In the spirit of Christmas, Hyundai Philippines is giving thanks to the motoring media with exciting developments in store for 2024. Chief among these is this: The Korean brand’s new boxy SUV is coming into the local market next year.

The new Hyundai Santa Fe made a surprising appearance at the company’s thanksgiving party in its geometric glory. The next-gen midsize crossover ditches the curvy lines of the old, and embraces a rugged form perfect for overlanding and camping.

Shipped from South Korea, the two display units carry the 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 277hp and 422Nm, enough to haul around the city and the outskirts of town. Joining the Staria and the Palisade, the Santa Fe will be the third vehicle in the local lineup with Hyundai’s HTRAC all-wheel-drive system.

A useful quirk of the new Santa Fe is the C-pillar grab handle for reaching or climbing onto the roof area, whether for storage racks or tents. The interior is a step above its predecessor, looking more modern with the 12.3-inch seamless instrument cluster and infotainment display while maintaining physical buttons.

Sales for the new Santa Fe will start sometime around Q1 2024, around the same time frame as its launches outside Korea. Hopefully, more powertrain options will be available at launch, especially the 1.6-liter turbocharged hybrid engine.

After a fresh reboot in 2022, Hyundai Philippines is slowly but surely cooking up a wave for the market with four new models teased for next year—one of which might be this bad boy.