New Hyundai Santa Fe Can Be Unlocked, Started With Fingerprint, But Only In China

The all-new Hyundai Santa Fe can be unlocked and started with a simple fingerprint. The only caveat? The feature will only be available in China.

During a recent event in the country, the South Korean automaker detailed the feature to the Korea Herald. While only the Chinese will be able to enjoy the feature, it is entirely possible the technology will be implemented into future Hyundai models sold around the world.

Chinese-bound Hyundai Sante Fe models come shipped with fingerprint readers on both the door handle and ignition button. The car is able to support multiple encrypted fingerprints and depending on which user is operating the vehicle, the seats and angle of the wing mirror will be automatically adjusted to their tastes.

The future is here.

According to Hyundai, a future software update could also allow the biometric system to add personalized temperature, humidity, and steering settings.

Hyundai’s fingerprint sensors use human capacitance to function by differentiating between the electricity levels in various parts of the finger. This prevents hacking and faked fingerprints being used to fool the system. The automaker says the system has an error rate of 1 in 50,000, the same as Apple’s Touch ID technology.

Although buyers of the new Santa Fe in the United States won’t be offered a fingerprint sensor, they can buy the SUV in a number of configurations, starting from a very reasonable $25,500. Among the key standard features for select Santa Fes in the U.S. is the Hyundai SmartSense suite of driver assistance systems, 8-way power adjustable driver’s seat, dual-zone automatic climate control, and a color head-up display.