The new Hyundai Santa Fe has been revealed, touted as the ultimate family adventure vehicle.
The new Hyundai Santa Fe has had its design theme unveiled as a showcase of charismatic styling and a slew of value-added features. It has been developed to offer a premium experience while meeting all the needs of a modern family. The redesigned fourth-generation Santa Fe is ready to head to global markets with a fresh look and feel.
The new Hyundai Santa Fe has a distinct and dominant front grille with a new clamped style for the lower air intake extending to the horizontal line to accentuate the vehicle’s wide and well-balanced stance. The grille has a signature geometric patterned inlay and integrates the headlamps – a theme seen on many modern Hyundai cars. An eye-catching set of LED daytime lights start at the top of the grille and cut through it to create unique T-shapes at each corner when lit.
The side-profile starts with each section characterized by a seamless line that connects the daytime light strip to the tail-lights, giving the new Hyundai Santa Fe the essential “sensuously sporty” look. The wider wheel-arches accentuate the SUV’s rugged and powerful character, as do the large 20-inch wheels with wide rubber. At the rear, the new tail-light clusters are connected across the tail-gate by a slim illuminated bar, further complementing the horizontal design theme. That theme is punctuated by the wide rear reflector and skid plate for a unique three-layer look.
The interior of the new Hyundai Santa Fe now provides for even more occupant space, comfort, and convenience. A new level of luxury seems to have been achieved with a high-quality aura inside the cabin and with every component finished in premium soft-touch materials. The centre console sits high, giving the driver and front passenger the feeling of sitting in an armchair. The buttons are centred to make for more intuitive and ergonomic use. A mix of gear shift buttons along with other oft-used functions sit below. A shift-by-wire system allowed buttons instead of the conventional gear-shift knob.
Another first for the new Hyundai Santa Fe is the Terrain Mode selector – a control knob located in the centre console that allows the driver to conveniently switch between different drive modes, optimizing performance and the HTRAC all-wheel-drive settings for a number of varied driving situations including unique modes for sand, snow and mud, apart from the eco, sport, comfort and smart modes, the last of which automatically recognizes the driving style and selects a mode accordingly. The new layout sees freed up space used for more storage spaces in the redesigned lower dashboard. The console accommodates a new 10.25-inch AVN (audio, video, navigation) touchscreen display with pre-loaded maps, satellite-based voice-guided navigation, rear camera display, and complete in-car entertainment and connectivity features.
SangYup Lee, Senior Vice President and head of Global Design Centre at Hyundai, said, “We modernized the new Santa Fe with premium features and appealing aesthetics that are sure to add value. The bold lines that extend from one side to the other and from front to back give Santa Fe a rugged yet refined look that SUV customers want. Besides, we’ve added numerous features and functions to create a truly family-focused SUV that is a pleasure to drive.”
Hyundai haven’t specified the powertrains, but we can expect to see some top-end hardware in that department too. For starters, a turbo-petrol engine is expected to be offered in the US market as well as the familiar 2.2-litre turbo-diesel four we’ve grown to love, now, of course, optimized to meet new emission standards.
Update (1 July, 2020) Engine-wise, there’s a new Smartstream 2.2 turbo-diesel engine with 202 hp and 440 Nm paired to a new 8DCT wet dual-clutch automatic and all-wheel drive. A new 1.6 T-GDi hybrid model pairs the turbo-petrol engine with a 44.2-kW (60-hp) e-motor and 1.5-kWh battery pack for a combined 230 hp and 350 Nm. A plug-in hybrid will also be offered with a larger 13.8-kWh battery and more powerful 66.9-kW (91-hp) e-motor for a combined 265 hp and 350 Nm.
