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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

Kia, Hyundai testing big crossovers, and one looks like the Telluride

Big things are coming from Hyundai and Kia in the near future, and we mean literally. One of our spy photographers caught the companies each testing full-size crossover SUVs out in the snow. The Kia caught our attention in particular, because it looks quite a bit like the Kia Telluride concept from 2016. At the front of the Kia, the entire fascia looks boxy with nary a curve in sight. It also has low-set, squared-off headlights at the far edges; both prominent features on the concept, too. That theme carries over to the back, where the metal portion of the hatch looks plain and flat and is almost perfectly vertical. The glass area leans forward a bit. The taillights also look like those on the concept, with thin vertical portions that make a 90-degree turn inward at the top. A neat design touch not found on the concept are the slight glass extensions into the roof on each side of the windshield. When the concept Telluride was revealed, it was based on the Sorento platform and had a combined 400 horsepower. This power came from a 270-horsepower V6 and a 130-horsepower electric motor, which Kia claimed would provide 30 mpg in all-wheel-drive form. We expect that the Telluride will mainly be offered in non-hybrid forms, and perhaps in diesel form, since this prototype was testing alongside a Volvo XC90 diesel. But we also wouldn't necessarily rule out a hybrid variant like the concept. Kia and Hyundai both are getting serious about hybrids and electrification, and if Kia is targeting something like the XC90, which itself offers a hybrid powertrain, it would make sense that Kia is planning to offer a competing product. A Kia executive said news about the production model is coming "soon," so we'll probably learn more about the production Telluride sometime this year, probably no earlier than the New York Auto Show. View 16 Photos As for the big Hyundai, it will likely take the space the newly downsized Santa Fe has vacated. We're not sure what it might be called, but the last time Hyundai had a crossover bigger than the Santa Fe, it was called the Veracruz, so the name could make a return. Styling-wise, the front of this full-size crossover is right in line with the rest of Hyundai's new-generation crossovers. It has the split headlight design that first showed up on the Kona, with the lower lamps providing primary illumination, and the thin, scowling upper lamps working mainly as daytime running lights.

China sticking to its guns on EVs for the future

Automakers are obviously free to develop whatever next-gen, zero-emissions tech that they want. However, if a company wants to get on the good side of the Chinese government, that strategy better include some plug-in vehicles. The authorities there are lending major support to plug-ins at the moment, and its forcing the auto industry to play along. According to Bloomberg, Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, and BMW are all launching dedicated EV brands with their joint venture partners, and as many as 40 electric models could hit the Chinese market this year alone. However, analysts don't think the vehicles are going to sell well. Instead, the launches are essentially a way for companies to play nice with the government and help get the approval to build factories in the country. Take Toyota as an example. The company is pushing the future of hydrogen hard with promotional films for the Mirai and engineers talking down fast-charging EVs. Still, the Japanese automaker is getting ready to launch two EV brands in China with its joint venture partners, according to Bloomberg. China's push for alternative fuels has been happening for a while, but it really kicked into high gear last year. The government has set a goal to improve fleet-wide economy by 40 percent by the end of the decade in order to spend less importing oil and for the population's health. The plan has shown some success so far with hybrid and EV sales growing early in 2015. Related Video: News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Kin Cheung / AP Photo Government/Legal Green BMW Hyundai Toyota Volkswagen Green Culture Technology Electric tax incentives chinese government