2024 Hyundai Santa Fe unveiled, due in Australia next year

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe has been unveiled with a bold new look, ahead of Australian showroom arrivals due by the middle of next year.

The fifth generation of Hyundai's long-running seven seat family SUV has come in for a radical makeover with Land Rover Defender-inspired boxy styling, bold H-shaped LED lights, and a body believed to be bigger than before.

The new Santa Fe is due in Australia in the first half of 2024. The new body and longer list of technologies are expected to bring price rises, though by how much is yet to be confirmed.

Hybrid and plug-in hybrid power are set to be available internationally.

The new Santa Fe adopts boxy styling not unlike the Land Rover Defender luxury four-wheel-drive, with what appears to be a longer body than today's model, and wheel sizes up to 21 inches.

Highlights include distinctive H-shaped LED headlight signatures, similar H patterns in the LED tail-lights (which are placed low on the body and run across the width of the car), flared wheel arches, and blacked-out window pillars to give the roof a floating effect.

Inside, the Santa Fe borrows from other new Hyundai models with twin 12.3-inch screens running across the dashboard, a three-spoke steering wheel reminiscent of Range Rover, and Jaguar-like touch-sensitive climate control switches under the screens.

Other interior highlights include a 'floating' centre console, folding second- and third-row seats, dual wireless phone charging, and "sustainable" materials in the headliner, floor mats and seatbacks.

Top-of-the-range models come with nappa leather seat upholstery and "soft-touch wood-patterned garnish".

The engine range yet to be confirmed, however the vehicle wears '2.5T' and 'HTrac' badging, indicating it is powered by 2.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine with all-wheel drive.

Leaked documents out of South Korea show in overseas markets there will be the option of a cheaper 2.5-litre non-turbo four-cylinder petrol engine, as well as hybrid and plug-in hybrid options.

The current Australian model range includes a 3.5-litre petrol V6 with front-wheel drive, a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder with all-wheel drive, and a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol hybrid with all-wheel drive.

It is unclear how this will translate to the new model, and if diesel power will remain available.

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe is due in Australian showrooms in the first half of next year.