2016 Hyundai Santa Fe facelift unveiled in South Korea

Hyundai has unveiled the facelifted version of the Santa Fe in South Korea.

Called the Santa Fe Prime in Hyundai’s home market, the updated Santa Fe features minor visual updates more noticeable on the exterior and minor detail changes on the inside.

Most of the changes are concentrated on the front of the updated Santa Fe; with new projector headlamps, restyled grille slats and a reprofiled bumper with c-shaped chrome highlights around the fog lights. Also new are the wing mirrors, with repositioned indicators, which are now more conventionally placed - horizontally, instead of the odd-looking diagonal indicators on the outgoing model.

At the rear, the internal design of the LED taillights have also been redesigned, as is the new rear bumper with reshaped reflectors, as well as trapezoidal exhaust exits.  Inside, the SUV remains more or less the same, with improved textures, new garnish on the knee pads and a simpler instrument panel with more legible fonts.  New features include a larger eight-inch touchscreen operating the Smart Navigation System, Around-View Monitoring (AVM), park assist and a 10-speaker JBL premium sound system.

Hyundai’s premium SUV carries forward the same engines from the outgoing model – the 2.0 litre and 2.2 litre four-cylinder VGT turbodiesels.  The engines though meet Euro 6 emission regulations now and also get a bump in power. The 2.0L produces 186 PS (up 36 PS) at 4,000 rpm and 402 Nm (up 19 Nm), while the 2.2L develops 202 PS (up 5 PS) at 3,800 rpm and 441 Nm (up 5 Nm).

In India, Hyundai is expected to launch the updated Santa Fe next year.