South Korean car maker, Hyundai that showcased the 2013 Santa Fe at this year's LA auto show has now launched the vehicle in China with two petrol engine options- a 2-litre turbo and 2.4-litre naturally aspirated petrol mills. What makes this news so relevant for the Indian market is the fact that Hyundai India too is planning to launch the new generation Santa Fe in India replacing the existing version.
The premium SUV however failed to lure buyers in India, having the company's patented fluidic sculpture, this is expected to do better. And the company's so successful track record with Fluidic designed generation of its vehicles is not a hidden fact, Hyundai Elantra Fluidic is one such latest example that took the vehicle from nowhere to the top slot in its segment.The 2.4-liter petrol mill is the similar one that does it duty to company's luxury sedan Hyundai Sonata in India. Both engines are offered with 6-speed automatic transmission as standard in the Chinese market. Mechanically we don't think the vehicle to be the same as the Chinese version for two most important reasons, first India is the market that demands more and more diesel vehicles, and the company has an option to use the retuned 2.2-litre diesel turbo mill. Secondly, in India manual transmission is still preferred more over the AT, so we can expect the company to launch the vehicle in both Manual and Automatic transmission versions.Receiving the Fluidic treatment, 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe now certainly has become great at looks, while inside the cabin as well it gets an all new dashboard design, and the material used for the interior is now much premium, plusher and better than before. However, nothing on the launch plans has been disclosed by the company as of now, we are expecting it to take place in the second or third quarter of 2013. Check out the space for all the latest updates on the same.
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