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Hyundai Unveils Santa Fe Blue Hybrid SUV at Paris Show

03 October, 2008 07:02:00

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Hyundai has unveiled its proprietary parallel hybrid technology in a Santa Fe Blue Hybrid SUV in Paris, which is supposed to be Hyundaiâ€™s latest response to automotive giants Toyota and Honda is in the hybrid powertrain field.

The vehicle maintains the overall design and dynamics of the standard Santa Fe, but is altogether a different car under the hood. Hyundai engineers developed a proprietary parallel hybrid drive system which mates the powerful but thrifty 2.4-liter Theta engine to a six-speed automatic transmission and a 30Kw electric motor for maximum fuel economy and substantially reduced CO2 emissions.

And it also can be used as a generator in order to save regenerative electric energy to the battery. This proprietary parallel hybrid drive architecture will serve as the foundation for all future hybrid drive vehicles to be developed by Hyundai.

Hyundai UK marketing director Andrew Cullis said: "The Santa Fe Blue hybird is realistically capable of averaging 44mpg and achieves ultra-low CO2 emissions of 144g/km. Combine these figures with this vehicle's seven-seat versatility and you have the greenest SUV ever launched."

Developed at the Namyang R&D Centre in Korea, the petrol-electric hybrid technology featured in the Santa Fe blue Hybrid reduces CO2 emissions to just 148 g/km (combined cycle) and delivers a fuel consumption figure of 6.2l/100km (combined cycle). With an estimated top speed of 170 km/h and a 0-100km/h acceleration time of 10.6 sec, performance has hardly been compromised.

To maximize fuel economy, all of the Theta’s major driveline and cooling system components have been optimized to reduce friction, while the crankcase has been filled with low friction oil engine control software automatically shuts off the engine when the vehicle comes to a halt, cutting emissions to zero. When pressure is reapplied to the accelerator pedal, the Integrated Starter Generator (ISG) automatically restarts the engine. The Theta’s engine control software governing injection pressure, engine cycle timing and exhaust retreatment rates has been revised to further reduce fuel consumption.

In addition, the latest electric motor-assisted steering system reduces power drain, and very low resistance tires further optimize fuel economy.

Electric propulsion for the Santa Fe Blue Hybrid is provided by a 30kW electric motor (205Nm) which is coupled directly to the six-speed automatic transmission. The top three gear ratios have been extended to ensure lower engine revolutions per minute (RPM) and further enhance fuel economy. Electrical power is stored in a 270V Lithium Polymer rechargeable battery (5.3Ah/270V) which has significant advantages over lithium-ion batteries, including higher energy density and lower manufacturing costs. Li-Poly is also more resistant to physical damage and can also take more charge-discharge cycles before storage capacity begins to degrade.

Production-ready Santa Fe hybrids could be in European showrooms within a year at the same price as the automatic diesel version. If commercially successful, the hybrid technology is likely to be used on more new models.

Hyundai plans to start retail sales of its first hybrid-electric vehicle in July 2009. To be sold initially in the Korean domestic market under the Avante badge, the Elantra LPI Hybrid will be the world’s first electric hybrid vehicle to be powered by liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and the first to adopt advanced Li-Poly batteries.

Check out the rest of our Paris Motor Show 2008 coverage.