Hyundai has been fairly successful in the global market with the Santa Fe crossover. Which is why, the Korean automaker launched not one, but two Santa Fe crossovers at the New York Auto Show. There’s the regular seven-seat 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe, and a heavy diet five-seat version called Santa Fe Sport.
As expected the 2013 Santa Fe features the Korean automaker’s Fluidic Sculpture design language. However, unlike the Sonata Fluidic and i20 Fluidic, the 2013 Santa Fe crossovers feature the company’s latest ‘Storm Edge’ design theme. The Korean automaker claims the ‘Storm Edge’ design theme takes Fluidic sculpture to next level and it means the “dynamic images created by nature during the formation of a storm.”
On the front, both the Santa Fe Sport and Santa Fe models feature the familiar hexagonal grille, strong character lines and rising beltlines. It simply makes the characteristic designs of the crossover more aggressive. The Korean automaker is likely to repeat the design in future Hyundai lineup. It also features new headlights, larger fog lamps with daytime running LED and black cladding that highlights the entire body. On the rear, the Santa Fe features tail lamps with LED and trapezoidal twin-exhausts that slip in under the rear bumper. As a whole, the Santa Fe features bold and aggressive appeal.
For the 2013 edition, the Santa Fe features as a two-row five-seat Santa Fe Sport and beefed-up three-row seven-seat Santa Fe. For the extra row, the seven-seat version gets a longer wheelbase (3.9-inch increase), a longer overall length (8.5-inch increase) and a slightly increased width and greater ride height. In addition, it features 1.9-inch extra leg room in second row together with 5.6 cubic feet extra cargo room.
In terms of comfort, the 2013 Santa Fe features several options from heated rear seats, eight-way power driver’s seat and Hyundai’s Blue Link telematics system. The top-of-the-range model sports a heated steering wheel and panoramic sunroof.
Under the hood of the Santa Fe Sport is four cylinder option from 190 hp, 2.4-litre engine giving 181 lb-ft of torque, while the turbocharged 2.0-litre churns out a massive 264 hp. For the three-row Santa Fe model, Hyundai offers 3.3-litre direct injection V6 that gives a massive 290 hp. Power is driven to the wheels through a six-speed automatic transmission with manual shift capability. Front-wheel-drive is standard across the Santa Fe range, however, the crossover is featured with Torque-Vectoring Corner Control (TVCC), a system that distributes torque and controls braking to maximize traction under steep gradients. The Korean automaker claims that the TVCC has never been seen before in non-luxury crossovers.
Hitting the European market in early 2013, the Santa Fe series in s like to come to India soon after that. In India, it will face serious competition from Ford EcoSport and Mtisubishi.
