In 23 years, the Hyundai Santa Fe has been many things to different customers, but “cool looking” has never been one of them. The Korean automaker’s first crossover, the Santa Fe arrived in the summer of 2000 and has had a reputation for being practical, safe and value-packed ever since, but all of its four generations have been visual wallflowers. That will all change this fall when the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe arrives sporting a radical, rugged-looking redesign.
Hyundai took the wraps off of the fifth-generation Santa Fe today, and the company’s midsize SUV mainstay has been reshaped into an aggressively boxy machine with distinct Land Rover overtones. It’s a complete visual break with the past a much-needed injection of distinctiveness for the Santa Fe, which has been outshone of late by the popular midsize, three-row Palisade and the reinvented compact Tucson.
The 2024 Santa Fe’s visuals are built (presumably with help from a T-square) around an H-shaped theme seen in many different areas on the SUV, but most notably the headlight and taillight signatures. The geometric, retro-futuristic shapes echo many of the company’s recent designs, including the popular Ioniq 5, but refine them into a machine that at least gives the impression of off-road brawn and an upscale cabin.
In addition to the square-rigged details, Hyundai has also altered the Santa Fe’s proportions. The wheelbase is longer and the front overhang shorter. That makes it look longer, lower and wider without the vehicle growing too much larger, and these changes may hint at actual off-road optimizations to come. Details on exactly what mechanical changes lie beneath the Santa Fe’s butch new sheetmetal, and how much longer that wheelbase really is, won’t be forthcoming until later this year.
Hyundai hasn’t forgotten its core audience though, and it says the self-consciously boxy look is meant to maximize interior space. To that end, the new Santa Fe’s tailgate extends all the way out to the SUV’s edges for a more useful and open space while the second and third-row seats fold flat, providing an indoor camping area.
Importantly this new Santa Fe will offer that third row in the U.S. On the current circa-2018 design, a third row is available in overseas markets but was deemed too small for Americans and redundant after the Palisade’s arrival in 2020. (The stretched third-generation “Santa Fe XL” briefly continued on the market in 2018 and 2019).
“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 as well as a premium customer experience,” said SangYup Lee, head of Hyundai Global Design, said in a press release. That “premium experience” emphasis is most clear in the new Santa Fe’s cabin.
Clean lines and a twin-screen, BMW-esque “panoramic curved display” dominate. There’s also soft-touch wood-patterned garnish and Nappa leather seats with delicate embroidery, all of which seem to approach Genesis levels of plushness. There are also sustainable materials, with suede headliner, mats and second- and third-row seatbacks made from recycled plastic and eco-friendly leatherette elsewhere.
Will the base model look like this? Probably not, but all Santa Fes will look much more daring than before and in a way, they have to.
The Tucson’s complete redesign two years ago put it ahead of the Santa Fe in terms of cargo space, versatility and visual excitement at a slightly lower price. The Palisade’s third row and upscale feel cost only a few thousand dollars more, leaving the current Santa Fe betwixt and between. By giving it a stronger identity and leaning into ruggedness, Hyundai is no doubt intending to give consumers something different from either of those siblings, particularly as it will have to grow at least a little to fit that third row.
Hyundai says the 2024 Santa Fe will debut on its YouTube channel next month, with specifications and pricing details to follow.
