— If you miss the hood-level, slitlike running lights that Jeep dispatched with the refreshed 2019 Cherokee, a new SUV is keeping that look alive: The redesigned Hyundai Santa Fe, the first official images of which indicate Hyundai is delighted to keep the lights up high. The Korean automaker introduced a front image in Europe of the redesigned Santa Fe, which it calls "an elegant SUV with class-leading roominess" and "best-in-class safety features."
Related: New, Safety Hyundai Santa Fe Is on the Frontier
Oh, and did we mention those lights?
As earlier renderings already indicated, the Santa Fe scatters lights across various openings, including slitlike elements at the hood level. They follow the theme set forth in Hyundai's recent Kona SUV, with daytime running lights up high and the actual headlights midway down the front. The Kona splits the DRLs from the grille, while the Santa Fe connects them via sprawling framework. Like its pint-sized sibling, the Santa Fe has separate openings halfway down the bumper for headlights, with dual stacked lights in each opening versus the Kona's single units.
Hyundai promises "premium quality" and "enhanced visibility" inside. A cabin image shows a layered, horizontal dashboard with a high-mounted screen above separated areas for air vents and climate controls — distinct from the outgoing Santa Fe's waterfall center stack, which housed those elements within the same framework. New safety features on the overseas model include reverse cross-traffic braking and a feature that temporarily locks passenger doors if a vehicle is approaching from behind.
Jim Trainor, a spokesman for Hyundai's U.S. arm, confirmed the automaker will still offer two versions of the redesigned SUV for American shoppers. Versus the Euro-spec Santa Fe, the stateside version "will be a little different in appearance inside and out but fairly similar," Trainor wrote in an email. Hyundai will introduce the U.S. version at the 2018 New York International Auto Show.
At 74.4 inches, width for the Euro-spec Santa Fe is about the same as that of the outgoing U.S. Santa Fe Sport. The Euro-spec SUV measures 2.8 inches longer than the Santa Fe Sport but 5.3 inches shorter than the non-Sport Santa Fe, whose extended length accommodates a third row. (In certain international markets, Hyundai calls the Santa Fe the Grand Santa Fe; the stateside Santa Fe Sport is simply the Santa Fe.) Trainor confirmed the car introduced today is the Santa Fe's two-row model and is "similar to what will be introduced in New York."
Press days for the New York auto show are March 28-29, so stay tuned for our up-close impressions.
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