Claims ‘segment-shattering’ might be a little bit of a stretch but the long-awaited Hyundai Santa Cruz has finally been revealed.
Hyundai has been promising this thing for a long, long time. It’s been teased as a concept, spied testing and it’s now finally been revealed…and it’s looking very likely that it’ll only be for the US. Sigh.
Essentially, the Santa Cruz is a pickup version of the Tucson. It runs the same engines, the same transmission and the same on-demand all-wheel drive system. But Hyundai’s claims of ‘segment-shattering’ for the Santa Cruz may be a little far fetched…does no-one remember the Subaru Brumby…or even the Suzuki Mighty Boy. Sure, not exactly the same, but close enough in theory that there’s precedence for this sort of vehicle.
“Santa Cruz, with its bold styling, breaks open all new segment territory, both for Hyundai and the industry as a whole. Open-bed flexibility coupled with closed-cabin security meets the changing everyday needs of its adventure-oriented buyers, while powerful and efficient engines and superb maneuverability ensure it is a pleasure to drive in urban or off-road environments. Our customers will wonder just how they managed before owning one,” said Jose Munoz, president and CEO, Hyundai Motor North America.
Big news in the US, where the decision to produce the Santa Cruz has created 1200 jobs.
Don’t get us wrong, here at MotoFomo we’re all for the Santa Cruz. And it won’t be long before someone in the US rolls out a suspension lift to make this a properly fun little adventure machine for light trail work. And we reckon a right-hand drive version would sell up a storm in Australia.
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