2017 Hyundai Santa Fe 2.4 Base on 2040-cars

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Hyundai twin-charged 1.8L GDCI gas engine expected to be more efficient than 2.0L diesel

Despite the growing trend of automakers offering diesel-powered or electrified powertrains, there's still a whole lot that can be done with the good-old gasoline internal combustion engine. And at Hyundai, that's exactly what's being worked on - new gasoline engine technologies that improve both performance and efficiency. During an event at the automaker's technical center in Superior Township, MI on Friday, Hyundai gave Autoblog a glimpse into the future, offering up preliminary details on its new GDCI (Gasoline Direct-Injection Compression) engine - something that will be heading to production soon.
Hyundai's main goal with this GDCI engine is to "achieve diesel levels of fuel efficiency with conventional gasoline," according to Nayan Engineer (yes, his last name is Engineer), one of Hyundai's powertrain gurus. What's more, Engineer says the GDCI engine will offer "equal to better performance than conventional gasoline engines" and will have a "lower system cost [than] diesel engines."
Hyundai expects a 1.8-liter GDCI engine to be more efficient than a comparable 2.0-liter diesel engine with similar performance.

Volkswagen Group, BMW Z4 top Total Value Awards by Strategic Vision

It was just nine months ago that Strategic Vision announced its 2011 Total Value Awards, but you don't have to wait until next year for the 2012 awards. The Volkswagen Group keeps its lead as the number one brand, with seven products taking top category spots: Golf, Jetta Wagon, CC, Eos and Audi A3 Wagon, Q5 and Q7. Strategic Vision says "true innovation" - "rich and impactful, intuitive, motivational, in-depth and is able to trigger description by the user in great specificity" - is the open secret of the brands with the strongest showings. Results are culled from 77,153 owners covering more than 350 new cars bought between September of 2011 and 2012 ranked in the Total Value Index (TVI).
Other notable winners are Hyundai-Kia following VW in the brand category and having the Hyundai Elantra and Kia Sorento among category winners, the BMW Z4 taking the premium roadster category and the highest overall score of any vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt continuing to gather silverware in the Special Category, nabbing the second-highest score of all and representative of "nearly perfect innovation," and Chrysler and Dodge being most improved.
Check out the press release below for your day's dose of jargon and all the winners.

2019 Hyundai Santa Fe production version shown in first photos

Hyundai is continuing to trickle out information about the redesigned 2019 Santa Fe crossover, this time releasing exterior and interior images that give us a good sense of the production version. It'll get its world premiere later this month before making its official bow in Geneva in March. Hyundai had previously released a darkened teaser photograph that showed the profile of the three-row crossover, its largest passenger car, then last week a pair of official renderings that showed a hulking, muscular SUV. The new exterior image shows the Santa Fe from virtually the same angle, and it reveals a few differences from the most recent renderings. For starters, the greenhouse is more generous, not as narrow as in the rendering. The massive wheels have been brought down to a less aggressive size, and the production version isn't quite so bulging down the flanks. But it keeps the Cascading grille, the upright fascia, twin headlights and the prominent crease along the profile just below the windows. The fourth-generation SUV also grows in size, with a length of 187.8 inches, width of 74.4 inches and a longer wheelbase, giving it a wide, athletic stance. Inside, Hyundai says there's more room for passengers, with enhanced visibility and a horizontal layout, with a center touchscreen atop a relatively uncluttered console. The Santa Fe will come equipped with Hyundai's new rear cross-traffic collision-avoidance assist, which helps warn of approaching vehicles when the driver reverses out of areas with poor visibility and apply the brakes automatically when an oncoming vehicle is detected. It also gets safety exit assist technology, which Hyundai says temporarily locks the doors when it detects vehicles approaching from behind — presumably meaning in those situations where you're about to open your door in a parking space as a car pulls into the spot next to you.Related Video: