New Hyundai Santa Fe review, test drive

The current Santa Fe, though decent-looking and with good proportions, isn’t exactly a head turner. The small grille (typical of Hyundais of that generation) and lack of muscle in the design make it look a bit meek by SUV standards. The new car, though, can be called anything but that. You can’t miss the massive trapezoidal grille which can be spotted from miles away and establishes this SUV as a Hyundai and nothing else. Finished in chrome, this grille retains the key elements of the Hyundai family look. The angular headlights with matching fog lamps below (lined with LED lights) nicely balance  out the bold front, while the visible silver skid plate, which provides under-body protection, looks smart and reassuring.

In side profile, SUVs can look quite ordinary and boxy, but not this one. There are many interesting design elements, like the sharp crease in the side panels that run from the peeled-back headlights through the door handles and all the way to the back to sharply define the upper edge of the rear tail lights. The roof slopes steeply towards the rear, and the window line that sweeps up to the D-pillar accentuates this tapered effect.

At the rear, the roof spoiler, the stylistic cut which arcs across the tail-gate and the shapely wrap-around tail are interesting design details that we’ve now come to expect from Hyundai. Lending a sporty touch are the rear skid plate, twin tail pipes and hexagonal mesh set in the lower half of the front and rear bumpers. Continued..