Hyundai yesterday revealed the all-new 2024 Santa Fe and Santa Fe XRT to North American media at AutoMobility LA with an ‘Open for More’ development concept centered around its new, wider lift-gate opening and spacious interior. Santa Fe’s wide lift-gate seamlessly connects its interior with the outside environment, expanding passengers’ everyday experiences.
The lift-gate area, once exclusively a storage space, now expands its use to a terrace-like function to effortlessly enjoy the outdoor environment surrounding the vehicle. Hyundai Motor Manufacturing, LLC (HMMA) has designated $190 million dollars of new investment for tooling and equipment upgrades to prepare for production of the all-new fifth-generation Santa Fe. The 2024 Santa Fe 2.5T model goes on sale in March 2024, with the Hybrid model on sale in spring.
Santa Fe enhances its city-friendly, adventure-ready appeal with a generous, terrace-like living space created by its new, longer wheelbase and larger lift-gate opening. The longer wheelbase also allows the new model to offer standard third-row seating comfort without compromising overall roominess.
“The original Santa Fe was our very first SUV in the U.S. more than two decades ago,” said José Muñoz, president and CEO, Hyundai Motor North America. “Today, we have a well-recognized and respected portfolio of 14 SUV models that include internal combustion engine, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, electric and hydrogen fuel cell electric models. With the 2024 Santa Fe, we continue our impressive transformation of the Hyundai brand and the broader SUV landscape. Our newest Santa Fe will attract even more customers with its bold, distinctive design identity, spacious interior design, and unique ability to fuse urban customer lifestyles with the natural outside environment.”
Santa Fe adopts a unique design development strategy, first starting with an enlarged lift-gate concept to better facilitate enjoyment of the outdoors, then progressing outward to the exterior design concept. Its efficient, rectangular surfacing and long wheelbase convey a confident road presence, while its strong yet delicately crafted external design cues are suited to both urban and nature-focused settings.
“The all-new Santa Fe is an SUV that finds a perfect balance between city life and the great outdoors, handling everything from busy family itineraries to camping adventures,” said SangYup Lee, executive vice president and head of Hyundai Global Design Center. “With its longer wheelbase, roomy interior and terrace-like tailgate space, the new Santa Fe leans into its SUV strengths to offer more versatility than ever before with a premium customer experience.”
Santa Fe’s front view creates a bold impression with an elevated, level hood line, H-shaped headlamp signature and precision-detailed fenders. Together, the H-shaped headlamps and lower front valance draw inspiration from a new flat-profile Hyundai logo, conveying a bold, distinctive image. The new, longer wheelbase adds sophistication, with clean side sculpting complemented by a flatter roofline, generous fender volumes, robust wheel arches, shorter front overhang and available 21-inch alloy wheels. From the rear, the wider lift-gate opening conveys stability while leveraging simpler, sculptural surfacing details. H-shaped taillamps, like the headlamps, harmonize and complement the front view for a clean, attractive lighting signature from all angles. The new, wide lift-gate design is nearly six inches wider than the previous generation Santa Fe.
In North America, Santa Fe is available in 11 exterior colors, including Phantom Black, Serenity White Pearl, Shimmering Silver Metallic, Ecotronic Gray Pearl, Ecotronic Gray Matte, Ultimate Red Metallic, Earthy Brass Matte, Hampton Gray, Terracotta Orange, and Rockwood Green Pearl.
Santa Fe’s all-new interior complements the exterior themes by emphasizing horizontal and vertical design elements matching the exterior design language. An H-shaped design motif is further applied to the upper instrument panel and air vents, enhancing a sense of openness and cohesive design balance.
The new interior design also benefits from available convenience features, such as a new UV-C sterilization compartment and a dual, wireless charging system (15W) for smartphones for a sophisticated user experience. Santa Fe’s first-in-class Panoramic Curved Display, which encompasses the 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster and infotainment system, enhances driving visibility while adding a premium ambience.
Leveraging the longer wheelbase, the all-new Santa Fe offers superior interior space for passenger comfort. Fully foldable second- and third-row seats create a terrace-like space at the rear liftgate opening, enabling users to effortlessly enjoy outdoor surroundings. This design concept used lifestyle data to identify consumer interest in the latest outdoor lifestyle trends, such as car camping and gear-intensive outdoor adventures.
Eco-friendly materials are used throughout Santa Fe’s interior for soft surfaces, such as the headliner, seatbacks, and various covering materials, such as the instrument panel, door trim and seats. The use of eco-friendly materials extends to the exterior as well. The glossy black paint applied to exterior trim panels uses recycled carbon materials. Among the exterior colors, the Ecotronic Gray for North American markets uses a natural bamboo charcoal-coating method.
Santa Fe is available in four interior colors, including Obsidian Black, Supersonic Gray, Pecan Brown, and Forest Green.
The all-new Santa Fe provides impressive cargo capacity, a benefit for both urban lifestyles and outdoor adventures, with plenty of room for everything from sports equipment to camping gear to travel luggage. Roof storage access is further enhanced by a self-concealing grab handle within the exterior C-pillar, eliminating interruptions to flush exterior surfacing.
Santa Fe prioritized living space by increasing second- and third-row legroom. The SUV offers best-in-class third-row leg room, and improved rear headroom. The Santa Fe 2.5T second-row legroom length has increased by 1.4 in., and the hybrid model second-row legroom length has increased by 0.8 in.
To enhance the user experience, the all-new Santa Fe is packed with premium comfort and convenience features. The available first-row Relaxation Comfort seat with leg rest allows occupants to relax in a comfortable position that helps simulate a weightless experience for its occupants. In the six-passenger Santa Fe, available second-row power-reclining captain’s chairs provide extra comfort for rear passengers. Second-row power fold-and-dive seats also add a cushion-angle adjustment, a world’s first for a second-row fold-and-dive seat. Santa Fe also offers a world’s first bilateral, multi-console storage space that can be opened by either front or rear passengers.
Santa Fe offers convenience features such as an available dual, wireless charging system for smartphones. Wireless Apple CarPlay® and Android Auto® are now standard. A powerful USB-C terminal with a maximum charging rate of 27 watts and a third-row USB port are also available. In addition, a UV-C sterilization compartment is available for the top of the Santa Fe’s glove compartment, providing ultraviolet light-based sterilization of frequently-used items, such as cell phones, wallets, glasses, and similarly sized items. A Bose® 12-speaker premium sound system is also available.
Available Over-The-Air (OTA) updates can update vehicle systems with the latest available software by wirelessly updating key controllers without a Hyundai service center visit. Santa Fe also offers Digital Key 2 for vehicle access, startup, and remote control via the owners’ smartphone using Near-field Communication (NFC), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Ultra-wideband (UWB) protocols.
Should the rear view be obstructed temporarily by items in the cargo area, the available digital center mirror allows the driver to clearly see behind the vehicle. It also helps the driver to see better at night with a brighter image in dark environments. Radar-based Rear Occupant Alert (ROA) helps to remind the driver about the presence of rear occupants such as children and pets as a safety precaution after the engine is turned off.
Santa Fe also offers a host of driving assistance and safety features that can help reduce user fatigue and provide a comfortable, confident driving experience whether commuting or on a weekend adventure.
Available features such as Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist can help provide a warning and emergency braking if the preceding vehicle suddenly slows or if risk of a forward collision is detected. Lane Following Assist employs a windshield-mounted camera to help the vehicle maintain its position in the center of its lane. The Driver Attention Warning (DAW) system analyzes driving inputs and can help provide warnings to alert the driver of low driving attentiveness. Further, Forward Attention Warning (FAW), a Hyundai first in North America, utilizes an infrared camera mounted on the steering column to help track a driver’s eye gaze and monitor attention levels to help ensure safe driving.
Available Navigation-based Smart Cruise Control helps maintain a safe speed while navigating various curves on the main section of a highway. Highway Driving Assist helps maintain a select speed and distance from the vehicle ahead while assisting with lane changes on a highway and can further help center the vehicle in the lane while driving.
Other Santa Fe driver assistance and safety features also include Intelligent Speed Limit Assist, Rear View Monitor, Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist, Front and Rear Parking Distance Warning, available Surround View Monitor, available Remote Smart Parking Assist, and Safe Exit Assist.
2024 Santa Fe is available with two powerful and efficient powertrain options. The standard powertrain is a 2.5-liter direct-injected, turbocharged engine (Theta III engine family) mated to an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission with an estimated output of 277 horsepower @ 5,800 rpm and estimated torque of 311 lb.-ft. @ 1,700 – 4,000 rpm.
For eco-focused buyers, a 1.6-liter direct-injected, turbocharged hybrid (Gamma III engine family) linked with a six-speed automatic transmission provides an estimated combined engine and motor output of 232 horsepower and estimated torque of 271 lb.-ft.
The new XRT, making its global debut, is an outdoor-focused sport model tailored to the diverse needs of enthusiasts but not what we expected. It is designed to handle adverse terrain with confidence and ease, offering versatile utility for various outdoor activities. Complementing the Santa Fe Calligraphy trim for premium urban lifestyles, the XRT is designed to satisfy adventure-oriented enthusiasts with confident capabilities.
Compared to the XRT Concept we have seen a few months ago, this production ready XRT trim loses all of its off-road equipment while adds dark chrome and black trim elements and cladding throughout the exterior, including black roof rails with cross bars, for a rugged, ready-for-adventure appearance. It also adds a 30-inch all-terrain tire fitment, with 245/60R18 tires. This XRT boasts nearly 1.5 inches of additional ground clearance and when properly equipped with the towing package, is rated at 4,500 lbs. of towing capacity.
