Spy photos of the heavily camouflaged 2026 Audi Q7/Q7 facelift (particularly the high-performance SQ7 variant) have set forums ablaze, and for good reason. Beneath the swirling black-and-white wrap, the new Audi’s front end is wearing a face that looks almost identical to the outgoing fourth-generation Hyundai Santa Fe (2021–2023, the so-called “last-gen” model that bowed out with the 2022 model year in many markets).
Look past the disguise and the similarities are uncanny. The 2022 Santa Fe featured slim, horizontal upper LED daytime running lights that sat high on the fenders, flowing into a wide, cascading grille with a distinctive parametric jewel pattern and chrome surround. Directly below sat larger main headlight units integrated into the bumper, creating a clean split-headlight look that was elegant yet assertive. Fast-forward to the camouflaged 2026 SQ7 prototypes, and the layout is virtually the same: narrow upper DRL “eyebrows,” a broad octagonal grille with horizontal emphasis, and lower main headlight clusters framed by vertical air intakes. Even the hood shut-line and the way the grille tucks under the leading edge mirror the Santa Fe’s proportions with startling accuracy.
The resemblance isn’t subtle. Side-by-side images circulating on Reddit, AudiWorld, and GermanCarForum have users doing double-takes, with comments ranging from “Did Audi just Photoshop a Santa Fe front onto the Q7 prototype?” to “That’s literally the 2022 Santa Fe grille with Quattro badges.” The wheel arches, the flat shoulder line, and the overall wide-and-low stance only reinforce the visual overlap.
For context, the 2022 Santa Fe was widely praised for finally giving Hyundai a genuinely premium-looking front end in the mid-size segment, one that could sit in a Lexus dealership without raising eyebrows. Now Audi, a brand that charges triple the price and has built its reputation on teutonic restraint and originality, appears to be borrowing that exact recipe for its flagship seven-seat SUV.
Whether this is conscious homage, lazy convergence, or simply two design teams arriving at the same solution in a wind-tunnel-dominated era, the result is the same: a six-figure German performance SUV wearing the face of a $34,000 Korean family hauler that’s already headed to the used-car lots.
So we’ll ask you directly: when the camouflage finally comes off in 2026, will this be a clever, confident evolution for the Q7 family, or an embarrassing case of a luxury marque copying a mainstream design that’s barely two years old? Is the new Audi Q7/SQ7 front end a hit that cleverly modernizes the lineup, or a miss that makes the Four Rings look suspiciously like they shopped at the Hyundai parts bin?
The comments are open, let the roasting (or defending) begin.
Audi SQ7 spy photo from @Wilcoblok on Instagram
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2022 Hyundai Santa Fe
