Hyundai's Custom Santa Cruz is ready for the eighth-annual Rebelle Rally, an all-women off-roading adventure that will kick off on October 13.
Spanning over eight demanding days, during which each team will cover 1,500 miles (2,415 km), the challenge will be performed using nothing more than paper maps and a compass, as all internet-enabled devices (GPS) are banned from the competition.
'The Brute Squad' will be piloting the pictured Hyundai Santa Cruz, and it will be their second year in the cabin of this model. Holding the wheel will be Kristin Shaw, whom fellow motoring journalist Jill Ciminillo will assist. Sandy, as the team calls this tuned unibody pickup, features a few modifications, though not that many compared to the factory variant.
Signed by Hyundai's graphic designers, the custom wrap is one of the things that makes it stand out more. The vehicle was also equipped with additional gizmos, including a bed rack designed to securely hold some essential equipment like the recovery boards and two shovels. It also has a rear spare tire mount, a light bar mounted on the roof rack, and a front recovery mount with auxiliary lighting.
Photo: Hyundai
The modified Hyundai Santa Cruz comes with a lift kit that raises the ride height by 1.5 inches (38 mm) at the front and one inch (25 mm) at the rear and rides on 17-inch Falken Wildpeak A/T3W off-road tires. It features a custom front bumper, a skid plate for additional protection, and a rally computer, as well. Since it has to comply with the no-GPS rules, the antennas were disconnected, the Korean automaker says.
Hyundai's challenger to the likes of the Ford Maverick was unveiled two years ago and is offered with a choice of five trim levels in the United States. The SE and SEL, which carry respective MSRPs of $26,650 and $29,400, are powered by the 2.5-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine that makes 191 horsepower (194 ps/142 kW).
To get the turbocharged four-cylinder unit, shoppers will have to upgrade to the Night variant that can be ordered from $38,210. The XRT, which replaced the SEL Premium for the 2024 model year, and the range-topping Limited, which start at $39,850 and $41,070, respectively, use the same engine, which pumps out 281 horsepower (285 ps/210 kW).
Since it is based on the same platform as the fourth-gen Tucson crossover, the Hyundai Santa Cruz also comes with an all-wheel drive system for improved traction once the terrain gets a bit rough. Nonetheless, the most affordable trims have to make do with front-wheel drive. The towing capacity is rated at up to 3,500 pounds (1,588 kg) with the naturally aspirated powertrain and a maximum of 5,000 pounds (2,268 kg) on the turbocharged version.
After a series of unfortunate events put an end to Cristian's dream of entering a custom built & tuned old-school Dacia into a rally competition, he moved on to drive press cars and write for a living. He's worked for several automotive online journals and now he's back at autoevolution after his first tour in the mid-2000s. Full profile
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