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The Hyundai Santa Cruz compact pickup was confirmed for production today, perhaps in an effort to get ahead of next week's L.A. Auto Show news wave. Hyundai also announced its first truck for the North American market will be built, starting in 2021, in its assembly plant in Montgomery, Ala. Doing so will require a $410 million expansion of the facility, which currently builds the Sonata and Elantra. In the present political climate, Hyundai was keen to note that the project "will add 1,200 new direct and indirect jobs."
Like the Honda Ridgeline, Hyundai confirmed that the Santa Cruz will be a unibody pickup, going so far as even dubbing it a "crossover." In the words of the press release, "Santa Cruz is for those who want all the traditional attributes of a compact utility vehicle, but need the day-to-day versatility of an open bed. It's the crossover that creates a whole new segment that successfully combines capability and utility to meet the unspoken needs of a new generation of buyers, especially Millennials."
Digging through that, the "whole new segment" and "compact" bits would imply that the Santa Cruz will be smaller than the Ridgeline, and possibly the rest of the Colorado/Tacoma/Ranger segment that is now typically considered midsize.
The Hyundai Santa Cruz concept truck, pictured above, was first shown at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show. As production is set to begin in 2021, it seems likely that it'll be a 2022 model and that we should see the production version some time next year.
Nice to see that it will be built in Alabama with American labor, although, unlike with Ford and GM, Hyundai is a Korean-registered company, and, IMO, is not as beholden to American jobs as Ford and GM should be, with their American-flag registrations.
As for the truck itself, if it is going to compete with the Honda Rideline, as far as I'm concerned, it's got its work cut out for it. Although the Ridgeline gets ridicule from large, work-truck enthusiasts, for what it was designed to do (versatility and light-to-mid-duty work), it is truly excellent. Unlike most pickups today (the Ram 1500 excepted, which is also very comfortable and refined), the Ridgeline is comfortable enough to drive that you can probably take a long trip in one and not feel tired at the end of the day. From my observation (I did a review on one), it also appears quite well-built. My ex-pastor (who retired and moved away) traded his Hyundai Genesis 3.8L for a Ridgeline, with the top-level Black-Trim package inside and out.
Surprised this is getting so much hate. I actually like the design. I think every Ridgeline has looked ugly and would never consider one. I can see this selling better than the Ridgeline.
People are switching to crossovers for the higher seating position and the utility which this have. I think every model in this segment has looked pretty ugly imo which affects sales. If this undercuts the ridgeline by 4-5k it may be a winner.
And here I thought it was bad enough with the roads being littered with SUVs. Damn, I'd rather look at 1,000,000 SUVs than look at one of whatever the heck that THING is.
If the Ridgeline's annual sales figures are anything to go by, there isn't a strong market for a truck that can't do truck things.
That's because truck buyers mostly want to think they do "truck things" but if a majority of truck buyers were honest with themselves, the Ridgeline can do the "truck things" that most buyers actually ask of their truck. Haul their family/friends around in a crew cab configuration 90% of the time, open bed for maybe a few Home Depot runs a year.
Of course there's a section of the truck buying public that actually needs significant payload capability, plow truck capability, and significant towing capability, but how often are those actually utilized?
11-13-19, 05:24 PM
Hyundai Santa Cruz compact pickup confirmed
