Frank Brown Park in Panama City Beach is a serious operation. It's 200 acres of lighted fields, six soccer pitches, nine baseball and softball complexes, an Olympic-sized aquatic center, and parking lots that fill fast on a Tuesday evening in August. If you're driving that route regularly from Panama City, your SUV's cargo floor and your fuel gauge both matter more than they do on a Saturday morning cruise to the beach.
The right Hyundai for this run depends on one question before any others: are you hauling gear, hauling kids, or both? Ranked from the biggest carpool hauler down to the practical solo-run pick, here's how we'd line them up.
The 2026 Hyundai Palisade earns the top spot for multi-kid carpool families. The Santa Fe is the two-sport gear workhorse. The Tucson Hybrid is the smart daily driver for the one-sport family making this run four times a week. And the Venue deserves a mention for the parent whose athlete travels light.
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The Rankings at a Glance
| Rank | Model | Best For | Standout Spec |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Palisade | Carpool families, full teams | 86.7 cu ft max cargo; seats 7 or 8 |
| 2 | Santa Fe | Multi-sport gear haulers | 79.6 cu ft max; 40.5 cu ft behind row 2 |
| 3 | Tucson Hybrid | Frequent-run efficiency families | EPA-est. 38 mpg combined (Blue SE) |
| 4 | Venue | Solo-athlete, minimal-gear trips | Compact footprint for busy park lots |
The Palisade: Built for the Full Carpool
The Palisade is our pick for the full carpool, seating up to 8 passengers depending on trim configuration, with 43 inches of second-row legroom for real teenagers, though a full third row trims the cargo floor. Those figures aren't marketing copy. They matter when you've got a 14-year-old who won't fold into a compact backseat without complaining the whole drive down Panama City Beach Parkway.
With all three rows in use, you're working with 19.1 cubic feet behind the third row. It handles a few ball bags and a cooler, but it gets tight if you're hauling equipment for two sports at once. Fold the third row and you jump to 46.3 cubic feet. Fold both rear rows and the Palisade opens to 86.7 cubic feet of flat cargo, enough for a tournament's worth of gear without drama.
The 2026 redesign added 2.7 inches to the wheelbase, and the third row now delivers 32.1 inches of legroom rather than the squeeze-and-suffer dimensions many three-row SUVs treat as normal. That matters for parents who drive both to weeknight practice and to away games.
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Carpool Reality: On higher trims, the Palisade's sliding second-row seats come with electric cargo-area releases. So switching from full-passenger mode to gear-hauling mode is a button press, not a wrestling match with manual fold latches when your arms are full of equipment bags after a late practice.
The Santa Fe: The Multi-Sport Gear Hauler
The Santa Fe is our workhorse for the two-sport family, swallowing a full multi-sport packing list behind the second row without folding a seat, though it runs only two rows, so passenger count is where it gives ground. Soccer balls, softball bats, batting helmets, a bag chair, a rolling cooler, and a folded pop-up canopy for the all-day Saturday tournament at the North Complex fields. Those North Complex fields are part of Frank Brown Park. The 2026 Santa Fe is built to absorb that load. Behind the second row, Hyundai lists 40.5 cubic feet of cargo space. That number is the one to watch for two-kid, two-sport families, because it holds all of it without folding a seat. Everyone rides, and the gear still fits.
Drop both rows flat and the Santa Fe expands to 79.6 cubic feet maximum. On the XRT trim with trailer brakes properly equipped, towing capacity reaches 4,500 pounds if you occasionally pull a trailer to larger tournaments. The 2026 Santa Fe runs a turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder producing 277 horsepower. That helps when you're running late.
The Santa Fe is a two-row SUV. Carrying more than five people regularly means you'll feel the constraint.
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The 2026 Santa Fe carries 40.5 cubic feet behind the second row, enough for a full family's multi-sport gear load without folding a single seat.
Buying Caution: If the Santa Fe Hybrid's fuel efficiency sounds appealing, know that towing capacity drops significantly compared to the gas XRT trim. The Hybrid version suits families focused on efficiency, not families planning to pull a trailer to weekend tournaments.
The Tucson Hybrid: The Frequent-Run Efficiency Pick
The Tucson Hybrid is our efficiency pick for the family making this run four or five times a week, its EPA-estimated economy paying off in this stop-and-go driving, though you give up the third row and some cargo next to the bigger two. Four practices a week along the Hwy 98 corridor between Panama City and Panama City Beach adds up. August in the Panhandle also means your AC is running hard from the moment you start the engine. So the Tucson Hybrid makes a genuinely practical case for the regular Frank Brown Park family.
In stop-and-go traffic on Thomas Drive or idling in the park lot with two kids still on the field, EPA-estimated economy is what you feel. The EPA rates the 2026 Tucson Hybrid at 38 mpg combined on the base Blue SE trim, and 36 mpg combined on other trims. The hybrid system's regenerative braking captures energy from exactly those repeated low-speed stops and park-lot maneuvers, where a conventional gas engine loses the most efficiency.
Cargo behind the second row measures 38.7 cubic feet on the Hybrid. Fold the seats and you reach up to 74.5 cubic feet maximum. For a family of four heading to one sport, that's plenty. The catch is headcount, since the Tucson is a five-passenger compact SUV. One extra kid, and it gets tight.
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Buying Caution: EPA-estimated fuel economy is a starting point rather than a guarantee. Consistent 70 mph highway driving will pull real-world numbers toward the lower end of the range. The efficiency advantage shows up most in the repeated short urban runs (think of the parking lot crawl into Frank Brown on a tournament Saturday) that define this exact use case.
The Venue: For the Parent with One Athlete and Light Gear
The Venue earns its mention for the parent hauling one athlete and light gear, staying compact and efficient in a crowded lot, though its cargo hold and back seat keep it off the list for tournament days or multi-kid carpools. Not every Frank Brown Park run involves a travel team's worth of equipment. If your kid plays rec-league soccer, carries one bag, and you're the solo driver on a regular evening schedule, the Venue does the job.
Give the Venue a fair look before you rule it out. Its cargo space is genuinely limited, and its back seat won't flatter adult passengers on long trips. Skip it for tournament days and multi-kid runs. For the single-athlete, single-parent weeknight trip, it does the job without burning extra fuel or needing a big parking spot in a busy lot.
Our Top Pick for the Frank Brown Park Run
The 2026 Palisade is the clear answer if you're hauling a full team or a big carpool. Eight seats, 86.7 cubic feet of max cargo, and a third row that doesn't insult the people sitting in it. If gear volume beats headcount, the Santa Fe's 40.5 cubic feet behind row two handles two-sport families without the seat-folding gymnastics. Making the run four or five times a week and watching the fuel gauge? The Tucson Hybrid's EPA-estimated 38 mpg combined makes the math friendlier over a month of August afternoons in Panhandle heat. It gets friendlier fast.
Our team is glad to walk you through the configurations that match your actual routine rather than what looks good in a comparison chart. Come see what's on the lot at Bay Hyundai in Panama City.
By the Bay Hyundai Team | August 2026
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