The Sport version of the new-gen Hyundai Santa Fe goes on sale in America with a base price of $24,450, excluding a $825 destination fee, for the base model with a 190-horsepwer engine and front-wheel-drive. AWD version of the same car runs for $26,200.

The sportier and more powerful 2.0 liter turbo version with 260 horsepower starts at $27,700 for the FWD and $29,450 for AWD.

Those prices seem fair, until you go through the options list. Almost every high-end feature you would want in your car is an optional extra; stuff like heated, power seats, rear-view camera, navigation with eight-inch display, sunroof, etc. And if you want all of them on your car, regardless of the model, they’ll add well over 6 grand to the final price of the car, which means a loaded Santa Fe will cost you near as makes no difference 36 grand.

The Santa Fe has always been a good family SUV though. The 2013 versions maintain all the good features, while becoming a whole lot prettier. The new model’s designers drew inspiration from the shapes created by nature during the formation of a storm – a creative approach referred to as ‘Storm Edge’. It looks quite good in the flesh.

The car can be had with a six-speed manual or an automatic. The automatic transmission features two operating modes – fully automatic or ‘Sport’. For city driving, fully automatic mode is ideal, while ‘Sport’ mode allows for clutch-less manual sequential gear changes for greater driver involvement.