New 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe price to rise, but remain below Palisade flagship

Hyundai Australia has acknowledged the new 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe seven-seater will be hit with a price rise when it arrives later this year with a larger body, updated technology, and petrol-hybrid tech as standard – with no more diesel.

However executives for the South Korean car giant say they are conscious not to tread on the toes of the full-size Palisade SUV – or create too large of a price gap to the smaller five-seat Tucson.

The new Santa Fe brings overdue technological improvements, bold new styling, and more safety equipment, but it will be the first not to offer the option of diesel power for close to 20 years.

All models at launch will be powered by a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engine with hybrid technology – though a more powerful 2.5-litre turbo-petrol version is under consideration to launch later.

“Ultimately when you facelift a car and add new technology, there is a little bit of price lift. But our goal is to maintain that [price] position in the market,” Hyundai Australia product development manager Tim Rodgers told Drive.

In the US, price hikes of up to 9 per cent have been announced – when comparing equivalent models.

The current Hyundai Santa Fe is priced from $46,050 plus on-road costs with a petrol V6 and front-wheel drive, or $49,550 plus on-road costs in turbo-diesel all-wheel-drive form.

The cheapest hybrid in the current Santa Fe is priced from $63,000 plus on-road costs, but it is only offered from the high-specification Elite variant and up – for costs $3000 more than an equivalent diesel.

When the new 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe arrives in Australia it will only be available with a 1.6-litre hybrid power and all-wheel drive.

However Mr Rodgers said the new Santa Fe will not cost more than equivalent versions of the larger Palisade SUV, which is priced from $66,800 to $80,900 plus on-road costs.

“We've got Palisade sitting above it, it's got its role to play. We've got Tucson sitting below it in another role to play and Santa Fe fits that window in between there, in terms of size and affordability as well,” said Mr Rodgers.

Hyundai says it is not concerned about losing the option of diesel power – despite accounting for a substantial portion of its sales – and believes it can market its hybrid technology to traditionally diesel customers.

The South Korean car maker is currently one of few manufacturers to still offer diesel engines in the large SUV segment – excluding ute-based four-wheel-drive models – with the outgoing Santa Fe and current Palisade models.

“To say that we're not worried [about losing diesel] at all [would be wrong]. Because it's a huge portion of our sales, but when we look at the segment, when we break it down and look at the immediate competitors, diesel is just Hyundai/Kia,” said Mr Rodgers.

“So we think the market will respond. And actually, when we look at the hybrid sales currently and who's coming in to buy that hybrid, we know the market's responding because we are seeing a new type of customer come to Santa Fe, because it's got a hybrid powertrain.

“It'll just be about getting our existing Santa Fe buyer to recognise how good the hybrid powertrain is.”

While the model will launch with a carry-over 1.6-litre petrol-hybrid system, a 2.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine is on Hyundai Australia’s wish list.

“We'll launch with the hybrid first and feel it out, and see how we go. But a 2.5-litre ... petrol all-wheel drive would complement our market needs really well.”