autoevolution
 

2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Details Revealed For Europe, Hybrid And PHEV in Tow

The South Korean group Hyundai-Kia is riding the wave of change in Europe – they shared spicy information about the little Kia Picanto and showed the update for the big Santa Fe SUV. Now the latter is also up for examination in its European specification. As is customary these days for the Asian company, the Old Continent model includes some form of electrification – in this case both a regular hybrid and a plug-in hybrid option.
2021 Hyundai Santa Fe EU 11 photos
Photo: Hyundai Motor Group
2021 Hyundai Santa Fe EU2021 Hyundai Santa Fe EU2021 Hyundai Santa Fe EU2021 Hyundai Santa Fe EU2021 Hyundai Santa Fe EU2021 Hyundai Santa Fe EU2021 Hyundai Santa Fe EU2021 Hyundai Santa Fe EU2021 Hyundai Santa Fe EU2021 Hyundai Santa Fe EU
With the exterior and interior design already known, let’s focus on the hidden bits. As already mentioned by the company, the 2021 Santa Fe is not of your regular new-face and equipment variety. Instead the carmaker opted to switch to an entirely new architecture, which enables it to offer “significant improvements in performance, handling, fuel efficiency and safety”.

On the one hand, we have increased dimensions thanks to the reworked platform. The SUV is now 4,785 (+15mm) long, 1,900 (+10mm) wide, 1,685 (+5mm) tall and arrives with the same wheelbase of 2,765 mm. There are also incremental upgrades in terms of interior space: +3 cm of leg space for the second row and another four for the third row.

The trunk is also larger - 634 liters (+9 liters) for the 5-seater and an additional 24 for the 7-seater to a grand total of 571 liters. More importantly, Hyundai says the new hybrid and PHEV versions have no impact on passenger space, the batteries being intelligently placed under the seats.

Speaking of, the two share Hyundai’s introduction of the new accompanying gasoline ‘Smartstream’ option. It’s a new 1.6-liter T-GDi (turbocharged gasoline direct injection) mill. When working in conjunction with a 44.2 kW electric motor and its 1.49 kWh lithium-ion polymer battery it delivers a joint output of 230 PS and 350 Nm (258 lb-ft), and it’s offered with AWD as an option.

The plug-in hybrid version is set to arrive early next year, combining the same ‘Smartstream’ with a more powerful electric motor and battery (66.9 kW and 13.8 kWh lithium-ion polymer) that results in a total of 265 PS and the same 350 Nm of torque.

Both hybrid options get a newly developed 6-speed automatic transmission (6AT), but diesel fans in Europe will be treated to an even more efficient setup. It consists of an updated 2.2-liter ‘Smartstream’ with 202 PS and 440 Nm that’s mated to an 8-speed wet double-clutch transmission (8DCT). The latter is advertised by the carmaker to be 3% more fuel efficient compared to the predecessor, the 7DCT.

If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
press release
About the author: Aurel Niculescu
Aurel Niculescu profile photo

Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories