With electrification taking over the automotive world it is easy to imagine that everything will eventually sip electrons. No matter the size, format, performance, or utility. So, let us imagine them accordingly.
Ford managed a big splash when it officially introduced the affordable 2022 Maverick bite-sized pickup truck with a base price of $19,995 and a standard 2.5-liter hybrid engine. Blue Oval aficionados are eagerly awaiting its first deliveries, but it is certainly not the only compact truck on offer.
Actually, Hyundai has already arrived on the U.S. market with the cool Santa Cruz. It’s a bit pricier than its direct rival, but also has AWD right off the bat with the base 2.5-liter engine (FWD for $23,990 and AWD for $25,490). So, the competition might get heated, soon.
But, after previously imagining the quirky all-new Sportage as a pickup truck, Theo (the virtual artist dwelling on social media as theottle) has now proceeded to bring an homage to a vintage Hyundai model. And it’s not without logic, as it morphs the fully electric Hyundai Ioniq 5 into a two-door coupe utility that could probably slot in the range alongside the Santa Cruz ICE sibling.
Sure, it is just wishful thinking, as Hyundai would still have to come up with a pricing strategy – and you really cannot expect to justify something that would probably cost more than a four-door truck. On the other hand, the Ioniq 5 ute is virtually quirky and cute. It also serves as a reminder that Hyundai once had the original Pony on sale as a coupe utility vehicle.
Yep, the small RWD built from 1975 to 1990 as South Korea’s first mass-produced and exported automobile was available in a body version resembling the legendary Chevrolet El Camino. The automotive market works in mysterious ways, that’s for sure. But the folks dwelling across imagination land are certainly a match.
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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