The South Korean auto maker, Hyundai Motor is planning to break cover of its flagship crossover which will square off against Audi Q7and Mercedes-Benz M-Class in the Indian auto market. It is believed that this crossover will be more efficient than the company’s 2013 all new Santa Fe crossover, which was unveiled a few months ago. It is believed that the new crossover from the auto maker will be bigger and would have more seating capacity than the Santa Fe. This luxury four-wheeler will be a 7 seater, whereas the Santa Fe will come in two wheelbase variants, one having 5 seats while the other one with 7 seats. Since the new crossover from Hyundai is to be launched as a luxury car, a range of safety and creature comforts can be expected from it.
After the big success of the older Santa Fe crossover in United States, expectations are high that the new model based on the Fluidic design will also be a hit. The bigger 7 seater luxury crossover is yet another product on which the auto maker is pining its hopes. Hyundai North America CEO, John Krafcik confirmed the company’s plan to launch the new crossover by saying, “I would say stay tuned for future details on a potential premium crossover.” There is not much information available about the model yet; even the time frame in which the car would be manufactured is not known. However, it is believed that the new crossover might come with a rear wheel drive layout in the beginning.
On the other hand, the 7 seater model of the 2013 Santa Fe Storm Edge is expected to hit the roads globally by the end of 2012. However, it is believed that this model would replace its current version in India only in 2013, after its international launch. It is anticipated that the car will be offered with an option of revamped 2.2 litre turbo diesel engine and a 2 litre R-Diesel engine. The 2.2 litre, 4 cylinder powered turbo diesel engine will generate a maximum power of 225 bhp accompanied by a peak torque of 500 Nm, which will enable it to join the bandwagon of most powerful diesel powertrains introduced by Hyundai so far.
In order to provide better mileage, the 2 litre R-Diesel engine generates 182 bhp of peak power with a maximum torque of 392 Nm. Patterned on the Fluidic theme, the 2013 Santa Fe will come with brand new interiors accompanied by some advanced features like automatic parking and LED lamps on the front and rear. In the current scenario, Santa Fe is assembled in the Indian Territory through Completely Knocked Down (CKD) units and a similar road can be predicted for the new luxury crossover as well.
