Redesigned 2015 Hyundai Genesis Bound for 2014 Detroit Auto Show

The redesigned 2015 Hyundai Genesis sedan will be unveiled at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show, Hyundai confirmed for Edmunds.
"You will see the Genesis at the Detroit auto show," Hyundai Motor America's Brandon Ramirez told Edmunds during a drive program here.
Ramirez is senior group manager of product planning.
While Ramirez did not provide details about the new Genesis, other sources say the car will receive new exterior styling based on an evolution of Hyundai's fluidic sculpture design language. Additionally, the new Genesis sedan will have a richer-looking interior, sportier ride, and for the first time, an all-wheel-drive option. The strategy is an overall effort to woo buyers from German brands.
The Korean automaker aimed the current generation Genesis sedan at BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class buyers, but few of those buyers came on board. The redesigned Genesis sedan is expected to address shortcomings in terms of handling and ride performance. The all-wheel-drive option will be aimed at buyers residing in cold climates who shunned the current car because of the rear-drive configuration.
All-wheel drive has caught on with BMW owners, especially those dealing with snow and ice. Earlier this month, BMW of North America CEO Ludwig Willisch told Edmunds that about 50 percent of the BMWs sold in the United States are equipped with all-wheel drive and that the number is expected to grow.
In terms of styling, Hyundai spokesman Derek Joyce told Edmunds that despite the name, the HCD-14 Genesis concept unveiled at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show "is not the next Genesis. (But) you will see hints of that design in future products." He did not elaborate.
The HCD-14 Genesis is a large concept, in fact, slightly larger than Hyundai's biggest and most expensive sedan, the Equus. A comparison of dimensions between the Equus and HCD-14 Genesis shows that the concept is 1.6 inches longer than the Equus and 3.3 inches wider.
The HCD-14's styling suggests that Hyundai will tone down the exterior styling of its future vehicles, such as the 2015 Genesis sedan, adopting a conservative stance compared to the 2011 Sonata. That Sonata debuted the automaker's dramatic fluidic sculpture design language that has been adopted for the Elantra, Accent, Santa Fe and other Hyundai models. According to Hyundai, that design language mixes the interplay of natural, fluid elements with more rigid surfaces and structures to create the illusion of constant motion.
Hyundai is not abandoning its fluidic sculpture design language, Joyce said.
"Design is constantly evolving, all design is," he said. "The desire is to always look to enhance and provide freshness to design, but it is not a change from our general overall theme of fluidic sculpture."
Edmunds

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2013 Hyundai Santa Fe: Playing with the big boys

Parents aren't supposed to pick favorites, but it's clear Hyundai has a soft spot for its Santa Fe.

To hear the Korean automaker tell it, the crossover played a key role in Hyundai's transformation from maker of meek little econoboxes with shoddy reliability to a brand that rivals the best from Honda and Toyota.

The third generation of the Santa Fe, rolling into dealerships now, demonstrates how far the company has come. This handsomely redesigned crossover is packed with utility and comes in two sizes: a five-passenger version and a seven-passenger model.

The larger Santa Fe offers a V-6 engine and a longer wheelbase and starts at $30,945. The smaller model, now called the Santa Fe Sport, starts at $25,295 and comes with either a four-cylinder engine or an optional (and regrettable) turbocharged four-cylinder.

The revisions to the Santa Fe lineup cap off a decade-long overhaul of Hyundai's entire lineup. Though it took several generations for each vehicle, the effort has proved a stunning success.

Hyundai's annual U.S. sales more than doubled to 703,007 from 2001 to 2012, according to Edmunds.com. During the same period, sales for the entire industry dropped 15%.

The climb to legitimacy started in 2001 with the introduction of the first Santa Fe. The automaker sold nearly a quarter million of the five-passenger crossovers in just the first three years it was offered, almost double what it expected.

This success resulted from several converging factors.

"If you think back to that point in time, there were not nearly as many players in that segment," said Mike Wall, an auto analyst at IHS Automotive. "When Hyundai came out with [the Santa Fe], it had a compelling design; it was well packaged; it was affordable."

But the early Santa Fe had a bit of help in finding buyers. Three years earlier, Hyundai took the remarkable step of offering a 10 year/100,000 mile warranty.

"Hyundai had to fight some quality battles early on," Wall said. "The warranty started changing that conversation as the brand started to get its footing."

Company President and CEO John Krafcik acknowledged as much when he introduced the Santa Fe to the media in March. "The Santa Fe is very, very important in our history," Krafcik said. The warranty and the Sante Fe "were probably the things that set the pace for future growth and helped us get to where we are today."

Like Hyundai itself, the Santa Fe has come a long way since its humble — and homely — debut.

The 2013 Santa Fe and Santa Fe Sport models look identical, save for differing lengths and slightly different passenger doors. Their upscale, bold design is a big improvement over the awkward, bug-eyed look of the original Santa Fe in 2001.

The interiors are also nearly identical, save for a third row of seats on the larger Santa Fe. This bigger Hyundai replaces the Veracruz and rides on a wheelbase about four inches longer than the Sport, and its overall length is 8.5 inches longer. The Santa Fe GLS holds seven people; the Santa Fe Limited has two captain's chairs in the middle row for a total capacity of six people. The rear seats fold flat when not in use.

Both the smaller Sport model and the seven-passenger version include some clever use of space.

The rear seats on the Sport and middle seats on the GLS are split into three sections, and each folds separately. The retractable cargo cover on all models stores under the floor of the cargo area when not in use — helpful for anyone who's lost theirs to a messy garage.

And on models with the Leather and Premium package, the middle row of seats slide fore and aft. A growing trend in minivans, this feature enables parents to move forward a cranky child for easy pacifier or juice box application.

The Santa Fe's cabin is nicely bolted together, the dashboard thoughtfully laid out. Faux-wood trim adds a bit of character that's lacking in other Hyundai interiors.

Source: Orlando Sentinel

2013 Hyundai Santa Fe has SUVs ranging from the Ford Escape to the Honda Pilot in its crosshairs

What happens when the world's fifth largest car maker gets its most popular crossover line to hit the sales sweet spot? The consumer gets better choices. The Hyundai Santa Fe has been a key model in the company's sales surge in America. Introduced in 2001, the Santa Fe has outlived such contemporaries such as the Pontiac Aztek and the Mazda Tribute. In fact, the nameplate has been so good for the brand that the Hyundai Veracruz three row crossover was discontinued and replaced as the latest expression of the Santa Fe.

In Spanish, Santa Fe means "holy faith." Though New Mexico's capital is only the state's fourth largest city, it is the most culturally significant one, a blend of Spanish Colonial architecture overlaid upon an ancient base of Pueblo Indian history in the surrounding area. For those in the know, "Santa Fe" is about as exotic as the continental United States gets.

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Hyundai's vehicles rival its Japanese competition in offering more high-end features, like touch-screen navigation systems, at a lower cost.

Thanks to the inscrutable ties that bind family founded South Korean "chaebol," or conglomerates together, Hyundai also gets a second bite at the crossover market with the virtually identical Kia Sorento. Though Hyundai and Kia "compete," their two row CUVs in America are both built in West Point, Georgia and the three row variants are run alternately at the same factory in South Korea. The two companies even share a design center in Irvine, California.

The "holy faith" plan of Hyundai is building quality vehicles that rival the best of the Japanese manufacturers while delivering more lavishly equipped vehicles at lower cost. To meet this objective, the two row Santa Fe is now designated the "Sport," while the long wheel based three row version soldiers on without an added word. Now the Santa Fe covers a large swath of the mid-sized crossover market, opening at around $24,500 for a base five seater up to nearly $40,000 for a fully equipped six/seven seat model. With this price versatility, Hyundai has squarely put everything from the Ford Escape, to the Toyota Highlander, up to the Honda Pilot in its crosshairs.

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Versatile seating, as well as an optional third row, make the Santa Fe roomy enough to transport bulky items or seat up to seven passengers.

The Santa Fe now known as the Sport received a freshening for the 2012 model year. The seven seat Santa Fe is all new. The Santa Fe Sport features a base 2.4L I-4 engine that makes 190 BHP and 181 ft.lbs. of torque. An optional 2.0L I-4 turbo, borrowed from the Sonata, makes 264/265 respectively. A 3.3L V-6 is only available on the LWB Santa Fe. That engine is borrowed from the Azera and makes 290 BHP and 252 ft.lbs. of torque, and also enables it to tow 5,000 pounds.

All Santa Fe models come standard with six speed automatic transmissions mated to a front wheel final drive. All models can be optionally equipped with all wheel drive that has a user selectable electronic lock system, while costing one mpg both city and highway.