The Hyundai Santa Fe Has Been Spotted in Traffic, Looks Like a Monolith

The fifth generation of the midsize SUV, codenamed MX5, was filmed in traffic somewhere in South Korea. Hyundai has published official photos of the model but has not released much information on it just yet.

The Asian carmaker will offer more into in the coming days. The company is probably giving people time to get used to the radical design that it unveiled on July 17. Until that happens, we get to see the model roaming the streets in its native country.

It is obvious that Hyundai took a radical design approach, making the fifth generation unrecognizable. It is next to impossible to find something similar in its looks with the looks of the previous-gen Santa Fe.

From the rear, it looks just like a box on wheels, sporting the H-styled LED taillights and the Santa Fe lettering stretching from the left to the right side of the tailgate.

From the side, the vehicle looks so Land Rover Defender-ish that it may get confusing. There are body-color side mirror caps, while the pillars are blacked out, enhancing the feeling that there is a huge green house.

The front end makes it clear all over again. That is where the H-shaped headlights are, flanking a radiator grille with rectangular formations.

The one who filmed the car followed it for several miles. What initially seemed to be brake lights lighting up alternatively to alert drivers behind that the car is slowing down, might actually be something totally different. They light up even when the driver doesn’t seem to step on the brake pedal.

The turn indicators at the rear are represented by fine lines integrated in the bumper at the rear and H-shaped going yellow at the front.

This head-turning design geometry has not been accompanied by any technical details, but we are to find out more the day the Korean carmaker releases thet technical details. What we do know so far is that the wheelbase of the 2024 model is longer than that of its predecessor and most likely, the SUV features greater proportions. This translates into more space for the passengers sitting in the second and third row, as well as a more spacious luggage compartment.

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe will arrive in the United States as a 2024 model year. Unofficial information from South Korea refers to a local debut scheduled for August 10. That is probably when we will hear more about the engine lineup. We should not expect any radical changes there, though.