For 22 years, the Hyundai Santa Fe has had a familial, good-looking design. One which blends properly with its atmosphere in the identical manner you politely mingle at a cocktail party. Courteous however unobtrusive; fascinating however not precisely outspoken.

For its twenty third yr, the Hyundai Santa Fe is boldly going, effectively, daring. Off are the derbies and polo shirt; on are the climbing boots and journey vest. It’s nonetheless known as Santa Fe, however you wouldn’t realize it with out seeing that identify emblazoned in all caps throughout the again.

For its fifth era, Hyundai’s longest-running SUV nameplate undergoes a seismic change in design and perspective. Gone are the curves it’s had since debuting in 2001. Now the Santa Fe is a buffed-up field akin to a rugged SUV of yore.

A few of the Similar, A lot of the Totally different

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe is slated to go on sale within the first quarter of subsequent yr. Hyundai hasn’t launched pricing but, however for context, know that the present 2023 Santa Fe begins at $28,750. We estimate this new one, with a extra highly effective normal engine, shall be a couple of thousand increased.

At launch, the Santa Fe shall be obtainable with a 2.5-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine or a hybrid 1.6-liter turbo 4-cylinder. These powertrains make 281 and 226 horsepower, respectively, in 2023 fashions. A plug-in hybrid Santa Fe shall be obtainable in world markets, and one might presume it’ll return to the U.S. sooner or later for this new era.

On this respect, there are similarities underneath the hood to the soon-to-be-outgoing Santa Fe. Elsewhere, the variations are as stark as its remodeled exterior design. Let’s start inside.

The present Santa Fe is a 2-row midsize SUV that competes with fashions just like the Honda Passport and Ford Edge. For 2024, the Santa Fe shall be obtainable with three rows, making it a real child brother to the Palisade.

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe’s inside is roomier and extra well-appointed than the present mannequin, one thing we noticed with our eyes and felt with our fingertips on the Santa Fe’s world debut in — are you able to guess? — Santa Fe, New Mexico.

An Inside You Can Sleep In

At its debut, Hyundai executives touted the Santa Fe’s new mantra of “Open for Extra,” actually and figuratively. And the way the designers began from the rear of the car. To that finish, the 2024 Santa Fe options an enormous tailgate that creates an equally massive opening (the phrase “aperture” was bandied about). It additionally has second- and third-row seats that fold almost flat. Open the facility tailgate, fold the seats, and instantly you might have a vehicular front room. “The SUV as a house,” as one Hyundai exec remarked.

Sure, Hyundai has created and is advertising the brand new Santa Fe as not simply an city runner however an SUV that will get again to what SUVs initially did: Take folks past the town limits and allow them to remain on the market for some time. No, you possible gained’t be going as off the path as you’ll within the equally blocky new Toyota Land Cruiser, however to that finish, Hyundai does have one thing up its sleeve — extra on that in a bit.

No matter the place you end up, Hyundai says the 2024 Santa Fe could have class-leading cargo capability in again, area you need to use for gear or — oh, why not? — sleeping.

Talking of resting, the Santa Fe gives a “Leisure Seat” with a leg relaxation, a characteristic additionally seen in prime grades of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 electrical automotive. In that car, the concept is the driving force can chill whereas the automotive juices up at a charging station.

Different Novel Concepts

Inside tech within the new Santa Fe impresses with what Hyundai calls a “first-in-class” Panoramic Curved Show combining twin 12.3-inch screens — one appearing as a digital instrument cluster, the opposite dealing with infotainment duties.

A twin wi-fi charging cradle is one other good contact — now you don’t must combat your buddy to cost a cellphone. And right here’s one thing sudden, and that speaks to the Santa Fe’s design work happening throughout the COVID-19 pandemic: It gives a built-in UV-C sanitizer tray. Designers say the pondering was it might sanitize face masks again then and now might simply as simply work its magic on one thing like a child’s teething toy.

After all, all of the anticipated security tech is on board, too, together with the most recent model of Hyundai’s Freeway Driving Help, which might tempo a car forward, keep inside lane markings, and even help with lane adjustments.

However Wait, There’s Extra!

Hyundai officers have been barely carried out eradicating the curtain of the 2024 Santa Fe once they motioned to yet one more mannequin up on a hill. One which appeared prefer it might go fairly a bit farther off the crushed path: the Santa Fe XRT idea, seen above.

Festooned with additional physique cladding, knobby tires, an enormous roof rack, and different off-road accoutrements, it’s simply an train for now. But when the Santa Fe is really morphing from an errand runner to an adventure-ready utility car, it appears to be an indication of what’s to come back.

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe will mark its North American debut on the LA Auto Present in November, the place but extra particulars ought to emerge about Hyundai’s buffed-up new hauler.