Photo: Carlex Design
Just in case there were any doubts left over the environment best suited for most SUVs, they've just been blown away by Carlex Design and its latest makeover of the Hyundai Santa Fe Korean model.
The tuning company calls it the "Carlex Urban Edition," but that didn't keep it from taking a few photos of the SUV out in the wild, either cruising on a rocky path or kicking the desert sand up in the air. Confused already? Well, if not then somebody certainly is.
You can find traces of that in the vehicle's new front end as well. Just as EVs are getting rid of them altogether, big grilles are all the rage now with ICE cars. The Carlex Urban Edition Santa Fe makes no exception with its breather, but it also comes very close to having an identity crisis as it goes for the shape of the Audi RSQ8's and the size of that on the Lexus LX. Not that it's a bad thing, mind you.
If making the stylish but tame SUV look more aggressive was the aim, then mission accomplished for Carlex Design. That's usually what happens when you slap a massive black grille on the front of any car, so it worked for the Hyundai Santa Fe as well. But Carlex dipped more than just the grille into its pot of black paint, so the SUV now has a black and white two-tone color scheme with its hipline acting as the divider.
But if the grille could be counted as a nice touch, the rest of the exterior modifications are what you could call 'over the top'. They include a new front bumper and side sills, custom black wheels sitting under sculpted wheel arches, a roof spoiler, and a comically aggressive rear air diffuser with large circular tailpipes on either side.
The interior continues the two-color theme, only it exchanges the white for lime green. The bright color can be found in a few accents of the sports seats, which is bearable, but also on a large segment of the door panels, which is not. The alcantara and leather seats look inviting, but they can't make up for the color mishap. Nor for the fact they sit in a vehicle that's definitely not fast enough to warrant their presence.
Carlex Design plans to launch the package in South Korea first, the SUV's domestic market, with Europe to follow at an undisclosed time. There's no info on whether it'll be available in the US as well or how much it costs, so any interested party is free to contact Carlex Design for further details.
You can find traces of that in the vehicle's new front end as well. Just as EVs are getting rid of them altogether, big grilles are all the rage now with ICE cars. The Carlex Urban Edition Santa Fe makes no exception with its breather, but it also comes very close to having an identity crisis as it goes for the shape of the Audi RSQ8's and the size of that on the Lexus LX. Not that it's a bad thing, mind you.
If making the stylish but tame SUV look more aggressive was the aim, then mission accomplished for Carlex Design. That's usually what happens when you slap a massive black grille on the front of any car, so it worked for the Hyundai Santa Fe as well. But Carlex dipped more than just the grille into its pot of black paint, so the SUV now has a black and white two-tone color scheme with its hipline acting as the divider.
But if the grille could be counted as a nice touch, the rest of the exterior modifications are what you could call 'over the top'. They include a new front bumper and side sills, custom black wheels sitting under sculpted wheel arches, a roof spoiler, and a comically aggressive rear air diffuser with large circular tailpipes on either side.
The interior continues the two-color theme, only it exchanges the white for lime green. The bright color can be found in a few accents of the sports seats, which is bearable, but also on a large segment of the door panels, which is not. The alcantara and leather seats look inviting, but they can't make up for the color mishap. Nor for the fact they sit in a vehicle that's definitely not fast enough to warrant their presence.
Carlex Design plans to launch the package in South Korea first, the SUV's domestic market, with Europe to follow at an undisclosed time. There's no info on whether it'll be available in the US as well or how much it costs, so any interested party is free to contact Carlex Design for further details.
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