By: IOL Motoring Staff
Hyundai's Santa Cruz Crossover Truck Concept is not aimed your traditional American pick-up buyer.
If anything it's closer to bakkies like the Chevrolet Utility, sold in South Africa and Brazil, and the South America-only Volkswagen Saveiro; except instead of being carved out of an existing car, the Hyundai concept is a purpose-built creation and it's much cooler for it.
Rather than fret about things like payload, ground clearance and towing ability, Hyundai instead focused on creating a unibody vehicle that would appeal to passenger car buyers who are looking for something smaller and more sophisticated than a traditional pick-up, but with a completely separate load compartment to stash their dirty adventure gear.
This trucklet also offers seating for five occupants, with rear passengers entering through rear-hinged doors. Granted, the load bin isn't very big, but there is a draw-like tailgate extension that allows the bed to be expanded, when needed, to match the load length of a mid-sized pick-up.
When the extension is tucked away, the Santa Cruz has a footprint no bigger than that of a compact crossover vehicle, making it a lot more user-friendly than a traditional pick-up when it comes to navigating the urban jungle and its tight spaces.
The concept is powered by a 142kW 2-litre turbodiesel engine and Hyundai has also fitted an all-wheel drive system for adventurers that need to venture off the beaten track.