Crossover Comparison - Engine - Road Test & Review

2007 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited AWD Engine

The Toyota's worst-in-test handling and "lifeless, rubberband steering," as one editor damned it, was at least compensated by a smooth, comfy ride. The Hyundai's chassis was more astutely tuned, combining equivalent ride quality and supple control over bumps with strong, midpack handling performance-slalom and figure-eight results were second best at 60.9 mph and 28.8 seconds. Some found the Hyundai's steering calibration nonlinear off-center, however. The test's only four-wheel vented disc brakes offered the best pedal feel and halted the Nissan in a curt 121 feet-13 sooner than the next-best Toyota and 28 short of the portly Edge.

2007 Toyota Highlander 4WD V6 Limited Engine

In a four-way drag race, the short-geared Toyota leaps out of the blocks first while the Nissan lumbers initially. The lowest ratio in its continuously variable transmission is 25 percent taller than the others' first gears, and the tranny is programmed in such a way that it doesn't reach its power peak until past 60 mph (7.7 seconds, a first-place tie with the Ford). After that, it pulls away from the pack, reaching 90 mph between 0.3 and 1.3 seconds ahead of the rest. The Ford's engine note is a bit coarse, and its six-speed automatic disappoints with oddly spaced gearing (third and fourth are too close, fourth and fifth too far apart, which leads to noisy, dramatic downshifts), there is no intelligent shift-control algorithm to prevent upshifts when lifting for a corner, and there's no way to manually control the gear selection. Despite the Santa Fe's 27 extra horses, each of which pulls 1.7 fewer pounds than the Highlander's do, the Hyundai was slowest at the track. Its 0-to-60-mph time of 8.3 seconds trailed the Toyota's by three-tenths. But the Santa Fe's engine note sounds sweeter and smoother than the Highlander's.

Finally, at the end of the trip we tallied the fuel economy and were surprised to realize that the hot-rod Nissan nearly tied the prim, proper Toyota at just over 19 mpg. The Santa Fe managed 18.3, while the husky Edge delivering a manly 'ute's 16.8 mpg.

So how did they finish? Truth told, no clear favorite emerged, no runaway winner. Innate, unavoidable jingoism had us all subconsciously pulling for the stylish Edge, and its improved driving dynamics bolstered its case. But in the end, we couldn't forgive its inefficient packaging, excessive weight, iffy fit-and-finish, and lack of any standout surprise-and-delight features. It takes fourth. The Toyota is the hands-down winner in every Consumer Reports category, but it fails to deliver any of the style, cachet, or driving enjoyment needed to justify its purchase over a roomier, similarly priced Sienna AWD minivan, so Motor Trend awards it third place. Hyundai delivers most of what Toyota is selling for 80 cents on the dollar and throws in a killer warranty. The Santa Fe even trumps the Highlander in a few places, like soft-roading capability (with an all-wheel-drive lock system and modest underbody shielding). But build quality that doesn't quite live up to the promise of those Toyota-slaying J.D. Power ratings and performance figures that trailed the pack kept this Korean up-'n'-comer out of the winner's circle. And so the overpriced but gracefully aging athlete, which still delivers all the right moves, wins this contest-if only by a nose.

2006 Nissan Murano SE AWD Engine

2007 Ford Edge SEL Plus AWD Engine