Hyundai introduced a two-wheelbase strategy for the completely new Santa Fe for the 2013 model. I tested the 5-passenger Sport model last year, and then had the opportunity to test drive the 7-passenger Santa Fe GSL and the 6-passenger Santa Fe Limited recently in San Diego.

The Sport model has been a hit so far, which isn’t a surprise given how much I liked the vehicle. In the six full months since the new model launch, retail sales for the vehicle have increased over 37%. Now the larger version with three rows is hitting showrooms as well. The GSL fits seven passengers while the Limited features captain chairs in the second row with a capacity for six passengers.

Exterior

The GSL and Limited look very similar to the Sport model, with the major difference being the lines for the rear side windows being softened in the larger wheelbase models. As I noted in the Sport review, “Hyundai continues to implement its “Fluidic Sculpture” design principles that have given Hyundai vehicles a bold and distinctive look. Specifically, the Santa Fe features a new design concept called Storm Edge, which captures the strong and dynamic images created by nature during the formation of a storm.” I like the idea of keeping the Santa Fe name across both the compact and midsize CUV models, as the design work well across both platforms. I like the front end in particular, and the rest of the design flows nicely from there.

Interior

The choice of a bench seat for the second row and two captain’s chairs offers nice flexibility for consumers. The captain’s chair offer a comfortable and roomy experience in the second row. And while there’s adequate room in the third row, there isn’t a ton of headroom there for larger adults so that third row is best used for kids. The split-folding third row seats offer very nice cargo flexibility for families and for road trips. The second row captain’s chair also fold down and then the second row bench in the GSL offers a 40/20/40 split folding option. The overall versatility is excellent.

The comfort and styling of Hyundai’s interiors have been impressive and the Santa Fe is no exception. I liked the design of the center stack as it offers a unique twist on what we often see. Hyundai offers a wide variety of option packages, so you can certainly get a loaded version that satisfies all your needs, but even the base models are stylish and very comfortable. I also liked the panoramic sunroof and heated steering wheel options in the technology package.

Performance

The power of the V6 engine in the GSL and Limited Santa Fe will grab your attention right away. When I test the Sport model I was impressed with the 2.0L Turbo 4-cylender engine, but I liked the easy power of the V6 even better. The responsiveness and acceleration were excellent and this vehicle is very fun to drive. The larger vehicle also handles nicely around corners given its size, and the six-speed automatic transmission performed flawlessly.

The Lambda II 3.3-liter GDI V6 engine is rated at 290 horsepower which is tied with the Explorer for the midsize CUV segment, and it’s the only midsize CUV with a standard direct injection V6 engine. Fuel economy is competitive at 18 city, 25 highway and 21 combined. From a safety point of view, all Santa Fe models feature seven airbags, including side curtain airbags and a driver’s knee airbag along with rollover sensors for the side curtain airbags.

Overview

Hyundai continues to put out hit after hit, and the entire Santa Fe line from the Sport to the GSL and Limited will fit into the lineup very well. With the different wheelbases and seating options, Hyundai will address the needs of most consumers looking for a CUV. Put this one on your test drive list.

Colin Farrell was first introduced to American audiences in Joel Schumacher’s “Tigerland” in 2000, and he’s managed to leave a lasting impression in each film he’s done. With leading man good looks and acting chops to match, the former bad boy’s onscreen intensity is sometimes enough to make up for some questionable script choices. Whether giving life to an underrated supervillain in “Daredevil,” or starring in the 2012 reboot of the iconic “Total Recall,” Farrell is as talented as he is fearless.

In almost an extension of “Total Recall,” where the main character Douglas Quaid is trying to remember his past, his latest role as Victor in “Dead Man Down” is about a man using revenge to come to grips with his. We recently had a chance to speak to Colin about his preparation for the role, working with co-star Noomi Rapace (“Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”), and his upcoming slate of films, including the animated film “Epic,” featuring the voices of Amanda Seyfried and Beyonce, and “Saving Mr. Banks,” where he plays the father of “Mary Poppins” author P.L. Travers.

BE: The film raises the interesting question of “How far would you go?” So how far would you go?

COLIN FARRELL: I have no idea. It’s never good to answer in “what ifs.” I think it’s horseshit. I don’t think any of us have an iota of how we’d really respond to most situations.

BE: Do you ever leave the set wondering what you would do in a character’s situation?

COLIN FARRELL: When you’re doing a film, once you start asking “What would I do?” you start getting the distance greater between yourself and the character or you’re bringing the character to you, which is self-serving in the wrong way. I think it seems that the idea is to bring yourself to the character.

BE: Were you able to relate to the character?

COLIN FARRELL: Well, you know, it’s fiction. I don’t even have to do that. It’s in you already. You just treat the fiction as reality, kind of. Ideally, you read a script so often and you think about the context of the scene so much that you begin to dream. You’re in pretty good shape if you begin to dream the character and certain conventions of the story. Noomi started having earlier dreams than I did. (laughs)

BE: How are you feeling, outside of the role?

COLIN FARRELL: I’m was doing good. I’m fairly healthy. Sometimes, you come home from work and you’re just tired and you wouldn’t want to see anyone and just be on your own. Consciously, you kind of look after yourself, whatever that may be. Whether you go out for a few drinks and dinner or just hit the couch and watch TV, or go to the gym or yoga class. Just be aware that there’s the potential for you to be in it and respecting wherever you find yourself, so I was fine.

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Terrence Howard is one of those rare actors who you almost hope jumps into one of his characters when he talks to you. Whether it’s street pimp turned rapper DJay in 2005’s “Hustle & Flow,” or his latest role as mid-level mobster Alphonse, his soft-spoken demeanor masks a persona that is always in a state of hustling. Behind the hazel green eyes that appear to stare through you is a man who seems enamored with his craft, but always looking for the next piece of the puzzle to inner piece.

He reconnects with Colin Farrell in “Dead Man Down” as Alphonse, a mobster struggling with respectability as he tries to keep his close-knit crew together from an enemy that’s closer than he thinks. We had a chance to sit down to talk to Terrence Howard – actor, entrepreneur…and chemical engineer – to discuss his role, his relationship with Farrell, and how he plans on making diamonds a boy’s (and girl’s) best friend.

BE: How were you comparing your life to a tone?

TERRENCE HOWARD: A solid tone; a true element is one that is able to reach the wave amplitude, but after the fifth octave, all elements carbon is no longer able to reach its full amplitude and so it breaks down into small things called isotopes. Then, it becomes lead and gold and all of those other processes. It’s the decay of matter. I’m a chemical engineer.

BE: Your role is reminiscent of Henry Fonda in “Once Upon a Time in the West.” You think he’s a good guy, but he’s not.

TERRENCE HOWARD: Neils [Arden Oplev] did a good job of establishing my character as a victim and someone that’s being attacked. It’s slowly revealed that he was responsible for all of the circumstances that are befalling him, at present. It’s the karmic retribution. It’s the reciprocity of sowing poor and bad seeds, but he also establishes the true dichotomy of humanity. What we are dealing with is that all of the characters are so rich in the fact that they are all seeking some sense of retribution against life and an entitlement of lost happiness. But they’re doing it by creating more problems. They’re digging graves for other individuals and forget that they’ll carry the weight and responsibility of that dead person and need to dig a grave for themselves. He didn’t make anybody a villain or a victim. He made them very human and I think that was quite genius of him in telling this simple story and making it so diverse. I think Dominic Cooper’s character is the only one that is reconciled to good, because he makes a good choice for the sake of his family. He does good at the end of it, so I think he will have a good life at the end of this movie.

BE: The character starts the movie as being afraid. Do you intentional set out to make your character sympathetic?

TERRENCE HOWARD: No, Khalil Gabran wrote “The Prophet,” but he also wrote this story called “The Criminal.” In it, this man at the top of a hill, strong of body and good of spirit, but his nature is being broken. He’s crying out to the heavens and he says, “Lord, you said knock and the door would be opened.” Well, I knocked upon the doors and asked for work, but they said I was uneducated. And they sent me away. Therefore, I went to the schools and begged that I could gain and education. And they said you don’t have any money and they sent me away. So, I was left to beg on the streets and everyone said that I was of strong body. I must be lazy and weak and they spit upon me. So, now I find myself here. At that moment, a lightning bolt struck a tree and the branch fell upon him. When the branch fell up on him, he asked that I should be given what I should be given and it was not given to me, so now I shall take what I want. By the strength of my brow, and the strength of my arm. He said that he descended into the city and within two years, he was the most notorious villain and gangster of all time. A new wicked Emir took over the city and made him the chief of his army. This is what we do of good men. By our inhumanity, we turn them into monsters. That’s who I based Alphonse on. The criminal who had a good heart, but as a little kid was hurt. He just needed a couple more hugs.

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Imagine how hard it would be to shave with one eye.

I had never thought of this before, until I was at the grocery store this weekend, trying to procure some Spaghetti Os in the pasta aisle.

So there I was, weighing the pros and cons of the Mini Ravioli versus the standard, old school Spaghetti Os. Caloric intake was a dead heat, as was cost.

Then, out of nowhere, I heard a gruff voice say, “Get the ravioli, trust me.” I turned around to see where the voice had come from, and before me stood a short, scruffy old man wearing an eyepatch. It sort of caught me off guard, his voice more than the eyepatch, and all I could think to say was, “Why?”

“Because, spaghetti is really hard to maintain enough to eat when you only have one eye.”

“But I have two eyes, does that really apply?”

“Nobody likes a braggart, son.”

Then I noticed the side of his face that contained the blind eye (i.e. the “blind side” if you will) was almost completely unshaven, while the other side, the seeing eye side, was crisply maintained. Applying this logic, the situation became obvious — he couldn’t shave that side because he lacked the depth perception.

My theory was confirmed a moment later when he picked up a can of Beefaroni and held it up to the sky, attempting to read the nutritional value (isn’t that an oxymoron?) but couldn’t, because he was evidently farsighted as well, in his single, gleaming, pearl of an eye.

I tried not to stare, but the eyepatch was so badass that I couldn’t help myself. It reminded me of that “Seinfeld” episode where Kramer wore an eyepatch for purely aesthetic purposes.

“A little help here son, how many calories from fat are in this?”

“220, matey. Uh, I mean sir.”

He put the Beefaroni in his hand cart and suddenly said, “Do you have any idea how hard it is to shave with one eye?” Which was weird because we were still in the Beefaroni aisle.

“No, I don’t. I assume it would be difficult. How do you do it?”

“Slowly, to be sure,” he said. “But I also use this badass shit that you should try out. I helped you out with the Mini Ravioli, let me help you with this.”

I didn’t have anywhere to be, so I followed him to another aisle. Plus, it felt cool to be associated with a guy wearing an eyepatch in public.

We got to the aisle that contained men’s shaving products. He quickly grabbed and then proffered a tube of shaving cream towards me.

“It’s shaving cream, boy-o. When ye balls drop, you’ll need it. Ha ha ha, just kidding.”

I looked down and it was a tube of Edge Body Renew Face & Body Cream.

“It’s also non-foaming, which is important for me so I can see where I’m shaving. Wouldn’t want to nip my nose and have a prosthetic one of those as well!

“What’s so great about this particular shaving cream?” I asked.

“Well, it offers advanced skin protection and hydration for a close, comfortable shave. This non-foaming, moisture-enriched formula with antioxidants and vitamins, helps renew skin’s natural moisture and keep skin feeling smooth and comfortable long after the shave. And, it’s less than $5, which is essentially two cans of Beefaroni.”

It had never occurred to me to use Beefaroni as the new standard in currency. But once it did, I loved it.

“How many cans of Beefaroni is this worth?” I asked, as I collected a nearby can of Edge Clean & Refreshing Shave Gel.

“About three,” he said.

“How about this four-pound brisket?”

“About 11.”

“And this bottle of Canadian Club whiskey?”

“Eight, and worth every damn noodle, to be sure.”

My mind was blown. I thanked the man for his time, insight and general wherewithal, collected a tube of Edge Body Renew Face & Body Shave Cream and proceeded to check out.

As I sit here, my skin feels awesome, thanks to the clean shave and smooth moves of the Edge Body Renew Face & Body Shave Cream. I wouldn’t lie to you.

For more information, click here.

We’ve had the opportunity to test drive many of the new Nissan’s over the past year, and you can see some of the photos from the drive events above, with the Altima, Sentra, Versa and Pathfinder as recent examples. Follow the links for our reviews and you’ll see we’ve been very impressed with what Nissan has been doing. Also, with the Nissan sedans, we’ve seen them completely redesigned with a distinctive new front grille.

With the New York International Auto Show coming up, Nissan has invited Bullz-Eye.com and our readers to ask some questions to Nissan’s new Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, José Muñoz. He’ll answer them at NYIAS and then we’ll post the video here on Bullz-Eye. So give us your questions here in the comments or on the Bullz-Eye Twitter account.