I’m just hoping for a nudge bar some day in the future, but a winch? Never. There isn’t even a recovery point on the SC.
It drives like a luxury car due to being a unibody design, but that very detail prevents it from competing with mainstream traditional trucks in the off road department. However it is this very detail that caused me to buy it. It is quiet, agile and perfect for someone like me that needs the utility, but never goes off road.
A nudge bar would be great. Ive seen a few rav 4 lately with them. Even the Taurus/ fusion cars get them. Might at least avoid some front end damage from deer. What would it do to warranty though. It definitely affects leveling and has the potential to affect air bag function. Does the uptrim Cruz come with leveling headlights like most new trucks? Mine has the bad base lights so idk. Hyundai (along with subaru VW and a couple others) are pretty quick to void warranty. Ford/ GM/Mopar are much more lenient. I suppose 70 years of trucks, Mustang, Camaro, and Charger/Challenger being hacked up by their owners has left a mark. None are left stock. The first thing hyundai/ kia likes to boast is their warranty. But the first thing many people do is poke holes in it. The vehicle pictured definitely would be void
Even trucks today don't compete with real trucks. Two straight axles for articulation and strength and tire mounted at the extreme corners for approach/ departure is the only way to get a real wheeling machine. ..... drive a newer wrangler and you immediately know why capability takes a back seat. Lol. They drive bad. Ride bad. Get bad mileage.... but go great. Trucks today are for pulling and trash duty. Independent suspension, front end rake, no articulation. The f series even has active ground effects that drop down at speed to get better mileage.....they are getting broke off in bad weather and offroad. Lol. Dumb idea. Clearly FORD didn't "write the book on 4wd" as jeep used to say .
As far as the tires, adding 100lb (minimum) of rotational unsprung mass to tiny cv axles isn't usually a great plan, especially if you go offroad. And I hope it's not a weezy NA car like mine. Lol. Won't help the mpg either and that's one of the chief complaints on the Cruz. And again warranty issues. Cv axles, Htrac, and transmission issues etc. The wrangler that came stock with 255/75 tires have smaller axles and higher gearing than the wrangler with 275/70 tires (rubicon). Slapping considerably bigger tires on a vehicle is a rabbit hole that many people have gone down. Bigfoot 1 was built because Chandler first mounted big tires . Then the axles went. Then trans. Then needed more power etc etc.... then there is the lift that is required to fit them....
As far as winches, these things (new cars in general) aren't made for winches. How many amps do you have reserve. Most hyundai come with 120-150 amp alternators and small reserve hour battery . These are pretty amp intensive vehicles these days too. F series come with a 200 amp minimum and all but the cheapest trucks have 240 amp and ive had more than one come into my shop with dead modules and fried master fuse blocks from winch use. You can't kill batteries with the car running like the good old days. A small winch with no load is 50 amps or more of draw. A loaded small (8k) winch is 500 amps draw or more. Today's battery monitoring sensors (that funny thing on your ground cable at the battery) don't like winches. Not even getting into payload. A winch is 75lb or so. Mount is going to be 75 or so... you already don't have much payload. (Since hyundai didn't do like every other truck manufacturer and put the actual payload on the weights sticker for YOUR truck with its options... it CAN'T be the same for two trucks with different options and awd/fwd). Maybe just mount the Fairlead and 3 inches of cable with a hook. Lol. That would give the illusion. Then you have the issue of what would break first. Ive saw trucks break their frame by wincing. Which point would break in a vehicle that isn't a ladder frame? Front cradle maybe. Idk.
The one pictured looks great. But with the wheels/ tires, winch, tubes, lift, lights and all the bolted on goods does it have payload left for the driver? Looks capable but at that point you may have well bought a wrangler/ Bronco/ FJ and been capable rather than just look like it. I get this a lot at my shop. "I want to make my prius fast like my buddies supra" or "i want to turn my baja into a wheeling machine like your Bronco with 4 wheel steering sitting in 44s". Eventually you lose what the vehicle was made for by trying to make it do something it can't. With enough money it works but you end up a long way from the vehicle you started with and could have bought the supra and kept the prius or kept the baja and bought a wrangler. Lol
It's a nice vision though.