As the owners of 2 Santa Fe's a 2019 and 2020 both 2.4 SEL models.
I have read dozens of reviews regarding how underpowered the 2.4 is, I say BS !
0 to 60 in 9 seconds it perfectly adequate for every day driving in and out of city traffic also on fast roads.. Another plus is the decent gas mileage, 32 mpg on the Hwy. I consider pretty good. We're very happy with our 2.4s overall.

 

Different folks have different expectations and I suspect that is probably one of the reasons different size vehicles and engines are offered.

Oftentimes we get accustomed to what we have and find it is satisfactory. Yet other folks have different expectations and could be not satisfied with what they purchased.
That might be one of the reasons why we should take a varied test drive before purchasing a new vehicle. If the performance is way too much lower than expected, there is almost always the opportunity to trade up for a larger engine or vehicle
.I realize it is not always possible , but when it is, ask to drive the same vehicle for a day or two and that might help to make a more satisfactory purchase..
(Especially if you wind up buying a more expensive vehicle)

 

We have the 2.4 in my wife's 2018 Santa Fe awd, and while it's fine for getting around town we also use it for a fair amount of traveling (daughters volleyball tournaments 3 to 6 hr away). Trying to travel at 75 to 80 mph the car will downshift on anything that even resembles a hill. If you are bucking any sort of a wind it's that much worse. Going around 80 mph and having the car downshift into 4th gear on a small hill just makes me cringe. :-(

I do have a workaround that I use when out on the freeway, I force the shifter into manual mode which forces the transmission to stay in 6th gear and then when going up a small hill the transmission just unlocks the converter and then re-locks once you get over the hill. At least this way when it shifts the engine is at 3000 rpm instead of almost 5000 rpm if I just leave the shifter in D.

I do like the gas mileage we get, but I'm wishing we would have got the full size Santa Fe with the V6.

Just my $0.02.

 

Maybe a v-8 model SUV would be more to your liking, or a 2021 S-F with a v-6 Turbo.
You can trade yours off.

 

I see the '21 models come with a 2.5L engine now, but unfortunately the NA version of the engine only makes 6 hp more than the old 2.4L. My wife is happy with the car, and I'm happy with not having a new car payment, so we'll live with the car, as underpowered as it is. :-) I like the car a lot other than when I have to drive it on the freeway.