The sleek, luxurious look Hyundai debuted in the Palisade is now in the 2021 Santa Fe. Many are saying it's a Palisade minus the third row and $4,000.
From Car and Driver
"The Santa Fe receives a visual freshening for 2021 that includes bolder front-end styling and improvements to its interior. Three new powertrains are offered: A 2.5-liter four-cylinder replaces the standard 2.4-liter unit, a turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder replaces the optional turbocharged 2.0-liter, and a hybrid variant powered by a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder and an electric motor joins the lineup. The Santa Fe gains a push-button shifter, several new optional driver-assistance features including a semi-autonomous driving mode, larger 8.0-inch and optional 10.3-inch infotainment displays, an optional 12.3-inch digital gauge display, and standard wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Following in the larger Palisade's footsteps, the Santa Fe also gains a fancy Calligraphy trim level with quilted leather upholstery, a color head-up display, standard all-wheel drive, unique exterior accents, and more upscale interior embellishments. Hyundai also says a plug-in hybrid variant is on its way but won't go on sale until later in 2021."
From Edmunds
From Car and Driver
"The Santa Fe receives a visual freshening for 2021 that includes bolder front-end styling and improvements to its interior. Three new powertrains are offered: A 2.5-liter four-cylinder replaces the standard 2.4-liter unit, a turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder replaces the optional turbocharged 2.0-liter, and a hybrid variant powered by a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder and an electric motor joins the lineup. The Santa Fe gains a push-button shifter, several new optional driver-assistance features including a semi-autonomous driving mode, larger 8.0-inch and optional 10.3-inch infotainment displays, an optional 12.3-inch digital gauge display, and standard wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Following in the larger Palisade's footsteps, the Santa Fe also gains a fancy Calligraphy trim level with quilted leather upholstery, a color head-up display, standard all-wheel drive, unique exterior accents, and more upscale interior embellishments. Hyundai also says a plug-in hybrid variant is on its way but won't go on sale until later in 2021."
From Edmunds
"The Santa Fe is all-new under the hood. The slightly larger 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine produces 191 horsepower and 182 lb-ft of torque, a mild increase of 6 hp and 4 lb-ft compared to last year's 2.4-liter mill. Fuel economy is up slightly as well. The EPA estimates a front-wheel-drive 2021 Santa Fe with this engine will get 26 mpg in combined driving, compared to 25 mpg last year.
The upgraded Santa Fe engine is now a turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder with 277 hp and 311 lb-ft — a significant bump from the previous turbo-four and its 235 hp and 260 lb-ft. Hyundai says it's also more efficient. Indeed, the EPA says to expect 25 mpg combined with FWD, just 1 mpg less than the base engine with FWD. This engine comes standard on the new range-topping Calligraphy trim, which counts quilted leather upholstery and a head-up display among its many additions.
Also new for 2021 is a hybrid model. It has a turbocharged 1.6-liter engine and a hybrid system to produce 225 combined horsepower. Power is routed to all four wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission. Unfortunately, there are no official fuel economy estimates as of our review's publication time. Our hope is that it will get around 35-40 mpg combined."
