2011 Hyundai Santa Fe Gls Sport Utility 4-door 2.4l on 2040-cars

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Ford Ranger, UK Mustang, Hyundai Hybrid | Autoblog Minute

Ford may bring the Ranger back to the US, the UK goes nuts over Mustang, and the battle of hybrids heats up with spy shots of Prius and a new Hyundai. Autoblog senior editor Greg Migliore reports on highlights from the week in automotive news.

2017 Hyundai Santa Fe and Sport reveal facelifts in Chicago

Hyundai needs crossovers. With the national average cost of gas at just $1.71 as of this writing, (short-sighted) consumers are charging back to dealers demanding new high riders. That's bad news for car-heavy manufacturers like Hyundai, and good news for brands that have embraced CUVs, like Subaru. Consider this: Hyundai sold 181,725 crossovers from its roughly 800 dealers in 2015. In that same period, the Subaru Forester alone racked up 175,192 sales, and that's with a dealership network 25 percent smaller than Hyundai's. At the 2016 Chicago Auto Show, Hyundai is showing off updated versions of its two-tier Santa Fe range. There's a new, more pronounced and rectangular grille; sharper, less organic headlights, and LED running lamps in front. But there are also a bunch of new gizmos and gadgets that Hyundai expects to elevate the Santa Fe's safety rating. A backup camera is now standard and you can now snag adaptive cruise control with a stop-start mode. There's also a raft of new safety features, including lane departure warning, automatic high beam assist, and auto emergency braking with pedestrian detection. It's partially because of that last item that Hyundai thinks the new Santa Fe will score an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ rating. The company hasn't explained what changes will allow it to improve on 2016's Moderate rating in the small-overlap test, though. But if Hyundai is correct, it'd be a serious coup – the Santa Fe hasn't been honored by the IIHS since its redesign for model year 2013. It'd also put the Santa Fe in a rarefied class of ultra-safe mid-size CUVs. Only the Honda Pilot and Nissan Murano have scored TSP+ ratings. Prices increase by $400 on naturally aspirated models and $450 for the top-of-the-line turbocharged trims. The new Santa Fe is arriving at dealers now. View 12 Photos 2017 HYUNDAI SANTA FE LINE-UP FEATURES ENHANCED DESIGN, INFOTAINMENT, LED LIGHTING, CONVENIENCE AND SAFETY Comprehensive Product Improvements Combine to make New Models even more Appealing in every Facet of the Ownership Experience CHICAGO, Feb. 11, 2016 – The award-winning Hyundai Santa Fe lineup continues to dramatically improve for the 2017 model year. The improvements span everything from fresh exterior design and LED lighting signatures to additional infotainment, convenience and safety technologies and new Drive Mode selection with Sport, Eco and Normal settings.

2016 Hyundai Elantra spied uncovered

The next-generation Hyundai Elantra has been speculated on and teased throughout this year. In March we got a leaked photo of a South Korean-market Elantra, the question being if this is was actually the new car and if we'd get in the US. Then we got officially sanctioned sketches of the exterior and the interior. Now Korean site Auto Tribune has leaked photos of the next Korean-market Avante, which is our Elantra, and they actually line up with the automaker sketches. According to Google Translate, the pictures were taken at a Hyundai factory in South Korea by a contractor. If this is the real deal, Fluidic Sculpture has given way to a grille that might want to at least send a "Thank You" note to Audi. Flanking that are smoother lines and a more subtle treatment of the front end, with sleek, pulled-back headlights decorated with a lengthy LED signature above boomerang inlets in the bumper. The sides have been flattened out, losing some of dimensionality of the current car to go more mature. The rear end looks similar to the current sedan, but wider, with long taillights featuring three LED elements. Inside, a three-spoke steering wheel veers toward the plain, and the current continuous waterfall center console gives way to a two-section instrument panel that has an eight-inch infotainment screen at the top, above HVAC controls. At the base there's an open cubby that doesn't look to have a cover, and the gear selector lever incline appears reduced. The overall impression is less engaging to the eye than now. Auto Tribune says a 1.6 liter GDI is under hood, which puts out 175 horsepower and 196 pound-feet of torque in the 2016 Tucson. We'll see the real car at the LA Auto Show later this year. Click through to Auto Tribune for more photos.