Hello,
I just bought a 2025 Calligraphy edition Santa Fe and really like the smart regeneration braking feature.
Though I do not like having to go through the car menu to turn it on each time I drive.
Is there a way to have it on all the time with my profile setting?
Thank you for your feedback.
I haven’t found a way to do it. Easiest way to turn it on is pulling the right paddle and holding it for a few seconds.
Tatum said:
I haven’t found a way to do it. Easiest way to turn it on is pulling the right paddle and holding it for a few seconds.
Thank you, pulling the paddle seems quicker than going through the menu. Such a shame it doesn’t stay on 
I didn’t even know you could get to it through the menu lol, but you can do it using the paddles. Hold the right paddles to turn on auto, tap the left paddles to increase the regen level, tap the right paddles to decrease. But yes, annoyingly you have to redo it each time the vehicle is started.
I wish you could default the regen and also default the user so you don’t need to confirm the user/driver every time. It’s the little things Hyundai!
@Aeron
Thanks for your comment, yes you can turn it on by going to: settings → vehicle → eco → smart regeneration and toggle it on or off
Poe said:
@Aeron
Thanks for your comment, yes you can turn it on by going to: settings → vehicle → eco → smart regeneration and toggle it on or off
I fixed a funny typo in my post above. That will allow smart regen, but that doesn’t adjust the default level of regen. Smart just reacts to traffic ahead of you
Having to use turn on the regeneration each time I start the vehicle is my biggest gripe. I do a lot of stop/start driving in the city and this really annoys me.
Pressing the right paddle for a few seconds is the only way. At that point it is on, but I like to press the left paddle once or twice to get it to level 1 or 2 in auto.
The only way is to use the paddles to turn it on.
While we are on this topic, wanted to ask if anyone here has compared the mileage with or without Regen braking use.
I drove yesterday with lvl 2 braking and got 35 mpg
Then I drove on lvl 1 braking and got 44 mpg
Without Regen braking I got 49 mpg
Is there any other advantage to use Regen braking? Is it for faster battery charging?
@Olin
There are a few factors at play here. The main thing to keep in mind is your car also regens automatically when pressing the brake pedal. Though pressing the brakes also engages your disc brakes at a certain point. (presumably there’s software that dictates when to use discs based on speed, pedal travel etc.).
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The auto regen can help fuel economy anytime it prevents you from using disc brakes. Regen > Discs
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The auto regen can hurt fuel economy if it causes you to slow down when you weren’t planning on slowing down. Coasting is more efficient than slowing down then speeding back up as regen isn’t 100% efficient.
Honestly I think the biggest difference is in general the Santa Fe does weird things when reporting MPG. I can do the same trip in the same driving style and get drastically different results. I can drive 100 miles, and then passing one car on the highway lowers the trip MPG by a mathematically improbable amount.
@Darin
I agree with every point you’ve mentioned.
Was thinking the same yesterday, what if the car is reporting incorrect mileage rofl
I might just start calculating manually for each full tank for a month.
@Olin
Wow I’ll have to look into this, I did notice I was using more fuel than I expected - perhaps the regen braking was the cause. I’m curious to see what everyone else’s replies to this are regarding advantages to regen braking.
I would have thought a benefit was being able to store energy that would otherwise be lost through braking, but it kind of defeats the purpose when you are using more fuel.
@Poe
For me I will test me on lvl 1, mostly because while coasting the EV comes in and saves fuel.
Lvl 2 is very aggressive and brakes rapidly and then switches to gasoline more frequently.
Will just test more.
@Olin
Strictly speaking the most efficient use of automatic regen is to turn it off. Keeping the potential energy you have (by allowing the car to coast) is the most efficient use of it. Having to slow down and speed back up every time you put your foot on and off the throttle is an inefficient use of energy,
That being said, using regen when you’re slowing down rather than friction brakes is even better than coasting. So balancing out when to regen and when to coast by manually controlling the regen with the paddles to adjust for your needs on the fly is the absolute best use of the feature. Just leaving the regen in one setting and forgetting it will be less efficient than effectively managing it for each situation you’re in. Unfortunately it’s far easier to set it and forget it.
@Sage
Thanks for the detailed response, that confirms my thoughts too.
It’s easier to set it and use it that way, but more efficient to do this manually for the brakes and fuel.
@Sage
I’ve been doing more of this. I’m actually paddle shifting between regen all the time depending on what is happening in front of me. Makes it funner to drive in my opinion.
The real problem with regen is that it stops working when the battery is fully charged.
I was using it to control speed coming down a mountain and about halfway down it stopped providing drag.
Regen braking has really only two functions: a. Charge the EV battery and b. Save the brake pads
if the EV battery is well charged and driving in the city, we have gone for a half hour without turning on the engine once, I.e. no gas usage at all.