Doug reviews the new Hyundai truck

[Kaido]

4' long truck bed. Unibody FWD or AWD. Midsize sedan length. Man, I dunno.

 

[Kaido]

I really don't know who the demographic for this is. I mean it's...unique. And I like weird cars. But I feel like this design would get dated. The mockup looked pretty cool, especially if it was like the size of a Ford F-150, but it's kinda...tiny. The truck above looks like the Kmart version of the artist's rendering below. If they sold the one below & it had like a 5.5-foot bed, I mean...dang. That would be a pretty hot lifestyle truck imo! But instead we got what looks like a compact SUV with the back sawzalled off lol.

I really, really like the Ford Maverick in comparison. Everything in the Santa Cruz just seems slightly...cramped.

 

[zinfamous]

That's the car that Walter White will be driving.

bad tidings.

 

[herm0016]

Just a rehash of the Subaru Baja. I predict just as successful.

 

[zinfamous]

That's the car that Walter White will be driving.

bad tidings.

I mean, think about it...doesn't it scream that it is the 2nd answer to that one question, that was first created when the Aztec was revealed to the public: "This is what losers drive." It's specifically why it was cast in BB for Walter White, because that had been known well enough by the time that character was created.

I get that vibe again.

(and it's not just he looks: just the power and drivetrain and overall package in that thing is real garbage compared to the much cheaper Maverick. I mean....man, everything about it screams: "you made the wrong decision!")

still, the secret bed cooler is kinda nice? (that really is a slick idea, so kudos)

 

[NutBucket]

Except Honda debuted it in the 2006 Ridgeline.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

 

[sandorski]

For most Urbanites, a truck like this is probably all they need. I also suspect that people who used such a vehicle would find that the Bed is better for Groceries and other mundane cargoes than a Trunk or SUV/CUV storage area. Carrying things like Gardening supplies/equipment, Gas cans, or other things with odours/undesirable fumes would also be better in this vehicle.

It might not Sell, but I think if people tried it many would prefer it to other vehicles.

 

[zinfamous]

Except Honda debuted it in the 2006 Ridgeline.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

ohh, I did not know that (I really don't pay attention to this market, because it just, eh...I mean LOOK AT THEM!--and yes, I also mean the Ridgeline), but I do like the idea. In a different sort of truck.

 

[mindless1]

With that short a bed, I see few if any benefits over an SUV. At least with the average SUV you can put down the 2nd/3rd row seats and fit things longer than 4' in them.

Something interesting about that video is that Doug shows the hidden storage compartment (aka secret bed cooler) but it doesn't look big enough for a full sized spare tire, which is fairly important for something that can haul a load, then a compact spare might not cut it but with the storage compartment where it is (it's placement excluding being able to put the tire under the bed at the rear), does it have NO option for a spare tire storage at all besides IN the bed?

Besides if you have a pickup with a bed cover, why do you need a secret bed cooler anyway? If you have the bed full of cargo you can't get to it and if you don't, you can put the cooler in the bed.

Hate the triangle patterns all over the plastics, guess the Hyundai engineers have never tried to detail a vehicle and had to go in three separate directions for every group of triangles to clean around the ridges on each side. Ugh.

If I didn't want something full sized, I'd still rather a body on frame truck, due to living in the rust belt where unibody vehicles aren't a good choice to haul loads in once some rust gets onto the suspension mounts areas.

You can religiously apply undercoating goop to slow that down but what owner who chose the Santa Cruz over a regular pickup, is likely to do that? Plus there's a safety factor to do it on strut towers (common rust out area on unibodies) because the goop may drip down onto the tire and compromise traction. The Santa Cruz may have some sort of rear subframe that eliminates this issue in that one area but not the rear of the unibody frame, nor where that subframe attaches to it.

IMO the competition makes it irrelevant, Ford Maverick if you can accept something unibody that's cheaper or Toyota Tacoma fairly near this price point if you want an all around better, real truck which is likely to have far better resale value, though probably a little worse ride quality.

 

[Greenman]

Looks like they pulled the trunk lid off of a sedan.

 

[Denly]

Like the style ever since I saw dodge adventure(?) in Mexico, hope it is smaller but at $25k no thanks.

 

[QueBert]

If Doug was a truck he would look like that. I can't explain how exactly, but the truck looks like him to me.

 

[ondma]

With that short a bed, I see few if any benefits over an SUV. At least with the average SUV you can put down the 2nd/3rd row seats and fit things longer than 4' in them.

Something interesting about that video is that Doug shows the hidden storage compartment (aka secret bed cooler) but it doesn't look big enough for a full sized spare tire, which is fairly important for something that can haul a load, then a compact spare might not cut it but with the storage compartment where it is (it's placement excluding being able to put the tire under the bed at the rear), does it have NO option for a spare tire storage at all besides IN the bed?

Besides if you have a pickup with a bed cover, why do you need a secret bed cooler anyway? If you have the bed full of cargo you can't get to it and if you don't, you can put the cooler in the bed.

Hate the triangle patterns all over the plastics, guess the Hyundai engineers have never tried to detail a vehicle and had to go in three separate directions for every group of triangles to clean around the ridges on each side. Ugh.

If I didn't want something full sized, I'd still rather a body on frame truck, due to living in the rust belt where unibody vehicles aren't a good choice to haul loads in once some rust gets onto the suspension mounts areas.

You can religiously apply undercoating goop to slow that down but what owner who chose the Santa Cruz over a regular pickup, is likely to do that? Plus there's a safety factor to do it on strut towers (common rust out area on unibodies) because the goop may drip down onto the tire and compromise traction. The Santa Cruz may have some sort of rear subframe that eliminates this issue in that one area but not the rear of the unibody frame, nor where that subframe attaches to it.

IMO the competition makes it irrelevant, Ford Maverick if you can accept something unibody that's cheaper or Toyota Tacoma fairly near this price point if you want an all around better, real truck which is likely to have far better resale value, though probably a little worse ride quality.

It is a trade off. You might not be able to carry long items, but you could carry taller/slightly wider stuff than an SUV.
Edit: Personally, I think it looks cool and initially I wish I had one. But then I wonder what the real use case for it is. It sort of seems an example of the "jack of all trades, master of none" metric.

 

[Kaido]

So, I like the concept, but in-person:

1. It's SUPRISINGLY small. See it below next to a regular trick. Like Subaru Forester-sized

2. It's not bad-looking, but the concept design lines didn't quite translate into the finished product

3. Ultimately, it just sort of looks like a compact SUV that someone tried to DIY into a trucklet by cutting off the back



Reminds me a bit of that mod someone did to turn the new Bronco into a truck:

 

[NutBucket]

Pretty sure the Bronco truck is Dirt Every Day.

And the Santa Cruz is still butt ugly. Maverick wins, no contest.

 

[slpaulson]

I purchased a Santa Cruz with the turbo engine in February and have been very happy with it thus far.

I was initially more interested in buying a Tacoma or a Frontier, but safety ratings are very important to me, and the Santa Cruz aced the IIHS tests while the other more midsize trucks do not. The Maverick was not safety rated at the time, and I appreciate that the Santa Cruz had a higher towing capacity than the Maverick.

For me it has served me well. I wanted a small truck because I am constantly hauling yard waste to our city compost site, and there have been few occasions where a larger bed would have been needed. Size wise it is a good bit larger than my wife’s Forester.

Of course styling is subjective, and initially I wasn’t too keen on it, but I think it looks better in person than in photos.

 

[IronWing]

I purchased a Santa Cruz with the turbo engine in February and have been very happy with it thus far.

I was initially more interested in buying a Tacoma or a Frontier, but safety ratings are very important to me, and the Santa Cruz aced the IIHS tests while the other more midsize trucks do not. The Maverick was not safety rated at the time, and I appreciate that the Santa Cruz had a higher towing capacity than the Maverick.

For me it has served me well. I wanted a small truck because I am constantly hauling yard waste to our city compost site, and there have been few occasions where a larger bed would have been needed. Size wise it is a good bit larger than my wife’s Forester.

Of course styling is subjective, and initially I wasn’t too keen on it, but I think it looks better in person than in photos.

I know that spot!

 

[slpaulson]

I know that spot!

That's too funny. The photo is from after I purchased my Santa Cruz from a nearby dealer. I stopped at Culvers before a long drive home. My local dealer didn't have anything incoming, so I had to strike when I could even though I'm a few hours away. I don't know if anything has changed, but it was difficult to find anything without a BS "market adjustment" added on.