Hyundai's new Santa Fe goes for bold

Squared-off style will ensure fifth generation of Korean brand's flagship SUV stands out from the crowd when it reaches UK showrooms in about a year's time

- Alastair Crooks

HYUNDAI has spent much of the past couple of years beefing up its range of all-electric vehicles, with the loniq 5 and 6, and the recently launched Kona Electric. But now the Korean brand has turned its attention to a radical overhaul of its UK SUV flagship, the Santa Fe.

The Santa Fe nameplate has been with us for more than 20 years, with this new model representing the fifth generation of Hyundai's big SUV. The Korean brand has only issued these official images, while promising to release further details in August.

The new car's styling is likely to cause much discussion, because it marks a radical departure from what's gone before: not only past Santa Fes, but also the company's wider range. Hyundai says the approach is a "lifestyle-based design typology that maximises rear cargo capacity", which in layman's terms means a much more boxy design than the outgoing model's.

Indeed, the new arrival's front end has shades of Land Rover Discovery 4 about it - a vehicle noted for its squared-off look while the roofline at the rear is as high as possible for as long as possible, before dropping steeply at the flat tailgate.

Hyundai claims the new design offers "best-in-class terrace-like space", and the glasshouse beyond the B-pillar looks considerably more airy than that of the current car, which has fairly thick C-pillars.