Hyundai has provided a first look at the next generation of its crucial sports utility.

GRADUAL unveiling of the next Hyundai Sante Fe has begun, with Seoul sending out shadowy preview images revealing the new car’s front.

There are two images, the reason being to demonstrate that the flagship car will have a slightly different gloss black grille to that meted the regular editions.

Either way, the new face is quite different to what we see now.

And those grilles are a significant departure from the 'waterfall' design that has evolved over the past decade across the Hyundai family.

In its new form, the Hyundai grille frame extends across the face of the new Santa Fe, tapering at each end to merge with the driving light housings.

Also new is the 2021 Santa Fe's daytime running light (DRL) signature, described as a ‘T’ shape.

The new lighting signature is described as reflecting "Hyundai's new integrated vehicle architecture". Is that a suggestion that what the SUV presents first will migrate into other Hyundai’s?

No other angles have been revealed at this time, although Hyundai says we can expect “interior design updates providing premium amenities and comfort.”

Also unclear are details on the new-look Santa Fe's mechanical package, though it could be that Hyundai also moves to adopt a hybrid set-up that is going into the Santa Fe’s sister ship, the new Kia Sorento.

The latter is taking a 1.6-litre petrol with battery assist – in ultimate form this being a 44.2kW electric motor and a 1.49kWh lithium ion polymer battery, for a total output of 169kW and 350Nm.

The new powertrain is presented under a new mantle, ‘Smartstream’, that also applies to the purely fossil fuel-reliant engines also going into the vehicle.

With the latter the choice with Kia is a new 206kW/421Nm 2.5-litre petrol and a refined version of the outgoing cars’ 2.2 turbodiesel, making 148kW and 440Nm. These marry to an eight-speed wet double-clutch automatic.

Kia NZ has yet to signal a firm local launch date for the Sorento, save for an indication some months ago that it might be here by the third quarter of this year. However, that timeframe was given pre-coronavirus; like so many others, Hyundai and its subsidiary have had to close down its assembly lines.

Regardless of that, there is emergent possibility that the Sorento will beat the Santa Fe to market.

Both models stand on a new-generation midsize SUV platform and the Santa Fe is sure to align with Sorento in implementing a range of high-tech safety and convenience features.

Prime among these are a multi-collision brake system that mitigates the severity of secondary collisions. It automatically applies vehicle brakes when the airbags have been deployed after an initial collision, further protecting occupants from secondary frontal or side impacts.

Kia’s new rig also has a remote smartphone Surround View Monitor. This allows users to check the vehicle’s surroundings with their smartphone in conjunction with the in-vehicle Surround View Monitor to maximise parking convenience.

Last year Kia registered 462 Sorentos in NZ while Hyundai NZ found homes for 1477 Santa Fes.