A certain 41st U.S. president might laud Hyundai’s decision to imbue the Santa Fe with a thousand — OK, six — points of light. Still, those lights define the SUV’s styling: Two thin strips of daytime running lights sit at hood level, with four stacked headlights down where you might expect the foglights; both sections employ LEDs. A prominent six-sided grille sits between them, with additional openings at the lower edge of the bumper. In back, the Santa Fe sports a freshened take on the outgoing SUV’s styling, with horizontal taillights and plenty of lower bumper cladding.
Versus the Santa Fe Sport, the new Santa Fe has grown a bit. Wheelbase and overall length are up 2.6 inches and 2.8 inches, respectively, while width is up 0.4 inch. Hyundai says the new SUV will offer 19-inch wheels, but other diameters are unclear.
Interior
The Santa Fe’s symmetrical, twin-arc dashboard echoes a few themes from the previous generation, but it trades a unified, plunging center stack for separated controls split by twin air vents — a touchscreen and shortcut buttons above with climate and seat controls below. A 7-inch multimedia system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is standard. Wireless smartphone charging, Infinity premium audio and a head-up display are optional.
Hyundai touts less glare from the multimedia system as well as more elbowroom and legroom thanks to redesigned doors. Over-the-shoulder visibility was a major complaint in the outgoing Santa Fe Sport, but Hyundai says the redesign has 40 percent more rear-quarter glass to improve sightlines.
The Santa Fe seats five, and Hyundai touts slightly more passenger volume versus the outgoing Santa Fe Sport, with comparable cargo room behind the first and second rows. The Santa Fe XL gets a standard third row. The second row in three-row models features push-button sliding access to the way-back seats.
Under the Hood
The Santa Fe employs a 2.4-liter four-cylinder (estimated 185 horsepower) or turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder (estimated 232 hp). If the diesel engine — a 2.2-liter turbo-diesel — makes it here, it should pack lineup-leading torque: Hyundai estimates “around 200” hp and 320 pounds-feet of torque. All three engines use an eight-speed automatic transmission, and available all-wheel drive offers a Sport mode that can divert more power to the rear wheels to improve cornering.
Safety
Hyundai touts a bundle of safety technology, dubbed Hyundai Smart Sense, as standard equipment on Santa Fe SE trim levels and up. Smart Sense includes forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, blind spot warning and lane keep assist, full-speed adaptive cruise control, automatic high-beam headlights and a 360-degree camera system, drowsy-driver warning and a safe-exit feature that temporarily locks the doors when the SUV intuits approaching traffic from behind.
