After a long wait, the Hyundai Santa Cruz pickup has made its official debut
Hyundai’s US arm has revealed official images of its the upcoming Pick-Up, the Santa Cruz. It will go on sale in the US markets in the later half of this year. Let’s take a detailed look at this new offering from Hyundai’s stable.
Entering a New Segment
Hyundai had first showcased a Santa Cruz Pick-Up concept back in January 2015. Finally, almost after a wait of 6 years, the South Korean auto giant is all set to launch the Santa Cruz. Interestingly, the Pick-Up segment is new for Hyundai and it will be making its segment debut with the Santa Cruz.
However, Hyundai claims that the Santa Cruz “shatters both SUV and truck segments, creating an entirely new vehicle category.” Technically, post launch the Santa Cruz would be competing with the likes of Toyota Tacoma and Chevy Colorado.
Interesting Nomenclature
Over the years, Hyundai has been taking city names as its inspiration for baptizing its vehicles. After the Tuscon and Santa Fe, it had recently named its new crossover for Europe, the Bayon, which was based upon a city named Bayonne in France. Now, yet again, it seems that Hyundai has used a city’s name as an inspiration to brand its new offering.
Tuscon Inspired
From the images, it is clear that the Santa Cruz Pick-Up has taken considerable inspiration from the 2021 Tuscon. The front grille, the lighting setup, and the overall profile looks very similar to that of the current gen Tuscon. Powertrain options on the Santa Cruz will comprise of 2 petrol engines, a 2.5L NA and a 1.6L turbo motor, both of which are offered on the Tuscon as well.
Unlike most Pick-Ups which are based on a body-on-frame design, the Santa Cruz will be using an unibody construction. Looking at the overall similarities, it is expected that it will even land up sharing the platform with the Tuscon.
One difference between the Tuscon and Santa Cruz Pick-Up could be the drive train as the Tuscon is a FWD vehicle, however the Pick-Up will come along with an AWD setup.
India Launch Plans
Pick-Ups aren’t a big category for the Indian market, and launch of the Santa Cruz Pick-Up would not solve any purpose for Hyundai. Neither it has the potential to become a flagship product nor can it help Hyundai with churning out sizeable sales numbers. Hence, we don’t think that Hyundai would consider the Santa Cruz for the Indian market.
