Owner quotes — Cluster M — Wave1C

Published · Researched 2026-09-21

Raw quotes — Cluster M (Wave 1c: Japanese/Korean)

Hyundai Santa Fe

• "General freeway driving I get around 35mpg. But when it's bumper to bumper traffic it's not uncommon for me to average over 50mpg on a hour and a half commute. So far I've put 32,000 miles on the car and haven't had any problems." — 2025 Santa Fe Hybrid owner, SureCritic verified review. https://www.surecritic.com/vehicles/reviews/hyundai/santa-fe-hybrid/2025?business_slug=edmond-hyundai
• "It started off rough with the battery lasting 3-4 days before dying. Several trips to the dealer and the patience and perseverance of amazing service staff, battery will go a full 2 weeks, no problem!" — 2025 Santa Fe Hybrid owner (12V drain), SureCritic verified review. https://www.surecritic.com/vehicles/reviews/hyundai/santa-fe-hybrid/2025?business_slug=checkered-flag-hyundai&page=50&sort=lowest-rated
• "Anyone else only getting about 13 miles to the gallon in their 2025 or 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe SEL?" — owner post, Sept 18 2026, Facebook group "Hyundai Santa Fe Owners" (16 owner comments comparing real-world economy). https://facebook.com/groups/HyundaiSanta/permalink/28364081636584570/
• "Mine gets 18mpg im dumbfounded by this." / "36-42 mpg in our Hybrid" — owner comments on the same Sept 2026 Facebook thread, illustrating the gas/hybrid split. https://facebook.com/groups/HyundaiSanta/permalink/28364081636584570/
• "It looks like a Range Rover knock off - an older model Range Rover... Ugly on the outside!" vs "Definitely a subjective love/hate design... the Santa Fe will be my first ever Hyundai/Kia car." — hyundai-forums.com 2024 redesign thread, showing the community split. https://www.hyundai-forums.com/threads/santa-fe-2024-what-happened-to-my-beautiful-classy-suv.708088/page-3
• "I like cars that deliver their promises with ease. The 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid does just that... goes like a stabbed rat if you floor it while still being able to return less than 6L/100km in regular day-to-day conditions." — Threads owner post (@aimaniabdullah, Dec 2025).

Hyundai Kona

• "It's not reliable and it has a small gas tank... it will shut off and I have to coast it to the side of the road or into a parking lot... They 'charged' our battery, that's it." — Lauren A., verified 2024 Kona owner, SureCritic. https://www.surecritic.com/vehicles/reviews/hyundai/kona/2024?business_slug=nemet-hyundai&page=7&sort=lowest-rated
• "I just bought a 2026 Kona, it is a nice car indeed! However, there is an annoying noise from the back of the car when it shakes. I think it's in the trunk... The car is brand new!" — 2026 Kona owner post, Sept 13 2026, Facebook group "Hyundai Kona owners". https://facebook.com/groups/1088659035875828/permalink/1874028294005561/
• "I recently bought a 2024 Ultimate Kona and when I went to activate the easy access facility it wasn't there. I am now told by the dealer that it is not an option. Is this true?" — 2024 Kona Ultimate owner post, Sept 20 2026, Facebook group "Hyundai Kona owners". https://facebook.com/groups/1088659035875828/permalink/1880013536740370/
• "If you buy a used Kona Electric that already had its high-voltage battery replaced under recall, you're effectively getting a newer pack in an older car, one of the rare times depreciation works in your favor." — Recharged 2026 Kona Electric common-problems guide.
• "The whole inside is cheap hard plastic... there is not any padded surfaces where you can rest your arm as you drive. This over time becomes something unforgivable and could eventually lead to getting rid of the car prematurely." — verified 2024 Kona owner, SureCritic. https://www.surecritic.com/vehicles/reviews/hyundai/kona/2024?business_slug=priority-hyundai-greenbrier&page=9&sort=lowest-rated

Kia Sportage

• "So I posted about this before, have an update. (Not repaired yet) In the top left near the vent/steering wheel. I have this rattling noise and some days it's aggressive and some days nothing... Car: Kia sportage GT-Line HEV 2026 (EU). Bought: May 12." — 2026 Sportage HEV owner, Sept 18 2026, Facebook group "2025+ Kia Sportage Owners". https://facebook.com/groups/3939203629655234/permalink/4519571004951824/
• "Purchased a new 26 Sportage brand new 14 miles off the lot, 5000 miles motor started knocking Kia replaced engine and just picked up. Now the car smells like gasoline... Update: getting towed back to Kia now." — 2026 Sportage owner, Sept 19 2026, Facebook group "2025+ Kia Sportage Owners". https://facebook.com/groups/3939203629655234/permalink/4520867834822141/
• "A car that advertises 42 City and 44 Highway should not be averaging 30.8 MPG. I feel like I could have saved thousands by purchasing a non hybrid." — 2024 Sportage hybrid owner, kiasportageforums.com "Poor Hybrid Mileage" thread. https://kiasportageforums.com/threads/poor-hybrid-mileage.223/page-2
• "We've owned our Sportage HEV for 2 years... door handle replacement, headlight replacement, rear hatch lock replacement... another headlight replacement, another door handle replacement and the turbo is malfunctioning... Eight trips to the shop to have things fixed in the first 2 years isn't my idea of a good vehicle." — "Wild Bill", KBB verified owner review, July 2025.
• "Just picked up my new 2025 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige on 12/28/24 (after a 6 month wait) and on 12/20/24 I had it towed back to the dealer — car/battery died... No power... no nothing." — 2025 Sportage Hybrid owner, via lemonlawexperts.com forums.

Kia Sorento

• "2026 Sorento hybrid X-line SX prestige AWD. Getting ~40mpg daily driving and ~640 miles per tank. How's everyone else doing? Just curious..." — 2026 Sorento Hybrid owner, Sept 19 2026, Facebook group "2024 + Kia Sorento 4owners & Accessories". https://facebook.com/groups/1214494912891439/permalink/1793250441682547/
• "June 20th 2026 yea. August 20th locked up crankshaft awwww. But the Dealer is taking awesome care of me" — 2026 Sorento owner (catastrophic early engine failure), Sept 11 2026, Facebook group "2024 + Kia Sorento 4owners & Accessories". https://facebook.com/groups/1214494912891439/permalink/1786003309073927/
• "Anyone else's screen gone blank for a whole day? No cameras, no radio no nothing." — Sorento owner, Aug 26 2026, Facebook group "2024 + Kia Sorento 4owners & Accessories" (matches Jan 2026 panel-display recall). https://facebook.com/groups/1214494912891439/permalink/1773032607037664/
• "Has anyone seen a drop in miles per tank after the recent software update? 24 sorrento SX xline? Dropped from 445 to 378 immediately after." — 2024 Sorento owner, Jan 2026, Facebook group "2024 + Kia Sorento 4owners & Accessories". https://facebook.com/groups/1214494912891439/permalink/1592487381758855/
• "Many owners complain about their '25 Kia Sorentos guzzling oil. They may burn a quart every thousand miles. DIY top-offs become a weekly ritual for these owners." — lemonmyvehicle.com 2025 Sorento problems roundup. https://lemonmyvehicle.com/blog/2025-kia-sorento-problems/