autoevolution
 

Hyundai Explains Why the Santa Cruz Isn't a Truck, but a Sport Adventure Vehicle

We're no acronym experts but looking at the "Sport Adventure Vehicle" description, if you're to take the first letters in each word, we'd say you end up with SAV. And everybody knows that's what BMW insists on calling its SUVs.
2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz teaser 21 photos
Photo: Hyundai
2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz official design teaser2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz official design teaser2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz official design teaser2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz official design teaser2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz production-ready prototype2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz production-ready prototype2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz production-ready prototype2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz production-ready prototype2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz production-ready prototype2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz production-ready prototype2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz spied in the snow2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz spied in the snow2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz spied in the snow2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz spied in the snow2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz spied in the snow2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz spied in the snow2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz spied in the snow2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz spied in the snow2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz spied in the snow2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz spied in the snow
However, there is a difference that's lost in the whole acronym-making process. To the Bavarians, the "A" stands for "Activity", whereas Hyundai sees its upcoming model as more the "Adventurous" type. The situation could cause some confusion, but luckily, nobody really cares about these things.

A lot of people will care about the Santa Cruz, though, when it launches next Thursday, and that's because it looks like a very promising entry to the market. Obviously, the model's strongest selling point looks to be its design, which takes some very heavy cues from the recently introduced Tucson compact crossover.

Say what you want, but the Hyundai design team knocked the ball out of the park with that model. In an over-abundant sea of bland SUVs and crossovers, the Tucson feels like a defibrillator jolt that can't leave you impassible once you see it, particularly if its daytime running lights are switched on.

The Santa Cruz promises to continue in the same vein with only minor modifications over the Tucson's front end while making the sculpted profile stand out even more. The antithesis between its modern and sophisticated face and the utilitarian nature of its body style should also make it stand out among its peers.

Speaking of the competition, the Santa Cruz will be going up against the likes of Ford Maverick and Honda Ridgeline, but unlike those two that have a strong utilitarian feel to them, the Hyundai is going to focus a lot more on lifestyle and adventure, as stated previously.

"Hyundai research confirmed Santa Cruz’ appeal to urban adventure seekers that require daily urban flexibility coupled with the capability for frequent extra-urban adventures." Now, for Hyundai's and Santa Cruz's sake, let's just hope there are plenty of those around willing to spend upward of $25,000 on the new model when it comes out.

Speaking of the launch, with only a few days left before the streamed event, the South Korean company is trying to hype things up a little by releasing more content on the vehicle. In this case, we're looking at a video featuring Brad Arnold, the Design Manager of Hyundai Design North America, the team behind Santa Cruz's styling.

While the clip itself is as exciting as vacuuming around the house, luckily for Hyundai, the vehicle alone looks promising enough to keep the public interested without the company having to do much. Clear your schedule for April 15th at 9:00 AM PDT if you want to catch the launch, or check out autoevolution.com after the event for the quick rundown.

If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
press release
About the author: Vlad Mitrache
Vlad Mitrache profile photo

"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories