[Morrison]

Since we haven't heard anything official in regards to the Santa Cruz's powertrain thought we could speculate about what Hyundai will place under the hood. The Concept used a turbo diesel 2.0l inline four that made 190hp and 300lb-ft of torque. They'll definitely need to add a petrol and those specs are well below what you get in the new Ranger. Though when you look at what Hyundai has selected for the new 2019 Tuscon, both the 2.0l and 2.4l are pretty underwhelming.

 

[Santana]

I would love to have the 3.8-Liter Atkinson V6 with 8-Speed Auto from the new Palisade, power levels are where they need to be for a pickup in the SC's segment.

 

[Zaine]

They should have both a 4 cylinder and 6 cylinder powerplant for the SC imo. There will be just as many people buying it who don't need the fully capabilities of a pickup and are simply looking for an alternative to a crossover. The old 2.0l turbo they had in the Santa Fe was a sleeper.

 

[Santana]

They should have both a 4 cylinder and 6 cylinder powerplant for the SC imo. There will be just as many people buying it who don't need the fully capabilities of a pickup and are simply looking for an alternative to a crossover. The old 2.0l turbo they had in the Santa Fe was a sleeper.

That's a great suggestion for years out from launch if its happening as soon as i'm assuming.
From launch the most practical option is that 3.8 I talked about. With all the money invested they will be looking to make it back in other ways, so the Santa Cruz is a prime candidate.

 

[Morrison]

I suppose this will also depend on a given market and Hyundai hasn't said if the Santa Cruz will be a global product or not. In Europe and Australia diesel will probably still be the go to option. With 2020 just around the corner, it would be wise for them to consider some kind of mild hybrid too.

 

[Santana]

vI noticed Ford has been big on pushing the new Ranger which should say a lot especially given its brought over from eastern markets. Hyundai also does well enough in those markets to rival Ford, so a global product is possible.

 

[Wolke22]

Ram already has a mild hybrid system in the 1500, but the improvements to fuel economy are a bit lackluster. Ford has a hybrid version of the F150 in the pipeline too, but it might be a few years until it hits the market. Hyundai could probably pull the systems they've developed for the IONIQ and Sonata to use on the SC.