Hyundai revitalises Santa Fe

Hyundai has released a refreshed Santa Fe in South Korea, but potential Australian buyers must wait for confirmation of its local introduction.

The updated seven-seat SUV offers South Korean customers a subtle new exterior look, as well as an expanded range of electronic safety features that includes adaptive cruise control, accident-avoiding autonomous braking and a 360-degree camera system.

The premium version of the current Australian Santa Fe was updated in 2015 with lane departure warning and a 'smart' park-assist system.

Sneak photos shot locally in April this year also showed a disguise-clad Santa Fe with what looked suspiciously like a radar sensor at the front of the vehicle, suggesting autonomous braking and radar cruise control could be on the cards locally.

With the updated model, Hyundai is also addressing safety concerns in the USA following the previous (current) version’s “marginal” rating in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s small-overlap impact test, where it is now aiming at a “good” rating.

Visual changes in the update rival for Toyota's Kluger and Ford Territory include a refreshed front-end that combines a tougher-looking grille, headlights and lower air intakes, plus LED running lights located above the fog lights, as well as a subtle re-work of the rear-end to smarten the Korean SUV’s image.

When will the smarter and safer Santa Fe arrive in Australia?

At present we are unable to get any confirmation or denial from local Hyundai management, but there’s little doubt it is destined for local introduction – the only real unknown is when that will be.