2014 Hyundai Elantra Limited on 2040-cars

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2019 Hyundai Santa Fe First Drive Review | Trading ‘Sport’ for spiffy

SEOUL, S. Korea — Say goodbye to the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. For 2019, it becomes the Santa Fe — a two-row crossover that will continue to compete with the likes of the Nissan Rogue, Ford Edge and Toyota RAV4. Three-row versions coming later, which will go up against the Honda Pilot and Ford Explorer, will get an "XL" or some other, yet undisclosed moniker tacked onto the nameplate depending on the configuration. As such, it will have bigger shoes to fill in this increasingly competitive segment. The timing feels right for the crossover to come into its own, and Hyundai has done its best to make sure it pulls its weight against its rivals. View 32 Photos With the updated name comes an updated look. In the flesh, it's a handsome ute that seems more SUV than CUV: beefed up and boxy, and less overtly elegant than so many swoopy crossover profiles we see today. Its big, chiseled face conveys a Lexus-like gravitas without looking too complicated or polarizing — check out the slight pinch where the "cascading" grille meets the front bumper. The rising beltline feels modern, while the mostly horizontal roof and almost vertical rear end feel anciently familiar; maybe a utility vehicle can sate our thirst for wagons after all. Inside, the new Santa Fe has an air of quality to it, perhaps not in strict terms of materials, but in thoughtfulness. Hyundai does good things with affordable materials, and in general the interior is well laid out — specifically, the center console and its switchgear feel utilitarian and organized. We loved the smooth, tight feel of the leather wheel in our hand and the crispness of the digital display central to the instrument cluster. The seats are cozy, supportive without feeling cushy, and it was easy to find a natural seating position with little adjustment. Visibility is good, despite what you might think from looking at that high beltline from outside. There's a fixed piece of glass ahead of the side windows to improve sight lines at the bottom of the A-pillar. Checking the blind spot, the larger rear quarter window behind the second row of seating helps with visibility. It was only after spending a couple of hours in the cabin that we noticed that there's a lot going on here. The headliner in our tester had a look somewhere between chambray and denim, but felt soft to the touch. The top of the dash was a softish dark plastic — a polyurethane leatherette, to be more specific.

2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo: July/August 2013

If you've been reading the past several updates on our long-term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo, you may have noticed a trend developing. This is a flawed vehicle. Not critically so, but for many of our editors, this vehicle's annoying attributes are indeed outweighing the good. What may not be obvious, though, is that the deck is kind of stacked against the Turbo model.
See, a Veloster with its base powertrain and less of the gimmicky, look-at-me styling is a solid, fashion-forward, nicely packaged hatchback at a good price. Our issues haven't so much been with the Veloster itself, but with the unfulfilled expectations of hot-hatchery that the Turbo brings to the equation.
For this update, then, I will focus on a common bridge between the two Veloster models: the cars' top-end infotainment systems. Tack on the Style and Tech packs on the standard Veloster or the Ultimate Package on a Veloster Turbo, and you'll get the same Blue Link infotainment system, touchscreen navigation and eight-speaker Dimension stereo (a standard item on the VT).

Hyundai files patent for smartphone feature disabler in proximity to steering wheel

Combatting driver distraction continues to be a hot topic in automotive safety, especially when it comes to young motorists. While simply not using a smartphone behind the wheel would fix much of the problem, automakers are trying to work out complicated ways to make people safer. For example, GM is experimenting with head and eye tracking to make sure folks are paying attention to the road. Now, Hyundai might have come up with a technology that offers a very simple fix: disable the phones. The Korean automaker explains the idea in explicit detail in a recently published patent. The tech specifically "limits or disables the use of some of mobile device features which could cause distraction to the user," according to the abstract. Depending on variables like the vehicle's speed, the system determines what smartphone functions are safe to use, including texting or voice calls. Based on a plethora of permutations in the document, these restrictions could only be for the area around the driver's seat or for the whole vehicle. The key to the patent is placing antennas around the vehicle and monitoring for cellular signals. When the system detects them, it can begin selectively deciding what features to allow on the device. The tech isn't a simple on/off switch either, and can possibly detect the time of day or importance of the caller to let messages though. The major downside to all of this is the phone would need to run a specific program or firmware for all of this to work. With such a recently published patent, it might be years before the tech arrives in Hyundai vehicles, if at all. Still, this is an interesting solution. Of course, it would be far simpler if people just put down their phones. You can read the full description of the automaker's concept, here. News Source: Free Patens Online via US Patent and Trademark Office Auto News Hyundai Technology Emerging Technologies Smartphone distracted driving patent cell phone driver distraction