For the latest Hyundai Santa Fe pricing and information:
https://www.kbb.com/hyundai/santa-fe/

This is the updated 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe. You know, they’re calling it an update but that doesn’t quite cover it.


You see, even though the 20 and 21 models don’t look radically different, the mid-size 2021 Santa Fe actually rides on a new platform shared with the Kia Sorento. Plus, the interior and exterior have been somewhat updated. And there’s a new powertrain lineup. So, yeah. “Mid-cycle update” doesn’t really cut it.

However you classify its updates, there is a lot to unpack. Let’s dig in.


Item 1, the exterior is slightly longer (+.7in), wider (+.4in), and lower(-.4 in). It also features a revised taillight and this new t-shaped headlight design. Hyundai has made some bold stylistic choices with their recent offerings and the 2021 Santa Fe continues that trend.

Inside, the Santa Fe’s platform change has yielded slight improvements in passenger and cargo space.


Perhaps the most significant update is this push-button drive selector. Ditching the mechanical selector freed up space down here, just like Hyundai did with their mid-size Palisade SUV.


Stealing another page from the Palisade’s playbook, the Santa Fe now offers a fancy Calligraphy trim, sporting a unique grille, 20-inch wheels, a Nappa leather interior, and Hyundai’s HTRAC all-wheel drive.

And with that convenient segue, let’s talk powertrains.

In the lowest SE and SEL trims you’ll find an 8-speed automatic transmission and a 2.5-liter engine that makes slightly more power than the 2.4-liter found in the 2020 model (190hp, 180 lb-ft).

Move to the higher Limited trim and the former 2-liter turbo had been replaced with a substantially more powerful 2.5L turbocharged engine matched to an 8-speed dual-clutch transmission. (275hp, 310 lb-ft).



More power is great, but the big mechanical news is the addition of a hybrid to the family.

That hybrid blends a 1.6L turbocharged engine, a 6-speed AT, a 4.49kWh Li-Ion Polymer battery pack, and a fully mechanical all-wheel-drive system. The total system output is 225hp.

Note, the hybrid is only sold with all-wheel drive and only on the SEL and Limited trims.

We haven’t seen fuel economy or pricing figures yet but we have heard that a plug-in hybrid should arrive in 2022.

Other noteworthy details for the 2021 Santa Fe include a thicker windshield and increase sound matting for a quieter ride, a standard Smart Sense suite of active driver assists including lane keep assist and automatic emergency braking with Pedestrian and bicyclist detection, and the inclusion of wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto but only if you have the base 8-inch screen. The optional 10.25-inch navigation display includes Carplay and Android Auto but you’ll have to use a cable...like some kind of animal.

Hyundai says wireless smartphone integration might come to the 10.25 screen at some point later.

Just so ya know. Other worthwhile Santa Fe add-ons include an NFC digital key, wireless phone charging, a hands-free liftgate, this digital gauge cluster, a 360-degree camera system, and the Smart Park remote parking feature first seen on the Hyundai Sonata, which, for the sake of my dignity, I will pronounce with a hard R.



If you’re in the market for an assertively styled midsize SUV, perhaps with a hybrid option, you can expect the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe to arrive in dealers in December of 2020, with the Hybrid landing about 2 months later.