The Indians love their SUVs and the companies love treating them with their favorite choice of vehicles. Hyundai showcased their next generation Santa Fe at the New York Motor Show 2012 and gave it the fluidic treatment. The fluidic Santa Fe looked quite modern to say the least and was way better in terms of styling than the segment leader, Toyota Fortuner. The current generation Santa Fe which is present in the Indian market is a very well rounded off car but suffers at the hands of the Toyota Fortuner. Hyundai has even launched the new Santa Fe in China.
But Hyundai intends on hurting the sales of the Toyota Fortuner and to some extent the sales of the baby luxury SUVs like the Q3 and X1 with their next generation Santa Fe. And how could this car not make its way to the Indian roads when the country’s people have an affinity for the SUVs. Today we have for you the spyshots of the next generation Santa Fe which were clicked while the car was being tested on Indian roads by Hyundai which means the car is India bound and will soon be launched by Hyundai.
We expect a launch in the fag end of the second quarter or in early third quarter this year. The SUV’s heart will be a 2.2 litre diesel motor that does duty in the current Santa Fe but it will come in a slightly better state of tune. It will give out 194 horses and a peak torque of 422 NM. The engine will be mated to a 6 Speed manual and automatic transmission. A 4WD variant will also be present for the taking.
The car’s sales figures have been quite dismal for a while with the car selling somewhere around 55 units a month on an average since August 2012. So it could really use a facelift. The car will come in a 7 seater variant to suit the needs of the Indian families but Hyundai might just launch a 5-seater variant as well as an entry level model. The SUV comes with every possible creature comfort and security features you can think of and the Fortuner rival, is bound to hit the Indian roads soon.
Stay tuned for more updates.
Source and Image credits – Team-BHP
