Hyundai Motor rolls out latest model of popular SUV Santa Fe

Hyundai Motor unveiled the latest model of its popular SUV Santa Fe at a launching ceremony in Incheon`s Songdo International Business District on Thursday.

The Santa Fe is Hyundai’s top-selling SUV with cumulative sales of 2.5 million units in Korea and abroad since introduction of the first-generation model in 2000. The newest model is the third generation of the Santa Fe and comes seven years after the debut of its predecessor in 2005. Korea’s largest automaker spent 430 billion won (400 million U.S. dollars) to develop the SUV over four years and four months since 2008.

Hyundai set this year’s sales target for the vehicle at 152,000 units, including 42,000 in Korea and 110,000 overseas. In next year, the company wants to sell a combined 385,000 units, including 50,000 in Korea.

The new Santa Fe is equipped with a number of high-tech gadgets to offer added value. It comes with Blue Link, Hyundai’s Telematics (Internet service for cars), which enables the driver to turn on the engine and lock or unlock the door anytime, anywhere, irrespective of how far he or she is from the vehicle.

The new Santa Fe comes in two versions. The first has a 2.0-liter diesel engine with 184 break horsepower and mileage of 14.4 kilometers per liter (under the new standard of integrated driving in city and highway). The other has a 2.2-liter diesel engine with 200 break horsepower and mileage of 13.8 kilometers per liter. The gas mileage of the new model represents a 13-percent increase from its predecessor.

gene@donga.com