Hyundai has been expanding its portfolio quite aggressively and the new direction for this expansion seems to be with off-road vehicles. Sure, the company has an XRT range of off-road versions based on Santa Fe, Ioniq 5 and Palisade. Now, Hyundai has just unveiled the Crater concept which showcases a new direction for future XRT vehicles.
Hyundai Crater Revealed
Recently, Hyundai teased the Crater concept and now it has been unveiled. Hyundai Crater is an extreme off-road vehicle concept which will showcase it at LA Auto Show. It is a show vehicle officially showcased at AutoMobility LA 2025 media days and Los Angeles Auto Show public days between 21st November and 30th November.
We can see some inspirations from Hyundai Nexo Hydrogen in its front fascia, but Crater looks more purposeful and menacing. It rides on massive 33-inch M/T tyres wrapped on Hexagonal design off-road wheels. Further accentuating its off-road vibe are tow hooks, muscular skid plates, a roof rack and multiple auxiliary lights.
Front fascia is defined with a muscular and contoured bonnet along with pixel LED lighting. The LED DRLs and turn indicators are horizontal, made of Pixels and the same pixels constitute its quad dot Hyundai logo. There’s an XRT badging on front bumper signifying that this concept denotes future XRT vehicles.
Hyundai Crater concept gets thick body cladding with interesting design pattern on them. There’s something called Crater Man, which is this concept’s logo and can be seen on multiple elements on the outside and on its interior like on its dashboard.
“Curve Of Upholstery” interior design language
Speaking of its interiors, Hyundai Crater concept packs a wild new design direction for the brand. Called “Curve Of Upholstery” this new interior design language is unlike anything we have seen from Hyundai and it is likely to feature on future Hyundai XRT vehicles. Curve Of Upholstery design language’s primary objective is to offer soft-touch elements almost everywhere.
The main highlight is a cylindrical structure which looks like it is suspended by two adjustable straps. Instead of an infotainment screen, we can see four small squarish screens for widgets that can be removed as well. Hyundai Crater gets suicide doors for the rear allowing for easy ingress and egress.
Apart from the 33-inch tyres and high ground clearance, Hyundai Crater also gets controls from low range gearbox and locking differentials. This is interesting because Crater is an electric concept and it might carry forward the same 84 kWh battery pack as Ioniq 5 XRT powering two electric motors if there ever will be a production version of this concept.
