Hyundai Santa Fe losing its most controversial feature

An updated Hyundai Santa Fe has been spied, and this is no mere tweaking of the bumpers and changing of the wheels.

Instead, this facelift looks to be quite a comprehensive one for the polarising fifth-generation Santa Fe launched in 2024, with the large crossover SUV’s unusual low-mounted tail-lights – complete with bone-shaped graphics – set to be removed.

Instead, as a spy video from Shorts Car shows, the Santa Fe is moving to more conventional, vertical tail-lights.

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These could potentially be linked by a full-width light bar.

Not only that, but this camouflaged prototype also features vertical lighting elements up front. It appears both these and a full-width light bar encompass the daytime running lights, with separate headlights inboard of the vertical lights.

The updated Santa Fe is likely to be revealed late in 2026 or early in 2027.

The changes should bring the Santa Fe more in line visually with the larger Palisade, though Hyundai may also introduce elements from its new Art of Steel design language which made its production-car debut on the second-generation Nexo.

It’s unclear if there’ll be any changes to the powertrain lineup, apart from the move to a conventional eight-speed torque-converter automatic transmission in turbocharged 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol variants, replacing the eight-speed dual-clutch auto.

This change has already been announced for the US market, where the Santa Fe is also built. Our Santa Fes, in contrast, come from Korea.

The powertrain lineup currently includes not only the aforementioned 2.5-litre turbo, but also a 1.6-litre four-cylinder hybrid. Whether the 2.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder hybrid from the larger Palisade will filter down to the Santa Fe is unclear.

It’s possible the focus of the Santa Fe’s update will be kept on visual updates, with no major mechanical changes of note.

Hyundai is no stranger to giving its vehicles substantial mid-life updates, particularly when sales haven’t met expectations – examples include two separate generations of the Sonata sedan.

Santa Fe sales totalled 57,889 in Korea in 2025, down from 77,159 in 2024. Its corporate cousin, the Kia Sorento, was Korea’s best-selling model in 2025, while the Santa Fe placed seventh.

In Australia, however, Santa Fe sales grew by 16.2 per cent in 2025 to 6264 units. That was its best performance since 2018, when Hyundai delivered 7523 examples.

MORE: Explore the Hyundai Santa Fe showroom