Hyundai Australia isn’t worried about losing the diesel option from its seven-seat Santa Fe SUV.
The diesel-powered Santa Fe has historically been a top-seller for Hyundai in Australia – but the new model has been revealed with only petrol and hybrid power globally.
Despite this, Hyundai Australia product planning and development manager Tim Rodgers says the company won’t miss offering a diesel powertrain in the new Santa Fe.
“When you look at the numbers for diesel in the large SUV segment, particularly let’s call it the non-rugged segment, diesel was purely occupied by [Hyundai and Kia],” said Mr Rodgers.
“So yes there were a lot of sales but it was really because that’s all we had. It’s largely represented by Santa Fe and our direct competitor from Kia.
“We’re not too worried about losing diesel in that car to be honest. We see the appetite out there for other engines. We feel we can offer a better product with other engines as well.
“So we’re confident in what we’re bringing to the market with Santa Fe, and we think the market will respond.”
The boxy new-generation Hyundai Santa Fe was first revealed in July 2023, with the launch powertrain line-up detailed the following month.
Locally the Santa Fe will land in the second quarter of 2024, at first only in all-wheel drive hybrid guise.
Hyundai Australia has yet to confirm any other variants beyond this one, though CarExpert understands a turbocharged 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine will follow.
Whether this arrives with front- or all-wheel drive (or both) is unclear.
Globally there are two petrol engines, a hybrid, and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) offered in the new-generation Santa Fe.
The hybrid features a turbocharged 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine with 132kW and 265Nm mated with a 48kW electric motor, for a total system output of 173kW.
It’s hooked up to a six-speed automatic transmission, and boasts a 0-100km/h sprint time of 9.5 seconds.
The turbocharged 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine is mated with an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic and produces 207kW and 422Nm. It has a claimed 0-100km/h sprint time of 8.0 seconds.
We don’t expect the base 143kW/246Nm naturally aspirated 2.5-litre to come here, nor do we expect the PHEV being primarily targeted at Europe.
Hyundai Australia has yet to confirm what the 2024 Santa Fe model line-up will look yet.
It’s unclear whether Hyundai will drop the familiar Highlander nameplate for Calligraphy, as it has done with the 2024 Palisade.
Pricing and specifications for the new Santa Fe range will be announced closer to its local launch in the second quarter of this year.
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