We’ll see the Hyundai Santa Cruz in full for the first time when it debuts on April 15 but ahead of time, Hyundai is setting the stage for expectations with the model. To help with that, the company released a video today featuring the truck’s design manager discussing the inspiration for the utility vehicle.
The quick one-minute video is hosted by Brad Arnold, design manager at Hyundai North America. The Southern California native is the leader of the team that created the Santa Cruz, a project that began years ago. He’s joined in the video by Senon Franco, the lead designer at Hyundai North America.
As Arnold explains in the video, the design of the Santa Cruz started with a simple premise: “this is not a typical truck”. Based on how Arnold describes the capabilities of the truck, that sounds true. It is meant to “thrive in dense urban environments and the open outdoors”. One could argue that no full-size truck on the market today does that. Neither do most of the midsize models, though their sizing is better for that landscape.
Arnold says that the Santa Cruz is “small in size”, a call that serves to remind viewers that the Santa Cruz isn’t a big truck. It’s more similar in size to the forthcoming Ford Maverick, a small truck that slots below the Ranger in Ford’s lineup.
However, the company isn’t even calling it a truck. The new model is being referred to as the Santa Cruz Sport Adventure Vehicle. This sounds a lot like how Kia is referring to the new generation of its Carnival minivan as a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV).
Arnold says that the design is meant to make the Santa Cruz not look like a truck. Rather, it’s supposed to look “like a Santa Cruz”. Part of that includes the front end, which looks like a carryover from the fascia of the 2022 Hyundai Tucson.
Among the other secrets Hyundai is giving away ahead of the product’s reveal is that there will be more than one “efficient” powertrain, a flexible bed, “cutting-edge” connectivity, and all-wheel drive.
Watch the video for yourself below.
Design Inspiration | 2022 Santa Cruz | Hyundai
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