Hands-Free in the 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe
A Real-World Highway Driving Assist Test
A funny thing happened while recently driving a 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe - that my brother Tyler recently purchased…it drove itself. Our goal was to take the Santa Fe out and walk through how to use the adaptive cruise control (ACC). Having little experience with this system, I was immediately impressed - and a little unnerved - by how well ACC kept the Hyundai between the lane lines.
Much like bumper bowling, but far smoother and less embarrassing, it gently moves the steering wheel to ensure you stay in your lane, bro. But driving with my hands in my lap?! Hyundai says that’s not how this system is supposed to work, and yet, we have the video to prove it. A video that also dives deeper into the Hyundai SmartSense suite of advanced driver-assistance aids (ADAS).
Really, anyone buying a new Santa Fe ought to spend some time familiarizing themselves with the ADAS roster, as it is vast, with 20 distinct systems. I love cars and like to imagine I’m well-read on the subject, but man, there is a lot here. Just within the context of adaptive cruise control, there is a fair bit to understand. For starters, there is no old-school cruise control.
Tyler and I did attempt the Hyundai equivalent of a Contra up-up-down-down cheat code to enable classic cruise control. Per official internet forum directions, it involved putting ACC into standby mode and then holding the Distance Control button for 3 seconds. But nothing happened. So, it’s adaptive cruise control or nothing. Here’s how Hyundai breaks it down in the 2026 Santa Fe.
Smart Cruise Control
This is the basic version of Hyundai’s ACC. It comes standard on the new Santa Fe and works to maintain a set distance from the vehicle ahead, while keeping the same speed. It includes a Stop-and-Go feature, which is handy for heavy traffic. If you switch on Lane Following Assist (LFA), it will work to keep you centered in your lane.
I will say, having limited experience with Hyundai’s ACC and LFA, it’s initially unsettling having the big SUV steer itself. But the movements are smooth, which is nice. That said, you can quickly get lulled into a sense of complacency, which is less nice. Particularly once you go further down the ACC rabbit hole.
Navigation-based Smart Cruise Control with Curve Control
This upgraded version of ACC pulls info from the vehicle’s navigation system to guide the Santa Fe through curves all by itself. It comes standard on the Limited model, which is what we were driving, and does in fact manage highway curves weirdly well.
Highway Driving Assist
This system, HDA for short, blends ACC with LFA and Curve Control into one full-time highway helper. It’s included on Limited trim lines and is supposed to work only if you keep your hands on the steering wheel. More on that in a moment.
Highway Driving Assist 2
This system only comes with the 2026 Santa Fe in range-topping Calligraphy spec, so we couldn’t test it. The main change with HDA 2 over regular HDA is the ability for the car to change lanes on its own. Apparently, you need only signal your desire to do so and, if the Santa Fe deems the maneuver safe, it’ll move over for you. Makes me sweat just thinking about it AND I’d love to test it out.
According to the owner’s manual section about using Highway Driving Assist, “If the driver takes their hands off the steering wheel for several seconds, a Keep hands on steering wheel’ warning message will appear and an audible warning will sound in stages.”
If you continue to ignore the warnings, the Emergency Stop should trigger and HDA should deactivate. But, as you can see in the video, I drove for about 30 seconds with my hands completely off the steering wheel and the Santa Fe drove itself. No warnings popped up, and I was free to kick back and let Hyundai take the wheel.
I drove for about 30 seconds with my hands completely off the steering wheel and the Santa Fe drove itself.
As a newbie, I found this to be exceedingly bizarre and put my hands back on the wheel. However, I could imagine getting accustomed to this capability in the Santa Fe and relying on it for highway commutes or long drives. Which doesn’t seem like a good thing from a driver complacency perspective.
Hyundai Puts The Advanced In ADAS
To be clear, Hyundai’s SmartSense suite of ADAS is remarkably smooth, at least within the context of smart cruise control. Anyone commuting into a traffic war zone like, say, Boston, could likely benefit from having the car manage traffic jams. But there is A LOT to learn if you want to operate these systems properly, so get yourself familiar with how all these gizmos work before testing them out on the road.
About the author: Niel Stender is an automotive journalist. More of his work can be found at muckrack.com/niel-stender.