Despite the dramatic camouflage meant to
hide everything bar the roof, what you see pictured here is a facelift of the
current Hyundai Santa Fe, so expect minor changes from the popular mid-size
SUV, in the visual department at least. Starting from the front end and trying to
decipher what’s hidden behind the plastic cladding and thick camo, it seems
that the grille will grow in size while the split-headlight design will carry
over. The bumper design will also be tweaked.
We don’t expect the profile to change at
all, but the back end should receive a new pattern for the taillights and
different bumper. As Carscoops spies couldn’t get close enough to snap a few pictures
of the interior, we can’t be certain about the changes. Still, we’ve heard that
we should be looking at a new infotainment system software plus new upholstery
and trim.
The biggest change is understood to be
found under the hood, as the engine family could gain new hybrid and plug-in
hybrid versions. It’s still too early to talk about details, but we will remind
you that in North America, you can get the current Santa Fe with the 2.0 turbo
and 2.4-liter four-cylinder units, making 235 and 185 HP respectively. The
former should soldier on, though the latter could be dropped, as some reports
indicate.
The 2021 Santa Fe should arrive either towards the end of the
year or early next year, in which case, it may get the 2022MY moniker.
