[1958carnut]

It looks decent enough now that we can see the real thing. They will probably do quite well with the "gotta have it funky" crowd as far as that nose and the lower black molding weirdness at the front door area(guess that's to ward off debris and stone chips).

 

[sdotjeezy]

I bet some of you would've liked it had it looked like this:

 

[VS Ute 5Litre]

I bet some of you would've liked it had it looked like this:

View attachment 63519

Nah

Its not really very useful in my opinion

 

[Neanderthal]

But let's start with the basic question: Does it truck? The bed is 4 feet long with the tailgate closed and just shy of 6 feet long with the tailgate down. That's a foot shorter in both measurements than the average four-door midsize pickup. Four feet isn't a lot, but it's enough to load in mountain bikes with the front tires hanging over the tailgate. It should be just long enough to strap down a dirt bike with the rear wheel on the tailgate (which can hold 500 pounds). Shortening the bed, though, makes the Santa Cruz more than 14 inches shorter in length than a Honda Ridgeline and that much easier to park in the city.

The bed is also 4 feet wide, designed specifically to be wide enough to carry home sheets of plywood from the big box store. That plywood rests on molded-in ledges above the wheelwells, and the tailgate can be adjusted to a half-open position level with the ledges to support the end of the plywood hanging out the back. There are also two molded-in pockets designed to lay two-by-six boards across the bed and cover them with a 4-foot square piece of plywood to make a two-level bed. The tailgate can be adjusted or removed without tools, is lockable, has a soft open and soft close feature, and can be opened with the key fob.

That's not to say there aren't more storage options, though. The rear cushions lift up as in larger pickups to reveal a cargo bin. Remove six screws, and the bin comes out, leaving you with the entire rear-seat area as cargo space with only a small hump bisecting the floor.
The hump is for the optional all-wheel-drive system's driveshaft. The base Santa Cruz is a front-wheel-drive truck, the only one on the market now that Honda dropped that option on the Ridgeline. Upgrade to Hyundai's HTRAC all-wheel-drive system, available on any model, and the rear wheels can receive up to 50 percent of the drive power via a lockable clutched center differential.

Power comes from a standard 2.5-liter I-4 engine good for 191 hp and 181 lb-ft. The upgrade is a turbocharged 2.5-liter I-4 engine with 281 hp and 311 lb-ft. The base engine is paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission, and the turbocharged engine gets an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic with paddle shifters.
Putting that power to the ground are Michelin Primacy all-season street tires on 18- or 20-inch wheels, not knobby off-road tires. Hyundai reps wouldn't rule out future off-road packages, but for the moment, if you want to put the 8.6 inches of ground clearance to work, you need to pick your trail carefully or upgrade your tires.
Controlling the movement of the wheels is a strut suspension in front and a multilink design in the rear, giving the truck a fully independent suspension like the Ridgeline. The rear suspension is equipped with standard self-leveling shock absorbers to keep the truck level even when there's weight in the bed or a trailer on the hitch.

But wait, there's more:

2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz First Look: Return of the Compact Truck

Is this really happening?!

www.motortrend.com

 

[sdotjeezy]

Nah

Its not really very useful in my opinion

F'd up part is that I actually think I made it look better, talk about unintended consequences. there's a use for a little trucklet like this, I can think of my yearly run to Home Depot to pickup 20-30 bags of mulch, last time I did it in the Buick, it didn't really smell right in there for a week...and there was some bitching about it.

 

[impala02]

The Maverick is quite a bit longer and taller. But that 2.5L Turbo is going to give the 2.0L EcoBoost a run for its money, especially with 5,000lbs of towing. But that rolling tonneau cover is super cool with the in-bed trunk, but it's basically a big trunk with a 500lb payload. Maverick has a fully metal bed, but no trunk. It does get a Hybrid with Pro Power, but the Hyundai certainly has more tech amenities.

View attachment 63517

Santa Cruz looks good.

Wow! The Hyundai makes the Ford look incredibly dated.

But seats 4 better than the Brat seats 2.

The Brat had 2 jump seats in the bed...so, a 4 seater!

 

[VS Ute 5Litre]

F'd up part is that I actually think I made it look better, talk about unintended consequences. there's a use for a little trucklet like this, I can think of my yearly run to Home Depot to pickup 20-30 bags of mulch, last time I did it in the Buick, it didn't really smell right in there for a week...and there was some bitching about it.

Most US "trucks" are too big thats the main problem

Ranger/Hilux size is as big as most need for casual use or a smallish box trailer behind your average car will do for that work

 

[mjd1001]

Nah

Its not really very useful in my opinion

For people who already own trucks, or are in the market for an existing truck, no, its not for them at all.

As others here have already said though, there are a lot of people who want a 'truck bed' for mulch, topsoil, the gas can filled at the station they don't want in the back of the crossover, etc. There are a lot of people who do those things many times a year but never need to haul plywood or tow a heavy trailer. For those poeple, the smaller size, ease of parking (compared to other 'trucks') and smaller size of this are an instant winner.

I haven't bought a truck since the 1990's S10s and Sonoma were around because they just got too big (even the current mid-sizers) but this may finally get me back into something with a bed attached to it.

 

[VS Ute 5Litre]

For people who already own trucks, or are in the market for an existing truck, no, its not for them at all.

As others here have already said though, there are a lot of people who want a 'truck bed' for mulch, topsoil, the gas can filled at the station they don't want in the back of the crossover, etc. There are a lot of people who do those things many times a year but never need to haul plywood or tow a heavy trailer. For those poeple, the smaller size, ease of parking (compared to other 'trucks') and smaller size of this are an instant winner.

I haven't bought a truck since the 1990's S10s and Sonoma were around because they just got too big (even the current mid-sizers) but this may finally get me back into something with a bed attached to it.

Get a trailer?


Much cheaper than buying a whole new car/truck/pickup/ute

 

[big swede]

I loved it when the first prototype was introduced but this one is just ok. It definitely has more of a Subaru vibe to it.

It might hit a niche for the active lifestyle people who don’t want some ridiculous behemoth. I guess we’ll see.

 

[mjd1001]

Get a trailer?


Much cheaper than buying a whole new car/truck/pickup/ute

And then where do you store the trailer for most people who live in a city or a compact suburb, or have a two-car garage with already two cars?

The idea is that this can be in all-in-one vehicle for the people that I described in the post above.

 

[VS Ute 5Litre]

And then where do you store the trailer for most people who live in a city or a compact suburb, or have a two-car garage with already two cars?

The idea is that this can be in all-in-one vehicle for the people that I described in the post above.

Ive seen trailers you can fold up and store in a garage . the cost is heaps less than a whole new vehicle

 

[BlackGTP]

I'm thinking it is aimed at young people, but the actual customer will be retired folks. Along the line of all those "cube" vehicles that the Japanese came out with - Nissan Cube, Scion Xb and the Honda cube name escapes me. This will fit the bill for retired folks - cheap and can take the garbage to the dump.

 

[dannyg]

I assume there's no pass through from the bed to the interior? That would make this a non-starter for me, I occasionally need a few 8ft 2x4s...which I can easily carry in my Sonic with the seat down. Strap to roof? But agree with GTP, I could see retirees around here picking one up for dump duty. Right now they're driving lots of Foresters/Outbacks. (A retired neighbor just replaced an ancient Volvo sedan with an Outback.) There would absolutely be people who buy this but would never buy say a Ranger or Colorado.

I guess it's too much to ask for any two-door these days...sigh...

2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz Review, Pricing, and Specs

The Hyundai Santa Cruz won't win a tractor pull, but it wins respect for sleek design, easy driving manners, and truck-like practicality in a compact package.

www.caranddriver.com

 

[mjd1001]

Ive seen trailers you can fold up and store in a garage . the cost is heaps less than a whole new vehicle

Once again the whole point is... A lot of people aren't looking to do that. They're not looking to buy a trailer and store it anywhere in their garage. They're simply looking for an all-in-one vehicle. This fits the bill for an all-in-one vehicle.

I'm not saying they're going to trade in their 1-year-old truck for it but when it's time for a new car a lot of people might be looking at this instead of a crossover or might be trading down from a mid-size truck to this.

 

[sdotjeezy]

Maybe GM should leverage C1 to do a Blazer or Acadia Trucklet...sure it'll be larger, like Ridgeline sized, but if it were off the Blazer, it'll probably be a hit due to the Blazer's good looks.

 

[dannyg]

For people who already own trucks, or are in the market for an existing truck, no, its not for them at all.

As others here have already said though, there are a lot of people who want a 'truck bed' for mulch, topsoil, the gas can filled at the station they don't want in the back of the crossover, etc. There are a lot of people who do those things many times a year but never need to haul plywood or tow a heavy trailer. For those poeple, the smaller size, ease of parking (compared to other 'trucks') and smaller size of this are an instant winner.

I haven't bought a truck since the 1990's S10s and Sonoma were around because they just got too big (even the current mid-sizers) but this may finally get me back into something with a bed attached to it.

If the problem is the smell from a couple of bags of mulch, any midsize sedan can fit that in the trunk. In fact I've done it with my Sonic. Presto bingo, no smell because it's in the trunk not the passenger area. But now that all people want is boxes-on-wheels, that solution is in the past, the only option seems to be a mini-pickup like this.

I had a 1986 Ranger V6 4x4 back in the 90s...wouldn't mind a modern replacement. There's the new Ranger but I have absolutely no interest in the size/price of a modern midsize. This Hyundai is close to what I'm looking for (assuming the base model is fairly cheap) for but I'd need a 2 door with a longer bed to be really interested. I'm hoping these compact pickups sell so they'll release a two door!

 

[tripowergto Jan2003]

At least the Hyundai appears modern and athletic while the Ford just look stodgy and unremarkable. I suspect the Santa Cruz with the 2.5 turbo would be pretty zippy with 281 HP and 311 TQ. Could make for a fun, convenient winter ride.

 

[mbukukanyau]

The Subaru Baja failed, this too will fail

 

[sdotjeezy]

At least the Hyundai appears modern and athletic while the Ford just look stodgy and unremarkable. I suspect the Santa Cruz with the 2.5 turbo would be pretty zippy with 281 HP and 311 TQ. Could make for a fun, convenient winter ride.

The Ford looks BAD! It's bug eyed like the New Explorer but worse...it looks like someone took a generic subcompact truck and stuck some gen 1 Equinox Headlights on it.