2018 Hyundai Santa Fe teased
All-new seven-seat large SUV will never let you forget the kids in the backKorean car giant Hyundai has teased its all-new fourth-generation Santa Fe SUV with a single sketch.
Although it's tricky to pick out details, the profile of the new Santa Fe takes another page out of the European design playbook, with hints of Audi in its sleek lines.
The swept-back headlights also have a strong European influence, while bold wheel arches and a roof spoiler add presence.
The new-look large SUV will make its global debut in February, followed by its public premiere in Switzerland at the 2018 Geneva motor. Based on the same platform as the new Kia Sorento, the Santa Fe will grow in size – and likely price – when it arrives in Australia during the middle of this year.
One of the keynote new features on the 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe is a world-first rear occupant alert system. Simply put, it scans the rear seats and if it detect passengers it will alert the driver when they leave the car.
Before you laugh, or argue for a noise-cancelling system for screaming kids in the back seat as an alternative, consider that the RACV says it rescues more than 1400 babies and children from locked cars each year. That means the roadside assistance crew smash their way into four cars per day, on average.
Other features in the new Santa Fe include an automatic brake function linked to the rear cross-traffic alert system. Check out our rear cross traffic alert advice story for more details on how these systems work.
It's not clear what engines the new model will offer globally, but Hyundai Australia's chief operating officer, Scott Grant, said the new model would not offer a V6 petrol engine from launch – despite its sister vehicle, the Kia Sorento, offering such a powertrain.
Grant also confirmed the new Santa Fe will not match the current entry-level model's $40,990. That price currently buys a six-speed automatic paired with a 190kW 3.3-litre petrol V6.
"With the new model the price is not set but I don't think it will be as sharp as the current one," he said.
"It's a good time for buyers to jump in I suspect. That's what happens when you get into the fifth year of the cycle," said former Lexus and HSV exec, Grant.
Grant said there was sufficient numbers of Santa Fe vehicles currently in Australia to last until the new model arrives in showroom mid-year.
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