Hyundai has released the first official photos of the Mufasa SUV before it makes its debut next week at the Auto Shanghai 2023 show. For now, you can only buy a Hyundai Mufasa in China, where Hyundai has a joint venture with Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC). With the Mufasa Adventure concept, Hyundai showed off the production model at the beginning of last month. On the Chinese market, the Mufasa takes the place of the old ix35.
Hyundai Mufasa exterior design, dimensions
Even though Hyundai hasn’t made an official announcement, a regulatory filing on the website of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology suggests that the Mufasa will be 4,475mm long, 1,850mm wide, 1,665mm tall, and have a wheelbase of 2,680mm. So, it’s a little bit smaller than the Tucson sold in India.
As for how it looks, the Mufasa uses Hyundai’s Sensuous Sportiness design language, but it also has its own unique features. For example, the vertically oriented single-piece headlamps look very different and don’t follow the current trend of having split headlamps. The face is also very aggressive. The grille takes up almost the whole front fascia, and the bumper is sharply shaped. The two-tone treatment on the face also looks really good. If you look closely, you can even see that it looks like the MG Hector sold in India.
In the side view, the Mufasa has sharp character lines and wide wheel arches, like the Indian Tucson and Verna. The design of the alloys is similar to India’s Alcazar, and it also has thick cladding all around the body. The back, on the other hand, is completely different. The full-width LED tail lights are in the shape of an oval and are surrounded by a black panel with the word “Hyundai” in the middle. And while the back door is nice, the bumper below has a lot going on with cladding and a fake diffuser.
Hyundai hasn’t shown any pictures of the Mufasa’s inside yet, though.
Powertrain options for the Hyundai Mufasa
As we’ve already said, there aren’t any official technical details about the Mufasa yet, but it’s likely to have a 156hp, 2.0-liter, naturally aspirated gasoline engine that drives only the front wheels. This is the same engine that India’s Tucson uses and that used to be available on the Alcazar. Reports say that the Mufasa could also benefit in the future from a hybrid powertrain, possibly with a 48V mild-hybrid configuration.
The Mufasa will be made in China, where it will also be sold for the time being. At least for now, there is no word that it will be sold in other places. Hyundai will give more information about the engine and interior at Auto Shanghai 2023, which starts on April 18.
Exter will be Hyundai’s next SUV for India
Back home, Hyundai announced the Exter, a brand-new small SUV that is based on the Grand i10 Nios platform. It will go up against the Tata Punch head-on. When it comes out, it will only run on gasoline, and sales are expected to start in August of this year. You can find out more here.
