The Hyundai Santa Fe is no doubt a familiar name to those who are savvy with the aforementioned Korean marque. It first entered the local market way back in 2006, and later on the fourth-gen model was launched at the 2018 Manila International Auto Show.
Fast forward to 2022 and Hyundai Philippines is now under new management. And with that, it also launched the updated Santa Fe. It is now underpinned by a new platform, and it looks vastly more contemporary than the outgoing model. Let’s check it out.
Exterior
On the outside, the new Hyundai Santa Fe gets a whole new front end. Particularly eye-catching on this portion are the T-shaped LED headlamps that smoothly merge into a larger cascading grille.
From the side, it looks a bit similar to the pre-facelift version, though it now rides on a new, modern-looking set of 19-inch alloy wheels.
From the rear, the new Santa Fe then gets a light strip that spans the entire width of the vehicle. The rear LED taillights themselves also come in a complex-looking shape combined with the light pattern. Moving down below the trunk door is a wide, width-spanning reflector, and it also has a shiny decorative piece on the lower rear bumper as well.
Of note, the Santa Fe comes with a power tailgate. It also gets power-folding side mirrors with puddle lamps, satin chrome exterior door handles, roof rails, LED rear fog lamps, and daytime running lamps. On the other hand, the all-new Santa Fe is part of Hyundai Motor Philippines' revamped model lineup.
Interior
Inside, the updated Santa Fe gets a three-row configuration that can seat up to seven occupants. All seats are clad in leather, and its occupants are kept comfortable by an automatic air-conditioning system with rear vents. The rear second row seats can be folded in a 60:40 split, while the third row has a 50:50 split.
Check out the Santa Fe's second row
For affixing luggage and cargo, the trunk space also comes with a luggage net and hook. There’s also a cargo screen that serves to separate the trunk from the rest of the interior.
For this Hyundai's front cabin, the dashboard assumes a sleek design with logically placed physical controls. The steering wheel is wrapped in leather, and the driver is also provided with a push-button-type gear shifter, paddle shifters, a push-to-start button, an electrochromic rear-view mirror, as well as a full TFT LCD gauge cluster.
The driver’s seat and the front passenger seat are also power-adjustable, but the driver also gets power adjustable lumbar support.
Tech & safety
For on-board entertainment, the Santa Fe is kitted out with an eight-inch touchscreen head unit. This is a floating-type touchscreen which comes with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Bluetooth, auxiliary input, and USB connectivity. It also has an AM/FM radio receiver and voice recognition as well. The said head unit is then linked to a six-piece speaker system.
Charging devices inside the Santa Fe is also made easy with its wireless charging pad, in addition to USB charging ports for the front tray, console, and luggage compartment.
It's TFT digital gauge can display a blind-spot monitor
Handling safety for the Santa Fe are dual front airbags, side airbags, curtain airbags, anti-lock braking with electronic brake-force distribution, stability control, and ISOFIX child seat anchors, among others.
Besides those, this midsize crossover also has several driver-assist features. These include dynamic braking control, blind spot collision warning, parking distance warning, rear seat alert, a blind-spot view monitor, a 360-degree monitor, and parking assist.
Engine
Propelling the 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe is a 2.2-liter CRDi (turbodiesel) engine. At the maximum, this four-cylinder can churn out 200 horsepower and 440 Nm of torque.
Power is then sent to its front wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox. As mentioned, this tranny can be manually controlled using paddle shifters.
Of note, the Santa Fe uses the N3 platform which it shares with the all-new Kia Sorento. For the suspension, it uses a MacPherson strut in front and a multi-link suspension at the rear. It then uses disc brakes for all four wheels, as well as an electronic parking brake with auto hold.
The sole variant for the Santa Fe for the local market as of its launch is the GLS 2.2R CRDi DCT, and it is priced at Php 2,420,000. Of note, the Santa Fe debuted together with the 2023 Hyundai Tucson, Creta, and the Staria. This signals the brand's return to the Philippine market under Hyundai Motor Philippines Inc. (HMPH)
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