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NEW SANTA FE TAKES A HARD LINE AGAINST CURVES

- JORDAN HICKEY

HYUNDAI CLAIMS its fifth-generation Santa Fe large SUV, due for local launch early next year, has adopted a "lifestyle based design typology", which would seem to translate to bluff, boxier, Land Rover-inspired styling, new H-shaped lighting, and a more premium cabin.

Hyundai Australia has confirmed the new Santa Fe will arrive in local showrooms in the first half of 2024, with full details - including specific timing and pricing - to be announced closer to launch.

Replacing the current Santa Fe launched in 2018, the newcomer is wider by an unspecified margin compared to the outgoing model, and rides on a longer wheelbase. It is believed to be underpinned by an updated version of the current N3 platform first introduced with a heavy mid-life update in 2020.

Rectangular headlights mark the new design, featuring an H-shaped signature inspired by the Hyundai badge. This treatment continues within the wraparound tail-light bar for continuity.

"Major updates shaped by big data around the latest outdoor lifestyle trends," is how Hyundai describes the radical new look. No, we have little idea of what that really means either. The crisply defined wheelarches house alloy wheels up to 21-inches in diameter, and there's an enlarged glasshouse that, with blacked out B-C- and D-pillars, appear to be wrapped continuously around the entire vehicle.

Hyundai claims the new design maximises luggage capacity, with the boot accessed by a wider, flatter tailgate, and that the cabin boasts best-in-class interior space.