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SangYup Lee finds inspiration for automotive design in every part from a chicken’s tail to artwork exhibitions, factories, and designers. For the redesigned 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe, he listened and discovered from a car parking zone.
“Costco was positively a supply of design inspiration for me,” the pinnacle of Genesis and Hyundai’s world design middle admitted in an interview with Motor Authority throughout the unveiling of the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe in, the place else, Santa Fe, New Mexico. “It’s unbelievable how massive the car parking zone is, you see hundreds of vehicles over there. Very first thing that I query is what the heck am I speculated to do to make our automotive very particular and be cherished by prospects once they have so many decisions.”
For the Santa Fe, it meant leaning into massive knowledge to forecast traits 4 years in the past, previous to the pandemic. The award-winning designer interpreted knowledge’s apparent prediction of “outside life-style” with a much bigger, boxier, blockier tackle the in any other case (sub)urbane Santa Fe mid-size crossover.
The result’s a contemporary tackle traditional SUV cues, with as a lot Ford Bronco and Land Rover Defender as Lego truck. With its boxed ends, flat roof, vertical tailgate, flexed wheel arches, and distinctive H-shaped gentle signature, the fifth-generation Santa Fe appears to be like nothing like its predecessors, relationship again to when it launched new in 2001.
“That is fairly a major departure for Santa Fe,” Lee mentioned.
It’s about six inches shorter in size than the Palisade, the model’s largest three-row SUV, however larger than its predecessor in most dimensions. The brand new Santa Fe stretches 1.8 inches longer to 190.2 inches, and the wheelbase extends practically two inches longer, to higher match a extra useful third row than when Hyundai tried it with the third-generation Santa Fe. At 67.7 inches, it’s 1.4 inches taller than earlier than although the bottom clearance stays the identical at 8.2 inches.
To the bare eye, it’s shocking that it’s the identical width. It appears to be like a lot extra muscular, partially from the sq. corners and 21-inch wheels (18s shall be normal when it goes on sale in January 2024), in addition to from the entrance axle and its bulging fenders being pushed extra to the entrance for shorter overhangs.
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe
The obvious mark of distinction is the H-shaped LED operating lights that model the face like a cattle iron. The vertical bars of the H appear to run into the crease of the hood. The horizontal bar extends into a lightweight bar spanning the higher grille. Between that and the decrease grille rests an elongated dumbbell within the form of an H, housing lively grille shutters and bookended by aspect air intakes.
“I’m very pleased with the eye to particulars, within the tailgate, the carry deal with, the grey zone step,” Lee mentioned.
The carry deal with hides within the C-pillar that will help you step up on the door sills to load and strap objects to the roof rack. The pillars are coated in gloss black, and it appears to be like as if the greenhouse is one massive pair of wraparound sun shades. That’s mirrored down low on the arches and rockers, the place gloss black plastic holds up higher over time than rubber cladding, Lee defined, and if it will get chipped it’s simpler to switch than physique colour panels.
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe
What lies beneath the hood and inside these wheel wells is likely to be probably the most disappointing factor in regards to the 2024 Santa Fe, on paper. At launch it is going to be supplied with a 277-hp 2.5-liter turbo-4 with an 8-speed dual-clutch automated, or a 1.6-liter turbo-4 hybrid powertrain with an estimated output of 226 hp. Hyundai engineers mentioned they tweaked the carryover engines to enhance cooling and friction efficiencies to fulfill extra stringent particulate emissions laws. The North America market will seemingly get the plug-in hybrid supplied abroad and on the 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe, however we’ll discover out for positive on the Los Angeles auto present in mid-November.
We count on Hyundai to launch the XRT Idea it confirmed off in early August as a manufacturing mannequin in L.A. as properly. Suspension modifications to the opposite grades stay minimal. Hyundai mentioned it swapped in hydraulic bushings as an alternative of rubber ones, and its next-gen shocks have higher damping. Hyundai North America engineers couldn’t converse to drive modes, however confirmed all-wheel-drive fashions will nonetheless have a middle locking differential.
Hyundai Santa Fe XRT Idea
Hyundai Santa Fe XRT Idea
Hyundai Santa Fe XRT Idea
Hyundai Santa Fe XRT Idea
Effectivity is as vital a key phrase as “outside life-style.” John Robb, the president of Hyundai America Technical Heart, mentioned the event of electrical autos such because the Ioniq 5 hatchback and Ioniq 6 sedan taught engineers how you can decrease the coefficient of drag of the Santa Fe regardless of its blockier form, from 0.33 to 0.29.
These autos, in addition to the latest crop of Genesis EVs, have been heralded as design knockouts all through the automotive trade. It’s one cause why Lee was the 2023 World Automobile Individual of the 12 months, preceded the 12 months earlier than by his mentor and “nice good friend,” Luc Donckerwolke, president and chief artistic officer of Hyundai Motor Group.
“It’s not a typical company relationship, not like boss and worker or something like that,” Lee mentioned with an appreciative smile. “We’re designers that problem one another. We’re nice mates, he’s additionally my nice mentor, and made me the place I’m.”
Previous to following the honored Donckerwolke from Volkswagen Group to Hyundai and Genesis in 2016, Lee labored with him at Bentley, designing the Bentayga, Flying Spur, and beautiful EXP 10 Pace Idea.
However Lee had already established himself as one of many automotive world’s foremost designers, spanning 15 manufacturers over 25 years, beginning with Basic Motors and the fifth-gen Chevy Camaro, then idea vehicles such because the Stingray Corvette that starred as Sideswipe within the second Transformers film, “Revenge of the Fallen.”
2009 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Idea
“Lee has confirmed himself as one of many world’s finest vehicle designers within the world platform,” Donckerwolke mentioned on the hiring of Lee to Hyundai in 2016.
Arguably, the dynamic design duo have executed their finest work elevating the Hyundai and Genesis manufacturers. When requested if Lee felt extra artistic freedom working with the Belgian native, he mentioned, “Completely.”
“Luc at all times comes with concepts, I at all times include concepts, and the most effective thought is at all times created when Luc and myself are speaking collectively,” Lee mentioned. “After we speak we’re not speaking about all the massive company issues, we’re solely speaking about design in our important precedence to ship the most effective product.”
That relationship may have a draw back, significantly in social conditions between the 2 households that Lee described as very shut.
“One time, I had dinner with Luc and his spouse Melinda, and we’re speaking like nonstop for a half hour,” Lee mentioned. “And Melinda says, “Luc you need to have married SangYup.” And Luc says, “Melinda, I like SangYup however not that a lot.”
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe
The pairing works finest right here on the considerate inside of the Santa Fe. The broad modular look carries over inside, the place the most recent tech blends as an alternative of overwhelms traditional type parts appropriated from luxurious vehicles. Twin 12.3-inch shows curve towards the driving force, and a splash decked in out there wooden trim snakes from finish to finish, underscored by a stomach of metallic vents. The entrance passenger faces twin glove bins break up by a hidden storage shelf.
The pairing of kind and performance continues to the middle console. Hyundai moved the digital gear shifter to the steering column, identical as within the Ioniq 5 electrical crossover, to open up a tiered console topped by two wi-fi cellphone expenses and a UV sanitizer. Bands of drive mode and local weather buttons restrict overreliance on the screens, although the local weather panel is one other touchscreen with precise local weather knobs. The deep armrest console opens from the entrance or again, and a storage tray slides out of the underside for second-row riders to stow different objects.
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe
The third row could also be bigger than the 2018 mannequin, however with simply 30 inches of legroom there must be some bargaining with second-row passengers to maneuver up their captain’s chairs for six folks to suit. The 50/50-split third row reclines as much as 10 levels into a big cargo maintain, able to 25.6 cubic ft of storage.
The eye to element marries kind and performance again right here, too. Hinged deep inside the flat roof sits Hyundai’s largest tailgate and an enormous opening. Lengthy and skinny struts lengthen vertically up the edges of the opening. The taillights are mounted low close to the bumper to permit for this, and the gate opens to barely greater than a good angle with the roof, permitting these about 6-foot-2 and beneath to face beneath it with out ducking.
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe
It ought to be no shock that Costco served because the inspiration for such a large, tall opening.
“I found by how a buyer exits the car to reply how you can do the design, how they carry their purchasing cart and cargo the stuff contained in the car, how they entry by way of the rear door, how the mother and youngsters would possibly entry the kid seat,” Lee mentioned. “And I assumed possibly I ought to open up the grey zone a bit of bit for simpler entry to it. A mid-size SUV is a household automotive. In relation to a household automotive, excessive tech is vital, nevertheless it must be straightforward to make use of.”
That’s a common design ingredient that stands the check of time.
Hyundai supplied airfare and lodging for Motor Authority to carry you this report.
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