As the North American car market moves further and further away from passenger cars into crossover, SUV, and truck territory, it makes sense that all sectors can and should be explored.
A simple idea crossed Hyundai's expert minds some years ago – what if the Americans want another try at the abandoned playing field of compact pickup trucks? They soon came with the Santa Cruz prototype at the 2015 North American International Auto Show as their pitch for the company's first four-door pickup truck sold and produced for the North American market.
Years of indecision followed, and the model was only released in 2021 for the 2022 model year. But by then, the element of surprise had been lost, and the Ford Motor Company dared to pick up on the format and improve it with a slightly more rugged model that's also more affordable and electrified if you want it. Plus, it was also produced in Mexico rather than the US for higher economies of scale.
And so, the story notes how the reborn Ford Maverick nameplate took command of the unibody compact pickup truck sector. Naturally, other automakers will likely follow and try to snatch a piece of the pie. We recently heard from the rumor mill that Ram's Brazilian Rampage is preparing to arrive in the United States to wage a sales war on Santa Cruz and Maverick.
But the Rampage also seems more like a lifestyle vehicle rather than a workhorse that can also be used for leisure times, so the biggest threat to Maverick's supremacy might not come from one of the Big Detroit Three (GM doesn't seem prepared to bring the Chevy Montana to North America) but rather from Toyota.
Ever since the Maverick proved a smashing delivery success, there have been lots of speculations about Toyota's decision to return to the field of compact trucks after their long stint (1954-1989) with the Stout light truck. More recently, the rumor mill has switched focus on a potential pickup derivative of the 2023 Corolla Cross (Hybrid), but not everyone seems confident that's precisely what will happen.
Instead, some voices from across the imaginative realm of digital car content creators might think that Toyota's "new cheap truck" that's designed to fight the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz will be an all-new offering not related to the Stout lineage or anything already present in the lineup. The Halo oto channel on YouTube provides fresh automotive info that is also corroborated with their virtual designs; now, there are some CGI ideas about this new hauler's looks.
Interestingly, the resident pixel master paves the way for a completely fresh approach by Toyota in terms of design – they neither used DNA from the Corolla Cross family nor featured the looks of the larger N400 Tacoma and XK70 Tundra trucks. As such, do take all this with an even bigger pinch of salt than usual – even though it's a sleek design that still respects the desiderates of the pickup truck sector.
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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