Hyundai is About to Make One of its Most Compelling SUVs Much Better

Motor Trend

18-07-2025

While both the 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe and the Santa Cruz compact pickup truck are dripping with appeal—the former with its boxy, Land Rover-esque styling and the latter with its new-age Subaru BRAT thing going on—both share a common weak point. On models equipped with Hyundai's turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, the transmission used is a jerky dual-clutch automatic.
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Hyundai will replace the problematic dual-clutch transmission in the 2026 Santa Fe and Santa Cruz with a traditional automatic, improving drivability and addressing warranty issues. Despite shared components, Kia will not follow this change.
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While other automakers with similar transmissions haven't seen as much trouble with this automated transmission and have even excelled at them (Volkswagen, Porsche), others struggled with them (namely Ford last decade with its PowerShift automatic). When done right, the transmission type offers a one-two punch of nearly uninterrupted torque flow during shifts—as the next gear is essentially pre-selected—a boon for fuel economy, while those shifts can be quicker than in a traditional automatic, delivering a sporty feel. But they're complex and sensitive to less-than-ideal tuning. Hyundai's dual-clutch automatic has faced a slew of warranty issues causing costly repairs for the Korean automaker. And now those troubles may have factored into a big change:
Hyundai confirmed to MotorTrend that both the Santa Fe and Santa Cruz will indeed drop the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission (DCT) in the Santa Fe and Santa Cruz in favor of a traditional torque-converter automatic transmission going forward.
There are many reasons to celebrate the move. For starters, we've noted the DCT's poor low-speed response and at times clunky behavior in both Hyundai models. In the Santa Fe in particular, the transmission is among the only notable shortcomings in an otherwise well-styled, comfortable, and affordable three-row SUV. Any even-OK regular automatic would surely perform better and offer a smoother drive, as proven by the Santa Fe Hybrid model's perfectly fine six-speed automatic.
Then there are the various recalls and warranty repairs surrounding the DCTs, which usually required wholesale replacement of the transmission and customers to suffer through lengthy downtimes due to parts availability and service time. The switch to the traditional automatic transmission will affect all Santa Fes and Santa Cruz models with the 2.5-liter turbocharged engine (Santa Fe is available with a different hybrid powertrain, while the Santa Cruz offers a non-turbo 2.5-liter four that already came with a normal automatic).
Hyundai isn't saying that the recall and repair issues are behind the transmission switch, opting instead to offer the explanation that the traditional automatic 'became available in our development cycle, and we determined that it provided ideal overall drivability.'
Even so, we can't help but think those replacements weren't great for its bottom line. Kia, which shares some platforms and components with Hyundai, also deploys the DCT on certain models in its lineup but says it isn't making a change. Pressed for comment, a Kia spokesperson said 'there are no plans to move away from the DCT.' While Hyundai and Kia are tied to the hip in their home country, the brands are treated as separate companies in North America, and make separate decisions.