[NY Yankee Pride]

That looks much closer in design to the original concept vehicle than I expected. The official reveal is on April 15th so we're getting really close to finally seeing the finished product. This is getting very exciting!

 

[BahamaTodd]

6 years later and this site finally has a purpose. 😂

 

[Bobby7]

Wow Hyundai finally gives us something! hahaha. The design seems to be matching most of the spy photos we've seen. Not sure how I feel about the giant "Santa Cruz" on the tailgate. Seems a bit too low.

 

[Santana]

This brighter version of the last sketch reveals a bit more of the final design.

 

[Curious]

This brighter version of the last sketch reveals a bit more of the final design.
View attachment 510

This brighter version of the last sketch reveals a bit more of the final design.
View attachment 510

Been waiting patiently since 2015 on the Santa Cruz.
Absolutely “Loved” the masculine look of the concept and would have bought one in a minute then. This now looks so generic and as feminine as the Honda Ridgeline. Disappointing after all this time... I have been waiting the past two years now to replace my 2012 Nissan Frontier on the Santa Cruz. Hyundai has lost my sale now with this look of the Santa Cruz.
Now thinking I will most likely buy the new Ford Maverick or the new designed Nissan Frontier. At least they look like a truck!

 

[Rayray]

I'm still undecided and really leaning towards EV truck now. There's so many cool designs out there now, wish this would've kept the suicide doors.

 

[BahamaTodd]

I'm still undecided and really leaning towards EV truck now. There's so many cool designs out there now, wish this would've kept the suicide doors.

Same here. Looking forward to seeing the Chevy EV pickup. This rendering is based on a sneak peak GM gave in a video conference.

 

[NY Yankee Pride]

Been waiting patiently since 2015 on the Santa Cruz.
Absolutely “Loved” the masculine look of the concept and would have bought one in a minute then. This now looks so generic and as feminine as the Honda Ridgeline. Disappointing after all this time... I have been waiting the past two years now to replace my 2012 Nissan Frontier on the Santa Cruz. Hyundai has lost my sale now with this look of the Santa Cruz.
Now thinking I will most likely buy the new Ford Maverick or the new designed Nissan Frontier. At least they look like a truck!

Wow, I could not disagree more with you. I think the final product looks much more like the concept than anyone expected it and looks like nothing like the Ridgeline. It certainly doesn't look like a traditional truck but why does it need to? I'm probably going to end up deciding between the Santa Cruz and Maverick. My main concern right now with the Maverick is that all signs point to Ford only offering two very small engines with Turbo's. It's not necessarily a bad thing but for for long term reliability I'd much rather have a choice for a well powered naturally aspirated engine. We'll have to see what engine choices Hyundai is going to have for the Santa Cruz.

 

[BeelineS82]

Wow, I could not disagree more with you. I think the final product looks much more like the concept than anyone expected it and looks like nothing like the Ridgeline. It certainly doesn't look like a traditional truck but why does it need to? I'm probably going to end up deciding between the Santa Cruz and Maverick. My main concern right now with the Maverick is that all signs point to Ford only offering two very small engines with Turbo's. It's not necessarily a bad thing but for for long term reliability I'd much rather have a choice for a well powered naturally aspirated engine. We'll have to see what engine choices Hyundai is going to have for the Santa Cruz.

Unless it was changed very recently, from what I read is base 2 trims 2.5L 4cyl and upper 2 trims have the 2.5T with 8spd wet-DCT.

 

[JASmith]

Wow Hyundai finally gives us something! hahaha. The design seems to be matching most of the spy photos we've seen. Not sure how I feel about the giant "Santa Cruz" on the tailgate. Seems a bit too low.

Reminds me of all the pickups here down South where Mexican guys have their names written really big on their truck. Going to make everyone wonder, "Yo, who is this Santa Cruz dude?"

 

[JASmith]

Unless it was changed very recently, from what I read is base 2 trims 2.5L 4cyl and upper 2 trims have the 2.5T with 8spd wet-DCT.

Are you sure its not getting the 8-speed automatic from the Tucson?

I'm pretty sure its a conventional automatic with torque converter on the Tuscon, as a DCT doesn't really make sense on a truck. Torque converters are better at getting a heavy mass rolling than a DCT which going up a hill with a trailer could end up roasting the clutches.

 

[BeelineS82]

I don’t disagree with your reasoning- what specs I have seen aren’t necessarily carved in stone; however, it says specifically 8spd wet-type DCT with tow capacity of 3500.

*To clarify, the lower 2 trims do have 2.5L 4cyl 8spd auto, which is prolly the same as the Tucson.

 

[JASmith]

*To clarify, the lower 2 trims do have 2.5L 4cyl 8spd auto, which is prolly the same as the Tucson.

Oh, I read that wrong, I thought you meant all them were on the new wet DCT. I guess on the plus side, a wet DCT is more tolerant of abuse, so maybe it won't be an issue, but I would just be buying a 2.5 base anyway as I think that will be plenty of power for this size vehicle.

My main sticking point is more going to be if I can wait long enough for it to hit dealers, and if its hopefully made at crossover height which it seems to be. We have a Ram 1500 right now, and its so tall that the folks just can't climb into it anymore without quite a bit of difficulty. I'm hoping downsizing to this will provide the utility of a light truck with the ease of ingress and parking of a crossover.

 

[Bobby7]

Oh, I read that wrong, I thought you meant all them were on the new wet DCT. I guess on the plus side, a wet DCT is more tolerant of abuse, so maybe it won't be an issue, but I would just be buying a 2.5 base anyway as I think that will be plenty of power for this size vehicle.

My main sticking point is more going to be if I can wait long enough for it to hit dealers, and if its hopefully made at crossover height which it seems to be. We have a Ram 1500 right now, and its so tall that the folks just can't climb into it anymore without quite a bit of difficulty. I'm hoping downsizing to this will provide the utility of a light truck with the ease of ingress and parking of a crossover.

I think it should be able to tick off all those boxes for you.

 

[NY Yankee Pride]

Unless it was changed very recently, from what I read is base 2 trims 2.5L 4cyl and upper 2 trims have the 2.5T with 8spd wet-DCT.

Thank you for clarifying the engines. I will likely be deciding between the Santa Cruz and the new Ford Maverick. It will come down to interior space mostly but the overall bed size will also be a factor. From what I've read so far the Maverick will have a 3 cyl Turbo with an internal timing belt and it's an interference engine. That just sounds like a recipe for a major disaster. So that's a huge downside for the Ford.

 

[BeelineS82]

Thank you for clarifying the engines. I will likely be deciding between the Santa Cruz and the new Ford Maverick. It will come down to interior space mostly but the overall bed size will also be a factor. From what I've read so far the Maverick will have a 3 cyl Turbo with an internal timing belt and it's an interference engine. That just sounds like a recipe for a major disaster. So that's a huge downside for the Ford.

Very interesting..