Is Hyundai onto something with their Santa Cruz Concept pick uptruck?
The pick up truck market is very congested and very competitive. There is a reason for this, it is incredibly lucrative. Hyundai knows this and is exploiting a potential niche in the pick up truck market. The Santa Cruz Concept is smaller than a conventional pick up truck but also offers more utility than a crossover or small SUV.
There is not anything on the market like it currently and it is not like we are about to get a new El Camino any time soon. This could potentially work as it exploits a segment that does not even exist but is viable.
It will not tow like a big truck with its 2.0 liter turbo diesel that generates 190 horsepower and 300 lb-ft of torque but for people who just want to tow some personal water craft or maybe dirt bikes this certainly fits the bill.
It looks great and is definitely innovative. Hyundai is thinking outside the box and that is a good thing.
DETROIT, Jan. 12, 2015 – Today, Hyundai revealed its innovative Santa Cruz Crossover Truck Concept at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. This fresh concept reflects a completely new interpretation of truck utility for a new generation of buyers, especially Millennials, who represent the secondlargest population of car buyers.
Detroit. This fresh concept reflects a completely new interpretation of truck utility for a new generation of buyers, especially Millennials, who represent the secondlargest population of car buyers.
“The Santa Cruz crossover truck concept meets the unspoken needs of a growing Millennial lifestyle we call ‘Urban Adventurers’,” said Mark Dipko, director, corporate planning, Hyundai Motor America. “This new crossover allows them all the expandable utility they need throughout their active week, from worklife professionalism, to social interests, to a whole variety of outdoor pursuits, without the typical compromises they have come to expect from the industry’s current product offerings.”
URBAN ADVENTURERS
Modern urbanization is impacting the market in a broad way, and this trend is especially strong with young adults, who face tighter parking on streets and parking garages, and increasing congestion overall. These trends are not confined to one specific region of the U.S.? they’re happening in urban hubs everywhere. These “Urban Adventurers” have a different mindset, being very active both socially, and in their communities, bringing a pioneering spirit to make their neighborhoods a better place to live and work.
So whether it’s loading up friends and firewood for a bonfire at the beach, coaching the youth soccer team, volunteering for a community restoration project, or a quick dropoff at the local recycling center, they need a vehicle versatile enough to accommodate both passengers and gear, while being efficient enough to fit into their unique urban lifestyle.
SANTA CRUZ CONCEPT
To meet the specific needs of these Urban Adventurers, Santa Cruz doesn’t focus on all the same attributes as traditional pickups. It’s designed to meet more of their desires for expression, efficiency and maneuverability. Hyundai designers created a bold design that conveys this lifestyle, with a wide, surefooted stance and an aggressive sideprofile rake. The front view features an upright, hexagonal grille with cascading lines framing the sides, dual lensfree, honeycombed headlamp projectors, and prominent LED fog lamps. The side profile is highlighted by oversized wheels, Michelin® tires with a special tread design, centerlocking hubs and yellow Brembo® brake calipers. For ease of access to the rear seats, Santa Cruz features convenient, rearhinged rear doors which integrate seamlessly with the front door design. The wheel arches, roof, and bed rails offer convenient tiedown cleats for securing cargo of all shapes and sizes. From the rear, the concept presents highlycontoured bed forms, and for extra utility, the expandable bed can be easily reconfigured for longer cargo, using a unique drawerlike sliding function.
wheel arches, roof, and bed rails offer convenient tiedown cleats for securing cargo of all shapes and sizes. From the rear, the concept presents highlycontoured bed forms, and for extra utility, the expandable bed can be easily reconfigured for longer cargo, using a unique drawerlike sliding function.
Efficiency is a key attribute of its advanced powertrains, with an environmentallyfriendly 2.0liter turbo diesel powertrain delivering 190 horsepower and 300 lb.ft.
of torque, while achieving fuel economy in the high 30 mpg range. Santa Cruz also offers Hyundai’s HTRAC® Allwheel drive system, so there’s no anxiety about getting those snowboarding “fresh tracks” right after a storm moves through. The concept is purposefully compact, and although it has four doors and seating for five, its overall footprint is similar to a small CUV. These dimensions make it ideal for navigating the urban jungle or a tight parking spot that most pickup drivers often have to pass by. It offers typical CUV driving character, but with a versatile cargo bed that provides separated storage for all they want to bring along, whether it’s a trip to the recycling center, a surf or paddleboard session, or a couple of mountain bikes for the trails. Whatever the day’s activity might bring all that dirty, sweaty, wet, sandy, bulky gear remains in the back of the truck, cleanly separated from the passenger compartment.
During the work week, gear for that early morning hike or afterwork hockey game stays securely locked in the back, under an integrated, rigid tonneau cover that conveniently retracts when not needed. It not only keeps items safe and out of sight, it also keeps the interior clean and fresh. Santa Cruz is the perfect vehicle for those that want the attributes of a CUV, but still have dirty stuff that belongs “in the back.”
INNOVATIVE TAILGATE EXTENSION
Sometimes, there are those needs that call for even more cargo room? that’s why Santa Cruz offers an innovative tailgate extension that allows the bed length to be expanded whenever those “just in case” moments arise. The extension is perfect for everything from an epic mountain bike trip to bringing home an antique chest or classic motorcycle that’s ripe for restoration. When fully extended, Santa Cruz’s bed length is similar to a midsize pickup, providing the ability to carry much more than its compact footprint would suggest, yet only when needed. Santa Cruz was designed to accommodate whatever the Urban Adventurer’s lifestyle calls for, whether expected or unexpected.
providing the ability to carry much more than its compact footprint would suggest, yet only when needed. Santa Cruz was designed to accommodate whatever the Urban Adventurer’s lifestyle calls for, whether expected or unexpected. Some of the industry’s past attempts to blend truckbed flexibility with passengercar attributes were limited because they didn’t deliver the practical benefits the customer expected. Most tried to straddle the line by attracting traditional truck buyers with compromised products at a similar price point, failing to deliver any differentiating benefits. Santa Cruz, by design, isn’t an alternative to a truck, so towing, payload and ground clearance were not primary goals. Rather, Santa Cruz is intended to attract CUV and sedan buyers who are seeking greater utility, without the compromises that traditional trucks often require.
MORPHING LIFESTYLE DEMANDS
Hyundai research revealed that not everyone who wants an openbed vehicle is willing to accept the tradeoffs that come with it. As evidence of this, industry pickup truck share is down over five percent in the last 10 years, with the biggest shift among young adults, reflecting a need for something that more closely matches these morphing lifestyles. In the past, small trucks accounted for half of pickup sales, and they were particularly popular with younger buyers. Today, that same young truck market is almost nonexistent, and millennials under 30 represent just seven percent of all pickup purchases. Women, who buy more than half of all CUVs sold, now account for only 10 percent of pickup sales. Santa Cruz is intended to meet the customer needs that the current truck product offering is simply not fulfilling.
Santa Cruz is for the growing population who sees and pursues the world differently, those who want all the traditional attributes of a small CUV, but need the day to day versatility of an open bed. It’s the crossover truck that meets the unspoken needs of Urban Adventurers.
