New Hyundai Santa Fe

Spy shots of the new Hyundai Santa Fe have appeared courtesy of car connections and by the looks of the these photo's, Hyundai are getting their acts together and growing up as a car designer.

Sources in the US are claiming the chassis design could be that of the new Hyundai Sonata, but using Kia's highly accomplished Sorento floorpan makes more sense as its a significantly larger vehicle than the current Santa Fe, and would also keep the overall cost of production down.

If these shots are genuine, then rival manufacturers like Toyota, Mitsubishi and Land Rover must be quaking in their boots, as Hyundai have a reputation for price advantage and high reliability and have only been let down in the past, by their quirky designs. But this looks all set to change if these images are anything to go by.

With the new Hyundai Tucson competing against its slightly bigger brother, Hyundai is now free to grow a larger Santa Fe and move it up a size class to compete with larger SUVs like the Kia Sorento and Toyota Land Cruiser. The increased size will allow the Santa Fe to have a third row of seats for the first time.

Production is said to be taking place at Hyundai's new plant in Montgomery, Alabama, and will phase out the larger and much older looking Hyundai Terracan currently on sale in the UK and Europe.