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I like to drive a visually interesting, performance oriented car. My second favorite car was my 1985 Corvette that I used as my daily for twelve years. My absolute favorite was my first car. A 1965 Dodge Dart GT Charger (it was a factory package).
In 2017 I bought a Civic Si (also a factory package car). I find it generally fun but also disappointing. It does .93g on the skidpad with "all weather" tires, and even better (.97g) with "summer" tires but it's straight-line performance is lacking.
You just can't get a solid launch with 1.5 liters (91 cu. in.).
My buddy and I have for years admired the UTE's that are popular in Australia. So this week (last week of June 2021) when I stumbled upon an article about the Santa Cruz I was intrigued.
So far I like everything that I'm hearing about the car.
I used to keep a 4WD truck as a backup vehicle for inclement weather and hauling purposes. Right now that slot is empty.
Now I'm thinking that I can kill two birds with one stone.
The Santa Cruz is obviously a 4WD vehicle with a small pick up bed. So I would get that utility back. Also the mileage is twice of what I used to get on my old K5s, so that's good. It also has almost twice the hp that my old trucks used to have. Twice the mpg and twice the Horse Power. Now that is something I can appreciate!
Kia just put a 2.5 Turbo in their Stinger, and I hear that except for the tuning that it is the same engine.
From the Kia U.S. Stinger specs page:
![876]()
So they're pushing 300hp out of an engine that Hyundai has "detuned" to 275hp for the Santa Cruz. Figuring power to weight, it turns out that the Stinger weighs in at about 3,800 lbs. I suspect that is going to be really close to the weight of the Santa Cruz. So while I don't expect a 0-60 for the Santa Cruz to be in the low fives, it could easily be under six. And that would place it in interesting niche in the market place, and I really would love to have that type of performance again.
A video I found on this forum shows the Santa Cruz weaving back and forth like they are doing an imaginary slalom. From the video it looked like it wasn't leaning any more than most of the sports cars that track well. I wonder if anybody is going to do a skidpad test for the Santa Cruz?
In 2017 I bought a Civic Si (also a factory package car). I find it generally fun but also disappointing. It does .93g on the skidpad with "all weather" tires, and even better (.97g) with "summer" tires but it's straight-line performance is lacking.
You just can't get a solid launch with 1.5 liters (91 cu. in.).
My buddy and I have for years admired the UTE's that are popular in Australia. So this week (last week of June 2021) when I stumbled upon an article about the Santa Cruz I was intrigued.
So far I like everything that I'm hearing about the car.
I used to keep a 4WD truck as a backup vehicle for inclement weather and hauling purposes. Right now that slot is empty.
Now I'm thinking that I can kill two birds with one stone.
The Santa Cruz is obviously a 4WD vehicle with a small pick up bed. So I would get that utility back. Also the mileage is twice of what I used to get on my old K5s, so that's good. It also has almost twice the hp that my old trucks used to have. Twice the mpg and twice the Horse Power. Now that is something I can appreciate!
Kia just put a 2.5 Turbo in their Stinger, and I hear that except for the tuning that it is the same engine.
From the Kia U.S. Stinger specs page:
So they're pushing 300hp out of an engine that Hyundai has "detuned" to 275hp for the Santa Cruz. Figuring power to weight, it turns out that the Stinger weighs in at about 3,800 lbs. I suspect that is going to be really close to the weight of the Santa Cruz. So while I don't expect a 0-60 for the Santa Cruz to be in the low fives, it could easily be under six. And that would place it in interesting niche in the market place, and I really would love to have that type of performance again.
A video I found on this forum shows the Santa Cruz weaving back and forth like they are doing an imaginary slalom. From the video it looked like it wasn't leaning any more than most of the sports cars that track well. I wonder if anybody is going to do a skidpad test for the Santa Cruz?
