[Hyundai Santa Cruz News]

Hyundai debuted the Santa Cruz pickup concept back in 2015 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit and we haven’t heard much about the little pickup since. At the time of its concept debut, the Santa Cruz was said to directly rival the Honda Ridgeline, GMC Canyon, and Chevrolet Colorado.

With the new 2018 Honda Ridgeline’s pricing recently released, Hyundai will need to speed up their pickup development or those who were interested may switch over to Honda’s latest offering. Already on sale, pricing for the Ridgeline starts from $30,570 including destination.

That’ll net buyers a 3.5-liter i-VTEC V6 powered pickup capable of cranking out 280 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque. Available in 2WD or AWD configurations, the entry-level model will be mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.

Higher up on the trim scale is the 2WD Sport ($34,110), RTL ($34,870), and the RTL-T ($37,020). All the listed 2WD variants will have a fuel economy rating of 19 mpg city, 26 mpg highway and a combined rating of 22 mpg. The 4WD models including the range-topping Black Edition with a starting price of $44,060 should have a city rating of 18 mpg, 25 mpg on the highway, and a combined rating of 21 mpg.

Perhaps Hyundai is holding back on the Santa Cruz until there’s sufficient market reception data for their rival the Honda Ridgeline.

 

[Santana]

With how much Hyundai has stalled this project I wouldn't be surprised if right now they're looking to partner up with another car maker. Much like what Mercedes has done with Nissan. The concept we seen was probably to show what they have in mind and not exactly the finished product.

 

[Santa]

Maybe Hyundai doesn't have the funds for a pickup now because their sales are down from last year and the Tucson alone isn't enough to prop up the whole brand. so they could partner up with someone, but who?

 

[Santana]

Maybe Hyundai doesn't have the funds for a pickup now because their sales are down from last year and the Tucson alone isn't enough to prop up the whole brand. so they could partner up with someone, but who?

They're about to lose Genesis since it wants to be a brand of its own so that's already a lot of money out the door unless i'm missing something about how money is flowing. But Hyundai on their own has some profitable models coming out globally. It could just be put off another year or two.

 

[trucklet]

What I want is a compact pickup. The Ridgeline is a good looking entry, but for my needs it is too large in its external dimensions. So I'm hanging around to see what the Santa Cruze actually turns out to be. If as large as a Ridgeline I probably won't buy new but look for a reconditioned Tacoma from the era before Toyota went big with it.

 

[Cruz]

What I want is a compact pickup. The Ridgeline is a good looking entry, but for my needs it is too large in its external dimensions. So I'm hanging around to see what the Santa Cruze actually turns out to be. If as large as a Ridgeline I probably won't buy new but look for a reconditioned Tacoma from the era before Toyota went big with it.

Would you consider new Ford Ranger Raptor? It's not released yet, but it should be a nice competitor to any mid-sized pickup.

 

[Santa]

There's also the new Mercedes X-Class, though it looks like more of a wine hauler than anything more rustic and it costs a lot more than what the Santa Cruz would go for. But it is of similar size and pretty well equipped.

 

[Santana]

There's also the new Mercedes X-Class, though it looks like more of a wine hauler than anything more rustic and it costs a lot more than what the Santa Cruz would go for. But it is of similar size and pretty well equipped.

Good luck getting anyone but the German luxury crowd to buy it, everyone else is scared.