With SUVs continuing to dominate the new-car market, automakers have to move quickly to keep up with the competition. Having just been redesigned for the 2019 model year — which included a confusing name switcheroo that we’re not inclined to dredge up again — the Hyundai Santa Fe is being overhauled again for 2021, and it’s lookin’ pretty good so far. Naturally we would think so, as a big part of its latest redesign makes the mid-size SUV resemble a downsized Palisade, which honored with our top award as the Best of 2020 and subsequently purchased for our fleet of long-term test cars.
Related: 10 Biggest News Stories of the Month: 2020 Hyundai Palisade Smells So Bad but Sounds So Good
But the biggest revelation in our preview story on the 2021 Santa Fe — taking the second-place spot among our most popular articles of the past week — isn’t its new look, but rather its all-new powertrain offerings. The new standard engine is a 2.5-liter four-cylinder that produces 191 horsepower and 182 pounds-feet of torque and is paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission. An optional 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, meanwhile, puts out significantly more power than the optional 2.0-liter turbo from 2020, to the tune of 277 hp and 311 pounds-feet of torque compared with the outgoing model’s 235 hp and 260 pounds-feet. For 2021, the turbo also gets an eight-speed, wet dual-clutch automatic transmission, which Hyundai says has both improved shift response and efficiency. You can get the full details on the 2021 Santa Fe by following the link below to our No. 2 article of the week.
Car-news videos also proved popular, with three making this week’s countdown — including our visual preview of the 2021 Volkswagen ID.4, the German automaker’s first long-range electric vehicle for the U.S. market, taking the No. 1 spot. Elsewhere, our video on the Nissan Z Proto — the near-production-ready precursor to the next generation of the aging Z sports car — at No. 3. Moreover, our first look at the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX — the long-promised (and totally ridic) SRT Hellcat-powered full-size pickup truck boasting 702 horsepower, 650 pounds-feet of torque and a 4.5-second 0-60-mph time courtesy of its supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 — at No. 9.
Rounding out the top five this week, reviewer Aaron Bragman lays out his case for why anyone who stretched their personal finances to the max to purchase an ultra-expensive and exotic McLaren GT should be smacking their damn head and saying, “I could’ve had a C8” (the redesigned-for-2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8, that is), which checks in at No. 4. And if it slipped by you a few years back that Hyundai spun off its Genesis flagship sedan name into a stand-alone luxury brand (which is already up to five models with a sixth on the way), we catch you up in this week’s No. 5 finisher.
Beyond that, we’ve got headlines on the Chevrolet Tahoe and Silverado, Lexus J201 off-road concept, Lexus UX 250h and Ford Transit, so don’t stop scrolling till you’re caught up on all our coverage. Here are the top 10 news stories readers couldn’t get enough of in the past week:
1. 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 Video: VW’s First Long-Range Electric Car in U.S. Is (Shocker!) an SUV
2. 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Gets Palisade Makeover, Upgraded Engines and New Hybrid
3. Nissan Z Proto Video: ‘Proto’ in This Case Means ‘Pretty Much What the Z Will Be’
4. Why Buy a 2021 McLaren GT When You Could Have a C8 Corvette?
5. Who Makes Genesis Cars?
6. 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe Z71 Vs. 2020 Silverado 1500 Trail Boss Z71: How They Compare
7. Lexus J201 Concept Is What Every LX 570 (and Toyota Land Cruiser) Dreams of Being
8. 2020 Lexus UX 250h Review: An Efficient Pseudo-SUV
9. 2021 Ram 1500 TRX Video: Pickup Truck Has New TRX Up Its Sleeve
10. 2020 Ford Transit: Real-World Gas Mileage
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