Hyundai Santa Fe XRT Concept Shows the Rugged Possibilities
Hyundai is showing a concept version of the new 2024 Santa Fe with many off-road tweaks.Called the XRT concept, we think this will eventually become a production trim level, though perhaps with less extreme changes.The XRT has all-terrain tires, a lifted suspension, and many accessories.
With the new 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe sporting a newly boxy shape, it’s only natural that Hyundai would seek to amplify the mid-size SUV’s outdoorsy image. That’s exactly what this highly accessorized concept version of the Santa Fe called the XRT is for.
XRT is already a rugged trim level that Hyundai offers for numerous models in its lineup, including the outgoing Santa Fe, the Tucson, the Palisade, and the Santa Cruz. But this XRT concept goes many steps further, suggesting that an eventual production off-road trim level for the new Santa Fe could offer more than the current XRT trim’s appearance tweaks.
While Hyundai isn’t releasing details about exactly what modifications it made, we can tell that the XRT concept has a raised ride height, chunky BF Goodrich all-terrain tires, and what look to be significantly improved approach and departure angles thanks to underbody changes. It’s also festooned with all manner of add-ons including a beefed-up roof rack with a cargo carrier and a spare tire, a ladder on the rear tailgate, and cargo boxes mounted on the rearmost side windows that look very reminiscent of what Land Rover offers on the Defender. The Santa Fe XRT concept doesn’t appear to have an interior yet.
We’d expect Hyundai to offer a production-ready XRT model soon, although it may not be quite as extreme as this concept. Still, we’re hoping that it offers some real mechanical upgrades compared with the standard model such as a raised suspension and off-road tires. Full details on the U.S.-spec 2024 Santa Fe lineup will be released later this year, so we’ll have to wait see what’s in store.
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Despite being raised on a steady diet of base-model Hondas and Toyotas—or perhaps because of it—Joey Capparella nonetheless cultivated an obsession for the automotive industry throughout his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee. He found a way to write about cars for the school newspaper during his college years at Rice University, which eventually led him to move to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for his first professional auto-writing gig at Automobile Magazine. He has been part of the Car and Driver team since 2016 and now lives in New York City.
