Hyundai working on two beaut utes
Nile Bijoux finds there are scant details on Hyundai’s ambitious truck projects.
Hyundai is apparently working on not one but two utes for a near-future debut. One is a workhorse, to duke it out with the likes of the Ranger, Hilux and Navara and the other is a ‘‘lifestyle’’ ute to be called Santa Cruz.
Based on the Santa Fe SUV, the Cruz will be built in Alabama, United States, from next year.
Car and Driver has unearthed new details on the ute, including information on its powertrain.
According to the American outlet, the Santa Cruz will get a choice of two inline-four engines. One will be a naturally aspirated 2.4-litre unit while the other is a turbocharged 2.0-litre, both borrowed from the US-spec Santa Fe and paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. Power will be sent to all four wheels.
If this is accurate, the ute could offer as much as 175kW/352Nm with the boosted option which, in terms of power, is only topped in the local ute segment by the V6-powered Volkswagen Amarok and Mercedes-Benz X 350d, both of which produce 190kW, although the torque figure is down, with most other utes offering around the 500Nm mark.
Car and Driver added that the Santa Cruz will come with a single bed length and four doors.
We would presume the two-door/larger tray variants will come with the undefined workhorse variant.
Hyundai could also be working on a highperformance off-road version of the workhorse to try to take a slice of the Ford Ranger Raptor pie.
Last year, a Korean publication spotted the ute parked up under a lot of camouflage. There isn’t much to see but it shows Hyundai isn’t staying still on development.
When asked about the project last year, Hyundai Australia’s John Kett responded succinctly.
‘‘It needs to be functional, that’s the important part, isn’t it? We’ve gone down that pathway and the guys are working towards it.
‘‘We just have to make sure when it arrives it’s a bloody ute.’’
If sales go well, Hyundai could expand the ute range to include a faster on-road N-branded version, as well as an even more luxurious Genesis variant.
We reached out to Hyundai New Zealand to try to garner extra details about our market.
The Australians have confirmed the ute is ‘‘under study’’ to see if it will be a viable release, which is a change from the previous ‘‘hard no’’ stance.
Given our market size, we’d expect to get the workhorse over the lifestyle ute.
Volkswagen has shown there is a market for more upmarket utes as well as rough-and-tumble models.