[Courtesy of Hyundai]
SEOUL, Feb. 21 (Aju News) -- On its home turf, Hyundai Motor rolled out the revamped version of its flagship sport utility vehicle, Santa Fe, mounted with strengthened safety, connectivity, user experience and performance features.
To cope with fierce competition at the full-size SUV market at home, the fourth generation of Santa Fe went through a total changeover for the first time in six years since its predecessor was released in 2012.
The new Santa Fe features HTRAC, Hyundai's four-wheel drive system, and an eight-speed automatic transmission which provides powerful driving, an electric steering system and ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) to make it safer and more convenient to drive.
Hyundai offers three variants -- 2.0-liter diesel, 2.2-liter diesel and 2.0-liter gasoline turbo. The cheapest trim comes with a price tag of 28.9 million won (26,877 US dollars) and the most expensive trim is priced at 31.1 million won.
The upgraded Santa Fe is wider and longer than its predecessor and carries safety features such as safe exit assist (SEA), rear occupant alert (ROA) and rear cross-traffic collision avoidance assist systems. SEA gives an alarm sound when a passenger departs from the vehicle if a car is approaching from behind. ROA alerts the driver if a passenger is in the rear seat.
Hyundai said about 14,000 units of its new Santa Fe were preordered in January. The company gave no clear timetable on the sale of its new flagship SUV in the United States. Hyundai suffered an 11.5 percent on-year decline in U.S. sales last year due to a lack of new models.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
