By Russ Heaps
Clanging Bell

(June 10, 2013) One of the two cars in my driveway this week is the totally redesigned Hyundai Santa Fe. I was on the press launch for this crossover a few weeks ago, and just didn't get around to blogging about it at the time. Yes, shame on me.

Hyundai anchored the event at the Boar's Head Inn, a resort in Charlottesville, Virginia. I had dinner in one of its dining areas a couple years ago with the gang from the Virginia Department of Tourism. At that time I was part of a small contingent of travel media learning about Virginia's wine industry and, specifically, those wineries surrounding Jefferson's Monticello. Dinner was excellent and I was eager to spend a couple of nights there.

Affiliated with the University of Virginia, Boar's Head Inn is a full-blown resort with everything from Golf to hot-air ballooning. The food is topnotch and the service excellent. I love this area of Virginia with its rolling hills and lush foliage. That we stayed at Boar's Head made it all the better.

I did have a Starr Hill Amber Ale or two during my stay. It's a local brew and pretty good for not being a brown, porter or stout.

The Santa Fe I am currently driving is a two-wheel-drive version it the top-end Limited trim that retails at $33,350. You can get into a Santa Fe GLS for $28,600.
A beefy 290-horsepower 3.3-liter V6 is plenty for this crossover. A six-speed automatic tranny hustles engine production to the wheels.

Santa Fe can tow up to 5,000 pounds, yet it was sufficiently athletic to effortlessly whip around the winding roads of northern Virginia.

Packed with technology, Santa Fe features such advances as adjustable steering with three modes: Comfort, Normal and Sport. Often detecting the differences between modes in such systems is difficult, but not so with this one. There are discernible differences.

Heated rear seats, as well as a heated steering wheel, and a panoramic sunroof all contribute to the value story.

Nothing like spending the day tooling around in a decked-out, high-end crossover, and then retiring to a glass of Basil Hayden small batch bourbon in the Boar's Head Inn's Bistro 1834 bar.

Southern living at it's best!