Headlining this weekend's flurry of launches and previews is this, the Malaysian preview of the locally-assembled (CKD Kulim, Kedah) 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe facelift. Three variants will be on sale, including a first-ever hybrid powertrain for a Korean SUV in our country.

Prices are not revealed at point of publication. Bookings, however, are open at RM 1,000 a pop ahead of its November launch.

Exterior

Distinctive best describes the look of the thoroughly-refreshed Tucson, because this is no simple bumper/lights nip-and-tuck. Changes include a totally new front end that has fanged lighting along the sides, as well as a redesigned, full-width grille that emboldens the face further.

All of them get LED headlights and tail-lights; along with that comes LED daytime running lights (DRLs) too. Up top there's a set of aluminium roof rails for the Hybrid Max and Diesel Max variants only.

Also read: Open for bookings: Facelifted CKD 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe, now with 1.6L turbo-hybrid

Those two highest variants also get larger wheels; 19-inches for the Hybrid Max and 20-inches for the Diesel Max. The Hybrid Plus wears 17-inch items. Speaking of tyres, both hybrid variants get a full-sized spare within, while the top-spec Diesel Max comes with a tyre repair kit.

All variants get four colours – Snowflake White Pearl, Jet Black, Meteor Grey, and Stormy Sea. 

Interior

While the major facelift brings upon quite a new interior, a lot of it remains familiar. Changes include a new centre console with its raised and angled look, and the switch to a shift-by-wire system means there are more buttons, including for the gear 'shifter', to fiddle with.

We'll get to that in a bit, as kit comes first. It's cloth seats for the Hybrid Plus, and leather for the Hybrid Max and Diesel Plus. Though they're all powered, only the Hybrid Max gains seat position memory, as well as heating/ventilation functions.

Also read: All-new 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe unveiled with Korean Land Rover looks

The Santa Fe is a three-row SUV that seats seven. Beyond the expansive space for people there's good room for your luggage too; 634 litres with the seats up, expanding to 2,396 litres with all three rows down.

Ahead of the driver is a 4.25-inch TFT LCD screen for the Hybrid Plus buyer, while the Hybrid Max and Diesel Max variants get a 12.3-inch fully-digital screen. All three variants however get an 8-inch infotainment touchscreeen with Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay functions, as well as 6 speakers.

Standard connectivity options include 5 USB ports and wireless charging. Each variant also gets a paddle shifters, a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), drive mode selector, rear view camera, and dual-zone automatic air-conditioning.

Platform and powertrain

Platform? Yep, though not really common these days Hyundai's given the Santa Fe an all-new platform in this facelift. The third-gen platform is called N3 (replacing the Y7), and keen observers may remember that it was the first Hyundai SUV to offer the brand's third-gen vehicle platform.

Aside from the improvements a new chassis brings, this CKD Santa Fe also introduces the world of hybrid Korean SUVs to Malaysian customers. Here's the specs in detail:

All cars also get MacPherson struts up front, and multi-link suspension at the back. There's brake discs all around and electric parking brake too.

Safety

Rounding up the changes are the safety features, and this time around the Santa Fe is well-equipped. You have 6 airbags plus the whole list of requisite active safety functions, but this time it's all supplemented by a long list of ADAS that's available on all variants:

• Smart Cruise Control (SCC)

• Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA)

• Lane Keeping Assist (LKA)

• Lane Following Assist (LFA)

• Driver Attention Warning (DAW)

• Leading Vehicle Departure Alert (LVDA)

• High Beam Assist (HBA)

• Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist (BCA)

• Blind-Spot Collision Warning (BCW)

• Rear Cross Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (RCCA)

• Safe Exit Warning (SEW)

• Rear Occupant Alert (ROA)

Aftersales and deliveries

Bookings have been open since a couple of days ago and a launch is purported to take place in November 2023. Besides the Santa Fe, the 2023 Hyundai Tucson also made its local debut at the event.