The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Is Boxy And Beautiful From Every Angle

The all-new Santa Fe just went through a super-extreme redesign. The soft curved lines of the previous car are gone in favor of a more traditional, SUV-like exterior. It gives the Santa Fe a much more brawny look, which is what Hyundai tells me consumers are looking for. It makes sense, doesn't it? Just about every new crossover coming out these days looks a bit more muscular and off-road-capable than it used to.

However, not every crossover can back up its off-road looks with actual performance. In XRT trim, the Santa Fe is genuinely solid off-road. Now, it isn't any rock crawler, but it has 10,000 percent better at dealing with dirt and other loose surfaces than its competitors. I suppose form and function can work together in harmony.

Along with the outside, the interior has also seen a complete overhaul. There is more space than you'll know what to do with as well as a number of touches and elements that make the 2024 Santa Fe feel a bit more premium than the outgoing vehicle. It has grown a whole lot, and it's now just six inches shorter than the mid-size Palicade, but Hyundai isn't worried about that.

Anyway, let's take a look at what Hyundai has done to totally redesign the 2024 Santa Fe.

The Santa Fe is wildly good no matter where you drive it, but its most surprising skill is how good it is off-road. In XTR trim this thing is a little billy goat.

It's hard to tell, but this Santa Fe Hybrid was perched up at the top of a very steep hill. If it could handle that, then a dirt road will be no issue.

Hyundai went with a more minimalist and clean design inside. And yet it still has buttons!

There's that hill again! I promise it was steep, or maybe I'm just out of shape.

I was only in the Santa Fe for a limited time, but its front seats felt supremely comfy. They even have a similar function to the electric vehicle Hyundai makes in that they can recline almost flat.

Hyundai absolutely loves the headlight/front fascia design of the Santa Fe. While all of the Hs may seem a bit corny, it does grow on you.

Hyundai tells us that the Santa Fe's design was actually penned well before the Defender hit the market. Take that, haters.

Here's one of the engines the Santa Fe can come equipped with. It's a 2.5-liter turbo four that puts out about 280 horsepower and is mated to an 8-speed DCT. North America will also get a 1.6-liter hybrid turbo unit that'll put out about 180 horsepower.

Other engines at launch include a 2.5-liter naturally aspirated four-popper and a 1.6-liter turbocharged plug-in hybrid. Hyundai has not yet told us if those two engines will make it to our shores.

These 18-inch wheels are exclusive to the off-road-focused Santa Fe XRT. They're wrapped in all-terrain tires for a little more of that go-anywhere ethos.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy comes standard with these 21-inch wheels. They've got a neat design, but I don't love the black. There are four other wheels to choose from (including the XRTs) that range from 18 to 20 inches.

Hyundai wanted the tailgate of the Santa Fe to be as wide as possible, and that pretty much dictated every other design choice the company made.

WE CAN ALL MAKE OUR PHONES HOT TOGETHER

The headlights are easy to spot. but do you see the other H? Look below the headlights and across the front plate. Yep, another H.

So Fe.

Moving the shifter off the console means more room for your stuff! Look at that hole. You could put so much into it.

The H in the headlines is a bit corny, but it's also a really effective signature look. More automakers should do silly stuff like this.

Second-row captains chairs or a bench are available on the Santa Fe. Hyundai won't say if there will be a U.S. option to delete the rear-most seats.

Look how many different materials and surfaces you can find in just one corner of the Santa Fe. Each of them feels great and work cohesively together.

The light shines upon thee.

Never been more back. However, I feel like D and R should be switched. That's just me though

Hyundai wants you to know that you can sleep in the Santa Fe or on top of it quiet comfortably if you find yourself enduring the awful trial of camping.

There's no logo, but four dots represent "H" in morse code. Cheeky.

This is a good-ass color, isn't it?

That temperature gauge isn't wrong. It was indeed 116-ish degrees during the launch in New Mexico.

Hello! Also, this little handle can be used to climb up to the roof of your Santa Fe. How nifty is that??

Can you feel the heat?

Annoying, but it is what it is.

Imagine how many things you could put back here, let alone people.

It's a bit hard to tell, but Hyundai says that with the seats folded, the floor is *literally* flat. Though, that's probably more useful with the second-row bench seat.

Adding black trim around the wheel arches really makes the Santa Fe look a lot tougher, doesn't it?

Don't worry, third-row passengers can control the temperature back there.

It's got a real presence to it, don't you think?

If this car is somehow to cramped for you, then I don't know what to say. Maybe you should re-evaluate your life choices.

Hyundai seems to have built a really good crossover with the 2024 Santa Fe. On road, off-road or standing still, the Santa Fe deliveries and then some. I said it in my main review of the Santa Fe, but this is now the gold standard of non-luxury crossovers.