Hyundai will be present at the 2018 Geneva International Motor Show with the 2019 Santa Fe SUV. The fourth-generation model not only undergoes a mahoosive design upgrade but comes loaded with tech. The company just had a global premiere of the car in Goyang city, Korea, right before launching it in the domestic market.
Taking the new Composite Light and Cascading Grille from the Kona to the next level, with the Santa Fe, Hyundai also adds a bit of muscle to the design. The interior is brand new, too, and has more room than before. The rear quarter glass, Hyundai claims, has been increased by a solid 41 per cent to aid visibility out of the cabin.
The company is also said to have worked on the suspension and steering to make the vehicle more responsive. There’s also an optional self-load-levelling suspension available, which maintains the ride height of the vehicle regardless of the load and road conditions.
Engine options will be market-dependent: there are two diesel choices (2-litre and 2.2-litre) and four in petrol (2.4-litre direct injection, 2-litre turbocharged, 2.4-litre, and 3.5-litre). A new eight-speed automatic transmission will be standard, while the HTRAC all-wheel-drive system is likely to be variant-dependent.
The Hyundai Santa Fe will be loaded with features when it goes on sale later this year. There’s a full HUD, wireless inductive charging, touchscreen infotainment system, a total of six airbags, and a multitude of driver aids including lane-keeping assist, blind-spot warning, rear-cross-traffic alert, safety-exit alert, forward-collision-avoidance assist, etc. There’s also a new feature which notifies the driver if there are passengers in the rear seat while leaving the car. If the system detects a movement (or when children accidentally lock themselves inside) when the car’s locked, it will notify by honking and flashing of lights.
Production of the Santa Fe will begin in the second quarter of this year, and prices for the Korean market (courtesy of Indian Autos Blog) are out already: at an equivalent of Rs 16.91 lakh onwards.
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