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NEMPA Names Sorento, Santa Fe Best Affordable Crossover

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Santa Fe Best Affordable CrossoverThe 2014 Kia Sorento and the 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe may be your best bets in battling Jack Frost, who is a little too reluctant to leave us this spring. In fact, just last week, the New England Motor Press Association (NEMPA) named the Sorento and the Santa Fe Best Affordable Crossover under $28,000 in the Winter Vehicle Awards (a tie). This was the second consecutive year that the Santa Fe claimed the title.

“This award from NEMPA recognizes the careful detail our engineers put into building the Santa Fe,” explained Trevor Lai, Product Manager, Hyundai Motor America. “With features like the Active Cornering Control All-Wheel-Drive (AWD) system and Vehicle Stability Management (VSM) system, Santa Fe drivers can operate their vehicles in confidence in a wide range of weather and road conditions.”

When selecting the best vehicle—or vehicles, in this case—in each category for the Winter Vehicle Awards, NEMPA looks at both winter-specific features and options and the various qualities that ensure their occupants’ safety on the roads even in the harshest winter conditions. Both the Santa Fe and the Sorento delivered at a time all-too relevant, as our frozen fingers and salted streets can attest to.

“Every year during Official Winter Vehicle of New England judging, NEMPA members are looking for vehicles that perform well in a number of different segments. Competitors in this particular segment have it tough,” commented Craig Fitzgerald, NEMPA President. “Not only do they have to offer outstanding winter performance, but they have to provide all the qualities New England drivers are looking for in a crossover – cargo capacity, room for six-plus – and then do it at a price under $28,000. That’s a tall order that Hyundai managed to pull off with the Santa Fe.”

Do you drive the Santa Fe or the Sorento? How have you fared this winter?