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2019 Hyundai Santa Fe unveiled

Hyundai has unveiled its next-generation, 2019 Santa Fe. First, to clarify, the Santa Fe nameplate will take the place of the current five-passenger Santa Fe Sport. This new generation features a new design, new technology, and a new diesel engine option. The Hyundai Santa Fe has a new look that comes off less crossover and more SUV than before. It looks wider, more muscular and bigger than the vehicle it replaces, with Hyundai's large cascading grille and available 19-inch wheels. Inside, it has a horizontal layout to provide a sense of width. Large window openings provide improved visibility, despite the rising beltline. It features a new instrument panel with a three-dimensional look, and the infotainment screen has been repositioned to reduce glare. A new head-up display will also be available. The 2019 Santa Fe will offer a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine good for 185 horsepower, or a turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder offering 232 hp. A 2.2-liter diesel engine will be available providing about 200 hp and 320 pound-feet of torque. The diesel model will be the only one to offer optional third-row seating. Each will be connected to a new eight-speed automatic transmission. For comfort's sake, Hyundai has revised the suspension, particularly in the rear, to provide a smoother ride. Hyundai also offers an optional load-leveling suspension to maintain a consistent ride height, even when loaded with cargo or towing. Its all-wheel-drive system provides capability in crummy weather, and features different modes to distribute torque for improved performance. To improve safety and convenience, Hyundai includes a number of driver assistance aids in the new Santa Fe. This includes lane-keep assist, stop-and-go adaptive cruise control and an around-view monitor. Additionally, it offers a Rear Seat Occupant Alert using an ultrasonic sensor to detect motion of kids or pets in the back. It also offers Safe Exit Assist, which prevents you from opening the door when a motorcycle, bicycle or other vehicle approaches from behind. We'll have more on the next-generation Hyundai Santa Fe soon, once we get a turn behind the wheel. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe View 32 Photos News Source: Hyundai Hyundai Crossover SUV

What do J.D. Power's quality ratings really measure?

Check these recently released J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS) results. Do they raise any questions in your mind? Premium sports-car maker Porsche sits in first place for the third straight year, so are Porsches really the best-built cars in the U.S. market? Korean brands Kia and Hyundai are second and fourth, so are Korean vehicles suddenly better than their US, European, and Japanese competitors? Are workaday Chevrolets (seventh place) better than premium Buicks (11th), and Buicks better than luxury Cadillacs (21st), even though all are assembled in General Motors plants with the same processes and many shared parts? Are Japanese Acuras (26th) worse than German Volkswagens (24th)? And is "quality" really what it used to be (and what most perceive it to be), a measure of build excellence? Or has it evolved into much more a measure of likeability and ease of use? To properly analyze these widely watched results, we must first understand what IQS actually studies, and what the numerical scores really mean. First, as its name indicates, it's all about "initial" quality, measured by problems reported by new-vehicle owners in their first 90 days of ownership. If something breaks or falls off four months in, it doesn't count here. Second, the scores are problems per 100 vehicles, or PP100. So Power's 2015 IQS industry average of 112 PP100 translates to just 1.12 reported problems per vehicle. Third, no attempt is made to differentiate BIG problems from minor ones. Thus a transmission or engine failure counts the same as a squeaky glove box door, tricky phone pairing, inconsistent voice recognition, or anything else that annoys the owner. Traditionally, a high-quality vehicle is one that is well-bolted together. It doesn't leak, squeak, rattle, shed parts, show gaps between panels, or break down and leave you stranded. By this standard, there are very few poor-quality new vehicles in today's U.S. market. But what "quality" should not mean, is subjective likeability: ease of operation of the radio, climate controls, or seat adjusters, phone pairing, music downloading, sizes of touch pads on an infotainment screen, quickness of system response, or accuracy of voice-recognition. These are ergonomic "human factors" issues, not "quality" problems. Yet these kinds of pleasability issues are now dominating today's JDP "quality" ratings.

Hyundai Group design chief wants more differentiation between models and brands

Luc Donckerwolke, the man who oversees design at Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis, is determined to get more differentiation into the model range. He not only wants greater visual separation between all the models in the range, he also wants more distinction between Hyundai Group cars and others in the respective segments, and global distinctions so that a Hyundai in China doesn't necessarily look like one built for North America. He told Autocar, "We will not have a global design language because otherwise it's too rigid. [The alternative is] more work, but it's more flexible." Donckerwolke gets an extreme look at the results of homogeneous design, because an enormous number of cars on the road in South Korea are Hyundai Group products. "[Our] core task is to differentiate the design philosophy of the three brands, not least because we have a big [around 70%] share in Korea. We need to differentiate each model, otherwise the landscape is too homogeneous." Top-down, each brand gets a design brief. Hyundai will be Hyundai's "sexy, seductive and sensuous, sporty, eager and stylish," holding onto its value proposition while adding emotion. Kia will be "young, challenging and cool — cooler than before," said brand design chief Byungchul Juh, with Donckerwolke adding that it's about "streetwear — bold, fresh and young." And Genesis is "haute couture." Donckerwolke characterizes the design philosophy as not "Russian dolls but ... chess pieces, with a look that reveals its own charismatic character. For example, Kia's used to be about the tiger nose grille, separate headlights and the lower intake. Now it's going to be more of a mask that will deliver sportiness and a presence." Kia designer Juh said, "There will be a distinct version of tiger face for each segment, and we'll keep the tiger nose grille. In principle it's the same, but there's a different interpretation for each segment, and more of a 3D feeling. We're moving from a nose to a face." The sketches we've seen of Kia's coming small global crossover take a first step, and we're told the next Sportage will make more impact than the new Tucson. As for Hyundai, the next Sonata will "be the design flag-bearer." We wait to see how much of the vehicle all of this affects. But right now, look at the 2020 Elantra and Sonata from the front three-quarter; ignore their front fascias, and they're two sizes of one sausage.