Hyundai is an automaker that’s been on the rise, and like most other automakers in the American car market, Hyundai has been investing in its SUV segment lately. On top of that, the South Korean company recently gave one of its most popular SUVs, the Santa Fe, a complete redesign. This redesign appears to have changed a lot about the SUV. Here’s a look at the brand-new 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe and how its new look makes it appear to be a more expensive luxury SUV.

A brief overview of the recently redesigned 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe

The Korea Economic Daily reported about Hyundai’s reveal of the brand-new 2024 Santa Fe, and overall, not much is known about the car so far. The South Korean automaker plans on revealing more details about the new Santa Fe’s specs later this summer. That being said, reporters were able to get a look at the car’s new exterior and interior. 

The last generation of the Santa Fe wasn’t that old, as it debuted in the 2018 model year, but Hyundai felt the need to give the new generation of the SUV a more futuristic design. This is particularly apparent on the inside, as it features a curved panoramic display that other 2024 model year Hyundais are getting. The 2024 Santa Fe will also be the first Hyundai model to feature a dual smartphone charging station.

On the outside, the company made the new Santa Fe look futuristic by giving it a sleek, angular, and boxy design. This is a big change from the curvy look that the old generation of the SUV had.

Additionally, the midsize SUV features a new headlight design that the automaker calls “H-Light”, and it resembles the letter “H.” The hood and fender also received changes that make it look more “masculine”, and the boxy SUV is now longer than before.  

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe’s redesign makes it look similar to a luxury SUV

Most SUVs nowadays have a similar look with one another, and the old version of the Santa Fe wasn’t so different. With this new boxy design though, the new Santa Fe joins a small club of SUVs that have such a design. In fact, one SUV that looks quite similar to the new Santa Fe is the Land Rover Defender. Obviously, the two SUVs look different from the front, and this is mostly due to the Hyundai’s new headlight design.

In terms of the rest of the SUV though, the two look similar to one another, largely thanks to the fact that they’re similar sizes and both have a boxy design. It’s unlikely that Hyundai made this design choice in order to make people think that they’re buying a Defender, but it’s still a bold design choice nonetheless.

This redesign could either be a smart move, or a terrible one

This design move by Hyundai comes at a good time since the Santa Fe’s sales numbers were dropping in its prior generation. There were many reasons why that happened, but it’s possible that Hyundai thought that the company needed to make a big swing in order to keep the Santa Fe competitive with its rivals. By making the new Santa Fe look so boxy, Hyundai has definitely helped make the SUV stand out in the crowded midsize SUV segment

However, while there are a couple of examples of boxy car designs, many of them don’t last as long as the Defender has. Often times, drivers simply don’t like the way that a boxy car looks, and that drove them away from those models.

This may happen with the new Santa Fe too, but it’s too soon to say. Either way, this was a polarizing choice by Hyundai.