2019 Hyundai Santa Fe diesel engine cancelled before it arrives

When the totally redone
2019 Hyundai Santa Fe was
revealed in February, we were told a 2.2-liter turbocharged diesel engine would be an option for the crossover. Now, a company spokesperson told
Green Car Reports that Hyundai is canning the diesel for the U.S. market. In addition to that, the diesel was going to be the only Santa Fe with three rows. Since the diesel is done with, the third row is toast as well.

With gas prices so low compared to diesel, we imagine consumers won’t be clamoring for an oil burner crossover. Given this, the choice makes sense for this exact moment in time. Hyundai isn’t exactly in dire need of a three-row vehicle anymore either, after
the reveal of its giant
Palisade SUV we just drove.

In case you wanted to know what you could never have, the Santa Fe’s diesel engine is slated to make 190 horsepower and 322 pound-feet of torque. Now you’ll be limited to either the 185-hp 2.4-liter or 235-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter. The best fuel economy you’ll get in a Santa Fe is 22 mpg city and 29 mpg highway in the 2.4-liter.

This promise, then retraction of a diesel in a crossover is reminiscent of
Mazda’s attempt to bring its diesel engine to the United States
in the CX-5. Then
Volkswagen Dieselgate hit us, and Mazda learned why it couldn’t make its diesel competitive. Perhaps Hyundai isn’t willing to test the trust of U.S. car buyers with a diesel engine quite yet. That being said,
GM, Jeep, Jaguar and
Land Rover sell SUVs with diesel engines here.

Related video:

Video ID:
68d6de51-819a-3e24-9624-478d079716d9

Playlist ID:

Autoplay:
false

Mute:
false

Continuous:
false

Ad Key:

Ad Value:

0 Comments