Flagship crossover to enter fourth generation with the brand’s latest design language.
It’s looking more European now…
As Hyundai now places importance on the European market to build their sales, many of its current offerings have design flair to appeal to that corner of the globe, as well.
That partially explains why sister-brand Kia has managed to sell more cars in Europe recently thanks to a design chief poached from the Volkswagen Group.
What you see here in official sketches is the fourth-generation Hyundai Santa Fe which makes its world debut at the Geneva motor show next month. The Kia twinned with the Santa Fe’s development is the Sorento.
The design of the new Santa Fe appears to have been inspired by several European car brands. The front end, for one, looks like those used in Citroen’s upmarket DS and some of MG’s latest cars.
Is it bigger than the CR-V?
In Hyundai’s game, the competitor for the Honda CR-V is the Tucson. The Santa Fe, meanwhile, comes from a class above offering either two or three rows of seats.
Hyundai hasn’t revealed any technical details yet, although the outgoing model highlighted V6 petrol power for the US and four-pout diesel for Europe.
Although such engines may be continued (in probably improved forms) to maintain the Santa Fe’s major customer base, there’s a good chance that alternative power could come in the form of a hybrid of some sort.
The Santa Fe and Sorento were once available with 2.2-litre diesel-turbo in Thailand priced over two million baht.
Doesn’t Hyundai have a plant in Malaysia?
Yes they do. In fact, when Hyundai revitalised their presence in Thailand many years ago, they envisioned of bringing the Santa Fe (it was second-gen model back then) from Malaysia via Afta perks.
But despite the Santa Fe still being made in our Asean member nation in third-gen form, it still has never made it to Thai shores. A source points out that exports within Asean need a 40% local content which the Santa Fe doesn’t have.
But it isn’t game over for fans of three-row SUVs, especially those built on car-based platforms that aren’t as crude to drive as pickup-based variations like the Toyota Fortuner and its likes.
Mazda is planning to build the CX-8 in Thailand with a 2.2-litre diesel engine, while MG is reportedly looking at a bigger version than today’s five-seat GS. Both are envisioned to have prices starting at just under two million baht.
