Inside spy photographs reveal twin telephone charging pads, column-mounted gear-shifter and rotary Land Rover-style heater controls
by Chris Chilton
March 24, 2023 at 09:36
by Chris Chilton
If it’s true that imitation is the sincerest type of flattery then Hyundai is about to blow a forest fireplace’s value of smoke up Land Rover’s butt. The Korean agency is reinventing its presently curvy three-row Santa Fe SUV and it’s clear from the sturdy geometric design of prototypes that its design workforce has been closely influenced by the Land Rover Defender.
In all probability a lot to Land Rover’s aid, nevertheless, these newest photographs present that Hyundai has largely trodden its personal path with the inside design. As an alternative of the separate digital gauge cluster and pill infotainment display screen favored by Land Rover’s design workforce, Hyundai has gone for a one-piece setup that’s vaguely paying homage to those within the Ioniq 5 and new Grandeur luxurious sedan by way of its total dimensions however really appears extra like BMW’s newest iDrive display screen due to the way in which it curves in the direction of the motive force.
The pictures additionally reveal what appear to be twin smartphone charging trays, a column-mounted gearshift lever (the P for Park image is seen on the tip of the stalk) and, reward be, a rotary quantity dial for the media system. However wait, we will nonetheless spot greater than a few Land Rover references. That chunky steering wheel for one, after which there’s the sloping design of the local weather management stack and the truth that the heating controls themselves are rotary dials with digital readouts housed of their facilities. Similar to you get on a Land Rover or Vary Rover.
Associated: Hyundai Performs It Straight With Geometric 2025 Santa Fe Alternative
We will’t see the remainder of the inside, however we all know that it’s going to have sufficient area for 3 rows of seats, although whether or not that configuration will probably be normal stays unclear. The present Santa Fe is on the market with two or three rows of seats in Europe as Hyundai’s largest SUV there. However in North America, it performs second fiddle to the even greater Palisade and is just out there with 5 chairs.
The presence of tailpipes on this prototype reminds us that the brand new Santa Fe will proceed to be powered by combustion engines, and people are prone to embody four-cylinder turbocharged petrol models, plus a 1.6-liter plug-in hybrid variant. The present mannequin, which is on the market in each front- and all-wheel drive types, additionally gives a 3.5-liter V6 however even in North America, a naturally aspirated V6 sounds pretty out of step with the instances, main us to surprise if Hyundai gained’t provide you with an alternate.
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One factor we do know is that the following Sante Fe gained’t be provided as an EV. Anybody searching for a fully-electric seven-seat Hyundai SUV goes to have to attend for the Ioniq 7 anticipated in 2024.