2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Is Bigger, Comfy, Awfully Familiar

• Hyundai’s newest crossover, now on sale, looks like it came from Land Rover’s new-ish design studio in Warwickshire, UK.

• It could be a shrewd move for Hyundai to introduce upscale European SUV styling into this saturated mainstream segment. A hybrid version goes on sale in a few months.
  

• The hybrid starts in SEL FWD trim at $38,345 with destination and caps out at $50,195 for Calligraphy trim and AWD. The non-hybrid Santa Fe SE FWD starts at $35,345 and tops out at Calligraphy AWD for $49,695 with destination.

Midsize crossovers and SUVs represent the most densely populated vehicle segment in America, racking up nearly 4 million sales in 2023—and still growing—and accounting for a quarter of all light-vehicle sales.

It’s easy for any of these thirty vehicles to be overlooked in the haze of cross-shopping and test driving, especially in this sector where utility, flexibility, and practicality trump styling. Years ago, we referred to these as station wagons, and they were great for road trips, with rear-facing third row seats for the little ones.

Unlike steady-eddy brands like Toyota and Honda, Hyundai has decided that predictable, me-too sheetmetal is not going to move the retail needle in the right direction for its latest-generation 2024 Santa Fe, which is now available in showrooms.

Yes, the all-new fifth-generation Santa Fe retains its two-box shape, but this one catches your eye—and not because its form is unique or groundbreaking.

To put it bluntly, Hyundai’s newest crossover looks like it came from Land Rover’s new-ish design studio in Warwickshire, UK. The Santa Fe looks like a mashup of a new Defender with an older Range Rover.

There’s a reason for this. Many of the newer crossovers from mainstream brands (including Hyundai, until now) feature liftgates that are more steeply raked, to make them seem more stylish or even sporty.

But Land Rover’s squared-off proportions (especially the Defender) and a long, flat roof reflect a vehicle that is stretched rearward, allowing for a larger rear cargo hold.

Hyundai wanted this extra room, too, so the new model gains 4.1 cubic feet of cargo space behind the second row, and the liftgate opening is 4.2 cubic feet larger than on the previous model.

The new Santa Fe gains 1.3 inches of ground clearance and is 2.5 inches taller and 1.7 inches longer overall (190.2 inches), with a wheelbase stretched 2 inches to 110.8 inches. Total interior volume has grown a substantial 18.7 cubic feet, and the standard third row with two seats is reasonably comfortable for adults.

Spec changes like these explain why automakers take design risks the way Hyundai has with the Santa Fe. For context, it slots in below the Palisade (both with standard three-row seating, incidentally), which is nearly 7 inches longer, and slots above the Tucson. (Despite its growth, Hyundai tries to position the Santa Fe as a compact SUV. It’s too big for that.)

There’s another reason to scrap the form of the previous Santa Fe, rather than draw inspiration from it: The last one wasn’t selling very well in a booming segment that was up 22% in 2023.

Perhaps this is part of a larger trend to shake up Hyundai design to boost sales. If so, count on substantial changes for the next-generation Sonata, Venue, and Santa Cruz because they’re all lagging their rivals.

It could be a shrewd move for Hyundai to introduce upscale European SUV styling into this saturated mainstream segment. Who wouldn’t want their $35,000 Santa Fe (base price) to be confused with a go-anywhere Land Rover?

But let’s be clear about this: The Santa Fe is built on a front-wheel-drive unibody architecture, so it is not intended for hard-core off-roading, unlike body-on-frame Jeeps like the Wrangler or Gladiator. (Incidentally, all Land Rovers have employed unibody platforms as well, since 2017.)