Hyundai’s local distributor is keen on the hybrid petrol drivetrains confirmed for the next-generation edition of its popular sports utility.

MILD hybrid and plug-in hybrid petrol powerplants will fuel Hyundai New Zealand’s ambition with the updated Santa Fe coming later this year.

Assuming, at least, that brand boss Andy Sinclair’s wish list to include those 1.6-litre powerplants alongside a new version of the 2.2-litre turbodiesel that’s been the core choice for the past three generations is fulfilled by Seoul head office.

Hyundai New Zealand’s general manager says he definitely can see merit in taking his vehicle in a battery-supported direction, and not just because that’s where a big rival – Toyota Highlander – will wholly commit in a new-generation line coming early next year.

“We’d definitely take hybrid. I think it is very important to give our customers a choice.

“I think it’s great to offer different drivetrains. And being a market leader with electric models already, anything that is available in that format we’d be keen to look at.

“We’re absolutely keen … if it’s available. There is no confirmation yet. Until we get to the final part of actually having spec and price available to us – which will be quite close to the (new model’s) release.”

The car’s release timing is also fluid, thanks to the impact of Covid-19 on car making in South Korea.

All Sinclair can say at the moment is that he expects to have it here by “quarter four.” All going well.

“With Covid-19 a lot of production schedules have understandably changed and because Covid is still strong overseas it has potential for more change, so we really don’t know.”

One likely outcome from the assembly line holdups created by coronavirus closing the Hyundai Group factories and restricting supply of vital components which they outsource from – would you believe – specialists based around Wuhan, in China, is that the Santa Fe might now beat its Kia equivalent to market.

The original gameplan that gave the Sorento a clear head start – which is why the current edition of Kia’s car is in a runout phase that Santa Fe has yet to enter – is now derailed, according to industry informants. Their understanding is that Hyundai sub-brand’s factory having retuned its production to favour larger more important, left-hand-drive markets has pushed Sorento’s local introduction back significantly.

Sinclair said that development was news to him. “My understanding was that it would be out before the Santa Fe.” Not that was important. “We don’t plan around other brands so it never really came into the discussion.”

Having revealed the next Santa Fe’s new look and something about its specification in February, Hyundai has now chosen to release much more detail about the drivetrains.

News about the four-cylinder 2.2-litre diesel is that it has a new fuel injection system and improved internal components, which help to reduce the engine’s friction and improve fuel economy. It mates to a new eight-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox.

The 1.6-litre is the smallest-capacity engine yet for into the SUV and might seem a world away from the V6 or even 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrols that have powered this model in the past.

Yet the new until hardly a weakling, being turbocharged and though efficiency data has yet to be released, Hyundai has indicated a huge improvement in respect to economy and emissions.

The unit has been designed expressly to work in a hybrid setting and initially comes in a ‘mild’ format, outputting 169kW. This will be in production from the start but will joined next year by the plug-in rechargeable format, which swaps out the 1.49kWh lithium ion battery for a 13.9kWh unit that can be replenished off household mains or a fast charger. The PHEV model’s electric motor makes 97kW in isolation, but the drivetrain’s combined maximum output is 194kW and 350Nm of torque.

Both hybrid powertrains are hitched to a newly developed six-speed automatic transmission, which Hyundai says is both smoother and more fuel efficient than the previous model’s gearbox.

The two engines also feature a new low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation system and continuously variable valve timing, which Hyundai claims improves fuel efficiency by five percent and decreases emissions by 12 percent in its own right.

The hybrids also have the same four-wheel-drive system as the diesel, but are also being built in front-drive format.

The all-wheel drive now takes a terrain mode selector, which offers specific setups for snow, gravel and mud. The drivetrain also comes with three driving modes – Eco, Comfort and Sport – which can deactivate drive to the rear axle to improve fuel efficiency or distribute the engine’s torque across the SUV’s axles for extra stability, sending either 35 percent or 50 percent of the engine’s power to the rear wheels.

The new model is easily picked in the streetscape. What is not so obvious is that it has switched to a completely different platform to that underpinning today’s car. It is going to a platform developed for a Sonata sedan sold in the United States and China.

Due to the platform switch, the Santa Fe has increased in size. It’s 15mm longer, 10mm wider and 5mm taller than the model it replaces, with dimensions of 4785mm, 1900mm and 1685mm respectively. Hyundai says this has unlocked more space in the cabin for passengers, adding an extra 34mm of legroom for rear-seat occupants.

It would seem improbable that the major changes won’t avoid a price impact, but Sinclair says that the current flagship Limited diesel, a $83,990 proposition, firmly holding as the most popular version sold suggests consumers perceive Hyundai as a premium brand.

Santa Fe’s pricing potentially points to the next-size-up Palisade sports utility, an eight-seater that arrives at year-end, standing good chance of becoming the first Hyundai to price above $100,000.

Sinclair would not be drawn on that, but acknowledged “it will take us into a new pricing territory, there’s no doubt. But just what that will be, I don’t know. We have not got any indication from HMC (Hyundai Motor Company) on price.”

So, is comfortable with the prospect? “Well, our biggest-selling Santa Fe is our most expensive one. That’s a fact. Hyundai is a brand that has a premium over Japanese brands. Our customers can see our quality.”