The new Hyundai Santa Fe is a life-size Tonka toy

Children of the eighties know the toy brand Tonka. Heavy, boxy trucks made of metal and sturdy plastic made it a bit like this new Hyundai Santa Fe, only a lot smaller.

Hyundai does a great job in design. Not so long ago, the Korean manufacturer was best known for its affordable models that you bought on the spur of the moment, not with your heart. And now Hyundai is building the special Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6 and this Santa Fe.

Hyundai Santa Fe with American accents

Because the fifth generation Hyundai Santa Fe looks cool! It has cues from big American SUVs like the Lincoln Navigator, Ford Flex and Cadillac Escalade, with touches of Land Rover Defender here and there, but still feels like something new.

Notably, Hyundai is only releasing a few photos of the all-new Santa Fe. We have to guess the specs. In any case, it is clear that there will be no fully electric version of the model. In the Netherlands we will probably only get plug-in hybrid variants.

Why not an all-electric Santa Fe?

Why isn’t there a Santa Fe EV? Instead, Hyundai has the future Ioniq 7 in its program, which will be similar to the Seven Concept from November 2021. It will technically match the already revealed Kia EV9.

Hyundai also says nothing about the dimensions of the Santa Fe, but we assume that it is around 10 centimeters longer than its predecessor, which measured 4.78 meters in length. In the Santa Fe there is – possibly optional – space for seven people.

We haven’t had much success in recent years

The past generations of the Hyundai Santa Fe have undergone a wonderful development in the Netherlands. Generations one and two were popular with over 6,300 and 8,100 units sold respectively.

Then came the draft. The third generation was, at least in the Netherlands, a flop. Hyundai managed to sell only 443 copies in six years, after which the fourth generation suddenly regained popularity. The sales counter is at about 1000 units and will remain for a while.