Hyundai put up a teaser artist’s rendering of the upcoming third-generation 2013 Sante Fe SUV on its Twitter site, which the company says will make its official debut at the New York International Auto Show in April. The Santa Fe was last redesigned in 2007.
The new reveal will “adopt a design concept called ‘Storm Edge,’ based on Fludic Sculpture” and also “has our family hexagonal grille with wider bumpers, creating a futuristic and urban-style look,” according to Hyundai.
According to the National Post, Hyundai is said to have described the new style as “intended to channel the strong, dynamic images created by nature during the formation of a storm.”
The Santa Fe has been one of Hyundai’s most popular vehicles, selling more than 2.5 million worldwide since it was introduced in 2000.
Hyundai didn’t reveal too much about the new car, but the teaser has got car writers buzzing with speculation. According to automotive journalist Michael Bettencourt of The Globe and Mail, “The Santa Fe used to offer a small third-row seat, though Hyundai Canada officials have said that a lack of buyer interest and limited cargo room with all three rows up led to its demise a few years back. No official word yet on whether the third-seat option would return to the new Santa Fe, which would help differentiate the larger CUV from its smaller five-seat Tucson sibling as well as compete with vehicles such as the Dodge Journey and Toyota RAV4.”
