Despite just the bare shell being visible
here, this belongs to the forthcoming Hyundai Santa Cruz pick-up truck
photographed by a Motor1 source, and which has been spotted undergoing
cold-weather tests earlier in February this year. The sole image of the pick-up
truck’s side profile offers a look at its geometric crease lines which are
reminiscent of those on the new Elantra which made its debut in March – more
angular than those on the Crossover Truck concept first seen in 2015 – visual
cues which remained under wraps when the truck was seen by our spy photographer
sources.
The C-pillar here is also revealed to
confirm its sloping angle towards the cargo tray on this double-cab layout as
suggested on the camouflaged development vehicle, though the truck’s actual
dimensions are still to be confirmed. Here, the rear door handle locations also
confirm a conventionally opening set of rear doors, compared to the coach-doors
layout of the 2015 concept.
The spy images also reveal the Santa Cruz
to feature independent rear suspension, which is more typical of a vehicle with
unibody construction rather than typical ladder-framed pick-up truck, which
adds weight to the thinking that this will be a unibody-based model. The Santa
Cruz will therefore have more in common with the Santa Fe SUV, which makes it
more likely to share its range of engines. This selection includes a 2.4 litre
four-cylinder engine producing 185 hp and a 2.0 litre turbocharged engine with
238 hp, though a more common choice for a pick-up truck – and therefore the
Santa Cruz – could be the 2.2 R CRDi turbodiesel which outputs 193 PS and 440
Nm of torque.
The Santa Cruz pick-up truck will be
manufactured at Hyundai’s plant in Montgomery, Alabama from 2021, and be
offered for the United States market to begin with. These will most probably
feature petrol engines exclusively, though a diesel version could still be made
for markets outside the US, notes Motor Authority.
