The redesigned Hyundai Santa Fe broke cover earlier this week with a more outdoorsy exterior that will likely pair with hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains.
Expected to reach U.S. showrooms for the 2024 model year, this fifth-generation Santa Fe goes in a different styling direction than previous generations, with a boxy profile and angular details, including "H"-shaped headlight and taillight elements signifying the brand name.
The redesigned Santa Fe will be available with three rows of seats in at least some markets, although it's unclear if that option will be available in the U.S., where the Santa Fe is currently sold only in two-row, five-seat form. Hyundai claims "class-leading interior space" and a wider tailgate opening that will "make it possible for users to enjoy the outdoors in the easiest way possible," the automaker's press materials said.
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe
At the opposite end of the cabin, the Santa Fe moves to curved infotainment display, consisting of a large touchscreen and 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster placed side-by-side, and a raised center console with a storage nook below. The console accommodates two wireless charging pads, plus USB ports, while a panel above it houses most controls—with what appears to be a decent amount of analog buttons and knobs.
Hyundai used sustainable materials such as recycled plastic in the headliner, mats, and second- and third-row seat backs. Synthetic leather—that's vinyl seats to the rest of us, which automakers now count as a sustainable material—is used in the door trim. Real nappa leather and wood trim will still be available, though.
Nothing was said about powertrains, but it's likely that hybrid and plug-in hybrid options will continue. After dropping the Sonata Plug-In Hybrid in 2020, Hyundai said that it would emphasize plug-in hybrid powertrains in SUVs as its next-gen EVs are rolling out.
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe
The current Santa Fe Hybrid arrived for 2021 and offered up to 34 mpg combined, offering a particularly futuristic interior design mated with a softer, more evolutionary exterior. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid is rated at 31 electric miles, then 33 mpg in hybrid mode.
Santa Fe Hybrid production has shifted to Alabama, and it was one of the first U.S.-made electrified vehicles to be sold by Hyundai. It's built at the Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama plant near Montgomery, along with gasoline versions of the Santa Fe, as well as the Hyundai Elantra, Santa Cruz, and Tucson, and the all-electric Genesis Electrified GV70.
The styling change may help allow some visual separation between it and the fully electric Ioniq 7 that's on the way, closely previewed in late 2021 by the Hyundai Seven concept, and the related Kia EV9.
