For 22 years, the Hyundai Santa Fe has had a familial, good-looking design. One which blends properly with its surroundings in the identical approach you politely mingle at a cocktail party. Courteous however unobtrusive; fascinating however not precisely outspoken.

For its twenty third 12 months, the Hyundai Santa Fe is boldly going, properly, daring. Off are the derbies and polo shirt; on are the mountaineering boots and journey vest. It’s nonetheless referred to as Santa Fe, however you wouldn’t comprehend it with out seeing that title emblazoned in all caps throughout the again.

For its fifth technology, Hyundai’s longest-running SUV nameplate undergoes a seismic change in design and angle. Gone are the curves it’s had since debuting in 2001. Now the Santa Fe is a buffed-up field akin to a rugged SUV of yore.

Among the Similar, A lot of the Totally different

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe is slated to go on sale within the first quarter of subsequent 12 months. Hyundai hasn’t launched pricing but, however for context, know that the present 2023 Santa Fe begins at $28,750. We estimate this new one, with a extra highly effective normal engine, might be a number of thousand increased.

At launch, the Santa Fe might be obtainable with a 2.5-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine or a hybrid 1.6-liter turbo 4-cylinder. These powertrains make 281 and 226 horsepower, respectively, in 2023 fashions. A plug-in hybrid Santa Fe might be obtainable in world markets, and one might presume it is going to return to the U.S. in some unspecified time in the future for this new technology.

On this respect, there are similarities below the hood to the soon-to-be-outgoing Santa Fe. Elsewhere, the variations are as stark as its remodeled exterior design. Let’s start inside.

The present Santa Fe is a 2-row midsize SUV that competes with fashions just like the Honda Passport and Ford Edge. For 2024, the Santa Fe might be obtainable with three rows, making it a real child brother to the Palisade.

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe’s inside is roomier and extra well-appointed than the present mannequin, one thing we noticed with our eyes and felt with our fingertips on the Santa Fe’s world debut in — are you able to guess? — Santa Fe, New Mexico.

An Inside You Can Sleep In

At its debut, Hyundai executives touted the Santa Fe’s new mantra of “Open for Extra,” actually and figuratively. And the way the designers began from the rear of the car. To that finish, the 2024 Santa Fe options an enormous tailgate that creates an equally giant opening (the phrase “aperture” was bandied about). It additionally has second- and third-row seats that fold almost flat. Open the ability tailgate, fold the seats, and all of a sudden you might have a vehicular front room. “The SUV as a house,” as one Hyundai exec remarked.

Sure, Hyundai has created and is advertising and marketing the brand new Santa Fe as not simply an city runner however an SUV that will get again to what SUVs initially did: Take folks past town limits and allow them to remain on the market for some time. No, you seemingly gained’t be going as off the path as you’ll within the equally blocky new Toyota Land Cruiser, however to that finish, Hyundai does have one thing up its sleeve — extra on that in a bit.

No matter the place you end up, Hyundai says the 2024 Santa Fe could have class-leading cargo capability in again, area you need to use for gear or — oh, why not? — sleeping.

Talking of resting, the Santa Fe presents a “Leisure Seat” with a leg relaxation, a function additionally seen in high grades of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 electrical automobile. In that car, the thought is the driving force can chill whereas the automobile juices up at a charging station.

Different Novel Concepts

Inside tech within the new Santa Fe impresses with what Hyundai calls a “first-in-class” Panoramic Curved Show combining twin 12.3-inch screens — one performing as a digital instrument cluster, the opposite dealing with infotainment duties.

A twin wi-fi charging cradle is one other good contact — now you don’t should struggle your pal to cost a cellphone. And right here’s one thing surprising, and that speaks to the Santa Fe’s design work going down through the COVID-19 pandemic: It presents a built-in UV-C sanitizer tray. Designers say the considering was it might sanitize face masks again then and now might simply as simply work its magic on one thing like a child’s teething toy.

After all, all of the anticipated security tech is on board, too, together with the newest model of Hyundai’s Freeway Driving Help, which might tempo a car forward, keep inside lane markings, and even help with lane modifications.

However Wait, There’s Extra!

Hyundai officers have been barely achieved eradicating the curtain of the 2024 Santa Fe once they motioned to yet one more mannequin up on a hill. One which regarded prefer it might go fairly a bit farther off the crushed path: the Santa Fe XRT idea, seen above.

Festooned with additional physique cladding, knobby tires, a large roof rack, and different off-road accoutrements, it’s simply an train for now. But when the Santa Fe is actually morphing from an errand runner to an adventure-ready utility car, it seems to be an indication of what’s to come back.

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe will mark its North American debut on the LA Auto Present in November, the place but extra particulars ought to emerge about Hyundai’s buffed-up new hauler.