Hyundai Santa Cruz ute shapes up

Korean car giant Hyundai is edging closer to entering the mainstream pick-up truck market, and if its first ute, the Hyundai Santa Cruz, looks like this, a lot of Aussies could be putting up their hand to secure one.

Although it won’t offer the loading or towing capacity of a Toyota HiLux or Ford Ranger – something that Hyundai will remedy in a few years’ time with a separate, more rugged ute product offering – the Santa Cruz’s car-based underpinnings should make it easier to park and drive and slot neatly into the lifestyle of recreational owners.

Billed as an SUV with an open rear tray, the 2021 Hyundai Santa Cruz will be built in the US this year after extensive upgrades to its Alabama factory and is expected to be offered in left-hand-drive only, meaning it will be off-limits for Australia initially.

But like the recently introduced US-built Hyundai Palisade, there’s a chance it could be offered in Australia down the track.

Taking on the likes of the upcoming Ford Maverick, the Santa Cruz dual-cab ute seen here was rendered by KDesign, featuring a Santa Fe-inspired front-end design, riding on massive alloy wheels and sporting lots of chrome trim.

With the same split-level headlight clusters as the Santa Fe, the front-end appears almost the same as the SUV and while the rear is vastly different due to the tray, the tail-light design and full-length horizontal light bar have been retained.

Hyundai Australia has previously indicated it would consider all new products in the global portfolio but that a one-tonne ute to rival the Toyota HiLux is a priority.

That said, the harder-core ute is not expected to emerge until around 2023.

“Santa Cruz is not being made in right-hand drive, but we remain interested in that vehicle, for sure,” a Hyundai spokesman told carsales last year.

“For Santa Cruz it was certainly a niche product but I think it would an interesting offering. There are some impressive powertrain options and it looks like it will be capable.”

Expected to be offered with a number of four-cylinder turbo-petrol and hybrid engines, there’s an outside chance that a V6 engine could be offered to appease power-hungry customers in the US.

It’s not clear if the 3.8-litre petrol V6 (217kW/355Nm) from the Hyundai Palisade would fit under the bonnet, but if it does become available you can be almost certain the Hyundai N badge will be firmly glued to its rump, denoting high-performance capability.

The Santa Cruz ute was originally shown in concept form in 2015 and is expected to go into production later in 2021.