Spy Shots: ‘06 Hyundai Santa Fe

[tgagneguam]

Simply heinous; I'm sure import-lovers will flock to it.

Spy Shots: ‘06 Hyundai Santa Fe
Losing the quirks—and growing, too.
by Hans Lehmann/Hidden Image (2004-12-20)

By the end of 2005 Hyundai will release the newSanta Fe model. It will replace the current Santa Fe which has been on the market since 2001. Prototypes of the new car are being tested these days on the German autobahn as well as on snow and frozen lakes in Northern Scandinavia

With the new Hyundai Tucson filling the role of compact SUV in the model lineup, Hyundai is now free to grow the Santa Fe in size and move it up to compete with larger SUVs like the Nissan Murano and Toyota Highlander. The increased size will allow the Santa Fe to have a third row of seats for the first time. The new Santa Fe will be built on a platform that is shared with the new Hyundai Sonata sedan.

Styling is all new and ditches the quirky looks of the current Santa Fe in favor of a modern, bold look with a very large, forward-sloping grille. Fenders sweep back towards the front wheels, making the front end more rounded and adding emphasis to the grille.

The photos are showing disguised prototypes that were photographed in Germany , as well as a computer image of how the car is expected to look like upon its release.

Article and Photo

[Boi350Sierra]

Reminds me of a Pilot/SRX in other words i don't like it. I wish it had more styling features like the current one. The current Santa Fe isn't to bad looking alittle tighting up could be a looker. The new Suzuki suv is gonna crush this thing.

[Swahili]

I think it's just the angle of the first spyshot picture, but if you take another look at it, there seems to be an enormous amount of body roll to the right front corner. lol. I know the vehicle is not being driven, but just take another look. Probably just the angle as I said, but I really hope they don't build them like that .

[atomicshark]

That is a horrible computer enhanced image. It just looks all wrong style-wise. Like Hyundai tried to mate Toyota Bland with Cadillac Art and Science. Ultimately, it looks like a big mess. Sorry, I am a Domestic and Import buyer and I would not flock to that ugly lump. When did being an import buyer give us bad taste?

[Tiger]

Looks like an Acura MDX fledgling! (Much better than the old Santa Fe IMHO.)

[AdmiralViscen]

Wow, way different from what I expected.

And ****ing ugly, too. The text description in your post made me think it'd look good, but bleh.

[mrfunji]

It looks better than the old Sante Fe but it the face looks like it's melting off. I started laughing about the body roll comment at first and went back and checked the picture...and laughed some more

[GMfan2381]

Man thats ugly. I really hope the computer image is off. I see way to much Honda in that. Not that I would buy a Hyundai to begin with. The overall style seems like its trying to blend two different looks together, and fails horribly at it.

[tgagneguam]

I will preface this post by saying that while I wouldn't necessarily buy an import, I do find many of them quite appealing. The present generation Sante Fe does not belong in that crowd. It doesn't look like the apparent replacement is much better, either.

[citric acid]

I like the current Santa Fe, it looks unique, and in a good way, with the exception of an odd contour which looks like the door is dented from some angles. This I don't like, conventional excecuted strangely, hopefully that computer image is inaccurate, that's a certifiably odd duck.

[Jesda]

Looks more mainstream. Should sell many.

[chevydlrmn]

yuck

[Hudson]

I don't see what's so bad about it. It looks like every other car-based SUV out there.

[TiburonJT]

I don't see what's so bad about it. It looks like every other car-based SUV out there.

I don't see what is so bad about it either. It looks more mainstream than the current Santa Fe, and better imo. It might be a little to cookie cutter, but far from ugly.

[Hudson]

Tiburon: Agreed.