was a 2000 Acura, and no car I've had since then with manual shifting (which is only 1) has has an "L" on the gearshift.

 

Although I didn't like the E-shifter itself, one nice feature on my former Lacrosse was that, even in "D", if you flicked the shift-paddles, it would temporarily override the D position and give you whatever gear you wanted.....like if you needed to downshift for a hill. You didn't have to fool with the M position unless you wanted to keep shifting manually for a while.

 

Congrats! Love the Santa Fe, we got my mother in law the 19 Ultimate 2.0T. Really like the updates for this year. Nice size and value for the content for sure.

 

Congratulations to your mother in law. I might have just missed it, but I don't remember you announcing that before.

 

The 2nd Gen Lexus IS in later model years had the same feature with a conventional gearshift. Electronic shifter is not needed for this capability.

 

I like it either way.

 

Anyhow, back on topic......(we got off in several areas).......here's Alex's Static-Review. He apparently has not done a full test-drive yet.

 

Quick update on the santa fe.

great vehicle so far, excellent front seats! Found a feature i've never seen in any other vehicle...

if you're at a stop sign or light and daydreaming or checking your phone or whatever and the car in front pulls away, the gauge shows a message "Lead vehicle departing" or something like that and beeps to say "get going!" good stuff.

I also used the built in background sounds mode the other day... i listened to gentle rain for a while, and then waves on the beach... very soothing while driving.

although i drive it gently, the turbo 4 is responsive and shifts are seamless.

the engine start/stop feature has become predictably annoying, not because it's jarring when the engine comes back on but becuase the a/c runs on a not so cold and not so much air mode when the engine is off, so the interior begins to get warm. I back my foot off the brake for a moment though and the engine comes back on. There's also an on/off button for start/stop but i tend to just restart with foot if i'm feeling warm.

The seat cooling is frigid i only need it on setting 1 (of 3).

The extensive under floor storage in the back has been wonderful to keep all my work gear yet still have full use of the cargo area for equipment/etc. as needed.

the suspension is tuned on the softer side and i had to make one emergency braking type maneuver (car in front unexpectedly stopped) and the vehicle suspension felt pretty unsettled/squishy as it came to a halt. Not an issue but i've not felt that kind of unease before in a situation like that.

Now to my biggest complaint which isn't specific to this vehicle... after the controller **** in my g90, i REALLY miss it in this santa fe, which, for anything that doesn't have a button, must be controlled through the touch screen. I find using the touch screen while driving to be VERY distracting.

 

Sounds like a pretty good overall experience thus far.

Subaru's eyesight was one of the first systems that would tell you when the car in front of you has left... you know, just in case some people, of course no one on this forum, might happen to be looking downward, perhaps at a phone.... haha

 

You might already be aware of this, but the idle stop/start feature, regardless of the manual on/off switch, will only work under certain conditions and ranges of engine-temperature, battery-charge/voltage, idle-time, and demands on the heat/AC system for heating/cooling. Unless Hyundai's system is different from that of other automakers, if the heat or A/C is working at max, the system should temporarily be overridden, so that the interior of the vehicle doesn't stay like a refrigerator or sauna-bath.

My only complaint with the system (and I put this down on the surveys that both Buick and GM has sent me) is that the on/off button cannot be set once and for all. It's better than the force-it-on-you-system GM had a couple of years ago (before the button)...but the present deactivate buttons only go halfway, and have to be pressed every time the engine is first started up. I strongly suspect it because of the way that the EPA does their MPG-testing, and what has to be put in production vehicles.

 

My dashcam does this...I love it!

 

they need a sound clip of multiple people honking.

 

Haha, they do!

 

LOL, that’s awesome. I must have this.

 

I have mine set to ding lol