All four for next Santa Fe

Hyundai will launch its third-generation Sante Fe next month without a price-leading front-wheel drive model for the first time in five years.

However, don’t expect the new model’s entry-level price to increase too much from the current 3.5 SLX 2WD auto’s $36,990, because the cheapest new Santa Fe variant will also be powered by a four-cylinder petrol engine for the first time in a decade.

When it goes on sale in September, the all-new, all-AWD, all-four-cylinder Santa Fe range will open with a 2.4-litre petrol variant powered by a 141kW version of the 148kW/250Nm 2.4 GDI petrol four seen in the i45 sedan, matched to six-speed manual and automatic transmissions.

The last four-cylinder petrol Santa Fe sold in Australia was the first-generation model, which was first launched here in November 2000 with a 2.7-litre petrol V6 and later became available with a 2.4-litre petrol four between 2001 and 2003.

Once again all Australian Santa Fe models will come standard with seven seats, but all models will now also come with all-wheel drive because a lower-cost 2WD model will be unavailable from the Korean factory that supplies the Australian market. However a 2WD version of the new Santa Fe will be available in the UK, where it will be an all-diesel model.

Again included in the new Australian range will be the 145kW 2.2-litre (2199cc) R-Series four-cylinder turbodiesel carried over from the MY10 Santa Fe released in November 2009, also matched with six-speed manual and automatic transmissions. The R-Series diesel replaced the previous 114kW 2188cc CRDi diesel that was first released in November 2006, six months after the second-generation CM-series Santa Fe’s launch.

Since May last year, the cheapest Santa Fe has been powered by a 204kW 3.5-litre petrol V6 driving its front wheels, following on from the 180kW 3.3-litre V6 in the 2WD Santa Fe in July 2007.

Hyundai has received Australian certification for a 199kW 3.3-litre V6-powered Santa Fe – again paired only with AWD - but motoring.com.au understands it will not be available from launch, if ever.

Hyundai Motor Company Australia Director of Marketing Oliver Mann said the all-AWD Santa Fe range will leave more room in the market for the smaller ix35, which continues to be available at base level with 2WD (priced $10,000 lower than the outgoing Santa Fe, from $26,990).

“A 2WD Santa Fe is not planned at the moment, partly because we think the cars (Santa Fe and ix35) have distinctly different roles in the market and partly because it’s not available at this stage. For us the path was clear,” he said, adding that 2WD variants currently comprised only about five per cent of Santa Fe sales.

Hyundai’s all-AWD Santa Fe strategy is at odds with most of its key mid-size SUV rivals, including the Toyota Kluger, Ford Territory, Holden Captiva and Mazda CX-9, all of which are available at base level in 2WD guise.

With the exception of the entry-level Captiva, all four competitors are also powered by six-cylinder petrol or four-cylinder diesel engines, although the Kluger and CX-9 remain diesel-free zones.

First seen at the New York Auto Show in April, the new DM-series Santa Fe rides on an all-new monocoque platform that also forms the basis of Kia’s heavily facelifted sister model, the Sorento, which will be launched a few weeks later in early October.

Apart from its new ix35-style exterior design, the longer but lower MkIII Santa Fe – which rides on the same 2700mm wheelbase and measures 4690mm long, 1880mm wide and 1680mm high - is also expected to bring a larger interior, more refinement and an even longer standard equipment list.

The latter should extend to seven airbags, electronic stability control, 18-inch alloy wheels, a leather-trimmed steering wheel, Bluetooth connectivity and Hyundai’s new pedestrian-friendlier ‘active bonnet’, while some models will offer climate-control, satellite-navigation, leather trim, a panoramic sunroof and 19-inch alloys.

New Santa Fe features should include Hyundai’s new three-mode electric steering and blind-spot monitoring systems.

For the first time, the Santa Fe – a name that will be applied globally – will also be produced in long-wheelbase form, providing an effective replacement for North America’s now-discontinued Veracruz crossover.

However, the LWB Santa Fe will only be produced in left-hand drive configuration for markets including the US, where the same short-wheelbase model to be sold in Australia will be called the Santa Fe Sport and fitted only with five seats. In Europe, the smaller model will be called Santa Fe and the larger version Grand Santa Fe.

In the US, the Santa Fe Sport will be available with two four-cylinder petrol engines - a 142kW/245Nm 2.4-litre and a turbocharged direct-injection 2.0-litre producing 197kW/365Nm. The larger Santa Fe will be fitted only with a 216kW 3.3-litre petrol V6 and all three engines will be matched to both 2WD and AWD drivetrains and a six-speed auto.

The LWB Santa Fe — which rides on a 2799mm wheelbase, wears different rear sheetmetal and offers an extra 48mm of second-row legroom and an extra 159 litres of boot space — will be cheaper than the Veracruz it replaces when it is released in the US in January.

Australian Hyundai executives denied any knowledge of a third Hyundai crossover – this time a seven-seat luxury SUV - which Hyundai Motor America CEO John Krafcik recently indicated to Ward’s Auto was in the offing.

“Stay tuned for future details on a potential premium crossover,” he told the US website.

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