New Hyundai Santa Fe REVEALED - it's going hybrid, and it's got a grille

New Hyundai Santa Fe

The new Hyundai Santa Fe – Hyundai’s largest SUV in the UK – gets a new look, new platform, more luxury and hybrid powertrains. On sale September.

There is an argument that car grilles – for so long the defining statement of a marque – should soon disappear as we move to electric cars which don’t need a big gaping opening at the front to gulp in cooling air.

But if that does come to pass then we’ll look back at this period as the last hurrah of the car grille as car makers, like BMW, attach bigger and bigger grilles to their cars. And now it’s Hyundai’s turn to join the giant grille party.

Revealing the new Santa Fe, Hyundai’s biggest SUV offering in the UK, Hyundai’s biggest grille arrives ahead of the Santa Fe’s actual arrival, as it gets a bold new look, certainly at the front, new hybrid powertrains and a distinct move upmarket.

Changes round the side are minimal – there’s still a look that makes you think the Santa Fe has squeezed down a narrow alley and flattened its wheelarches – and a back end which looks almost as bland as the front looks bold.

Inside the dashboard and centre console have been redesigned, and there’s a new 10.25″ infotainment screen in what looks a more upmarket cabin with higher quality materials, with a new ‘Luxury’ trim option adding 20″ alloys and body-coloured bumpers and wheel arches too.

We know, becuase Hyundai has told us so, that the new Santa Fe, now it’s based on Hyundai’s third generation platform, will be offered with hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains. But, for now, Hyundai don’t want to give any details, although it seems likely the 261bhp PHEV powertrain from the new Sorento is a likely candidate.

The new Hyundai Santa Fe won’t go on sale until September, by which time we should have more detail.