LOS ANGELES — Hyundai’s Santa Fe midsize crossover is undergoing a heavy freshening for the 2021 model year, including new hybrid and plug-in hybrid options that will come next year. The gasoline models, produced at the automaker’s plant in Alabama, will go on sale by the end of this year.
Although the Santa Fe was redesigned for the 2019 model year, the 2021 model rides on a new platform to accommodate the hybrid battery packs.
The freshened Santa Fe features front and rear styling updates, revised engines on all trims and a new center stack and console design inside, Hyundai said Monday.
“The bold new face of the Santa Fe is enhanced with a wider, three-dimensional grille and a striking T-shaped LED illumination signature, including daytime running lights,” the company said. “The new silhouette sports a horizontal cabin profile, scalloped lower door panels and a long, highly-defined hood.”
A new top-end Calligraphy trim pushes the Santa Fe into near-premium territory, sporting a new 2.5-liter turbocharged engine with 277 hp and a newly developed dual-clutch automatic transmission with eight speeds. The trim comes with unique 20-inch wheels, leather interior, color head-up display and expanded ambient lighting, Hyundai said.
Even the base nonturbo motor in the Santa Fe is updated for 2021. The 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine replaces the 2.4-liter from the outgoing model. Engine power rises by 6 hp to 191 hp, and fuel economy is better by 1 mpg in combined highway and city driving to 26 mpg, the automaker said.
The hybrid model combines a 1.6-liter turbocharged gasoline engine and an electric motor that make 225 hp combined, Hyundai said. The hybrid model will come standard with all-wheel drive. Expected fuel economy for the hybrid has not been released.
Details on the plug-in hybrid’s powertrain have not been released. Kia, Hyundai’s corporate sibling, is using the 1.6-liter turbo engine and a larger battery pack for the plug-in version of the 2021 Sorento midsize crossover. Hyundai could follow suit.
The Santa Fe hybrid is expected in the first quarter of 2021, and the plug-in will come later in the year, Hyundai said. Both hybrids will be made in Korea. Pricing for the 2021 Santa Fe is expected closer to the on-sale date in the U.S.