Hyundai Launches Automatic Santa Fe SUV at Rs.24.3

Published: Friday, March 30, 2012, 18:03 [IST]

Hyundai has launched the Santa Fe SUV with much fan fare but did not enjoy much sales. The price of over Rs.20 lakhs for a Hyundai meant people would spend a few more lakhs and buy a SUV or crossover from premium brands such as Audi or BMW. Hyundai had actually stopped receiving bookings for the Santa Fe in August after sales dropped.

Now in an effort to wrest back sales Hyundai has now launched the automatic version of the premium SUV. The Santa Fa Automatic is now available with a starting price of Rs.24.36 lakhs (ex showroom price Delhi). The new SUV is still pricey and it is unlikely that sales will increase by a huge number. Hyundai is yet to build this SUV in India and it will be imported as a completely built unit (CBU) making it an expensive car.

The Santa Fe has been appreciated for its interior space, handling and the availability of seven seats. Similarly priced SUVs and crossovers from premium brands only offer five seats and are less spacious. But the Santa Fe being a Hyundai did not warrant such a price tag according to car buyers.

The automatic transmission will be mated Santa Fe's 2.2-litre CRDI diesel engine that generates 197bhp and 430Nm of torque. Two other new features of the automatic Santa Fe is the push button start along with a new smart key. Rest of the features are all the same that we see in the manual Santa Fe.

The Santa Fe automatic has been launched just when Toyota started testing its segment leader Fortuner with an automatic transmission. Hyundai should be hoping to grab some sales before Toyota launches its automatic Fortuner.

Article Published On: Tuesday, September 27, 2011, 11:19 [IST]

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