After we shared a rendering image, the 2021 Hyundai Santa Cruz Pickup prototype continues undergoing some test, this time a prototype of the pickup were spotted near Hyundai Motor Group’s Namyang R&D Center. There are less camouflage we can see that side skirts had a different design if you compare it with the All-New Tucson, from which it derives and will take some inspiration, specially at the front.
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What we know so far?
The Santa Cruz pickup codename is NX4 (the same as Tucson) with the addition of the letters OB, so “NX4 OB”. It has a smaller body than the traditional pickup truck. It is a four-door model with a five-seater structure, and features excellent ride comfort and space utilization compared to a frame body-based pickup truck. Hyundai’s plan is to open up a new market called an urban pickup truck.
As an urban pickup truck, it will be released as a compact, leisurely pickup truck for drivers who mainly carry mountain bikes, kayaks, and camping equipment rather than for gravel, concrete block transportation, and boat towing.
With a unibody construction and numerous unknown specifications, we don’t know how much the 2021 Santa Cruz will be able to tow or how much payload it will be able to carry in its cargo bed. Still, we expect it will be able to pull more than the Santa Fe and closely align with the Ridgeline, which maxes out at 5000 pounds.
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Also Hyundai Motor and its affiliates are in the process of updating the lines and supply lines of the Alabama plant, as the company has decided to produce Hyundai’s next generation Tucson (codenamed NX4) earlier 2020, while pick-up derivative launch for late 2020.
Information indicates that the Pickup will have a 2.5-liter engine, with a hybrid option and will be a four-door ‘lifestyle’ pickup with a monocoque chassis. Its target market will be millennials, which Hyundai describes as ‘a new generation of buyers’ in its press release.
As for what the pickup will look like, that remains to be seen, and despite Hyundai used the photos of the concept Santa Cruz for its production announcement, the final production version would be far from the concept and will share family look with the 4th generation Tucson.
What do you expect about this pick-up?
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