You know, like Apple does with its China-assembled iPhones. Hyundai pushes the California heritage a bit by stamping the words "Designed in California" into the taillamps. And maybe the Hyundai Santa Cruz is just weird enough for the town. It’s also home to the eccentric University of California, Santa Cruz, which at one time didn't issue grades and which has the Banana Slug as its sports mascot. Located along the north central coast, it’s one of the largest in the state that’s not connected by interstate highway or major artery like the 101 freeway. The city of Santa Cruz is one of the odder ones in California. The truckish nature of the Santa Cruz will only go so far. And unlike conceptually similar (though not in scale) vehicles like the old Chevrolet Avalanche, there's no way to extend the bed into the cab by folding down the second-row seat and bulkhead. That's about a foot shorter than in vehicles such as the Toyota Tacoma, Nissan Frontier, and Honda Ridgeline. Now about that bed: Hyundai has it stretching out between 48.4 and 52.1 inches, depending on how it's configured. Hyundai hasn't announced a hybridized version of the Santa Cruz, and the 2.5 turbo engine won't be available on the Tucson. While the Tucson shares the standard 2.5-liter four with the Santa Cruz, it's available also as a hybrid model. Hyundai also plans to rate the 2.5 turbo all-wheel-drive model to tow up to 5000 pounds, which is about 1500 pounds greater than the lug rating for the naturally aspirated version. If Hyundai has kept the curb weight reasonable, the Santa Cruz may turn out to be pretty quick. The turbo engine will come attached to an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission and all-wheel drive. More promising is a turbocharged version of the 2.5-liter engine that Hyundai promises will deliver 275-plus horsepower. The only transmission with this engine is a conventional eight-speed automatic that feeds either the front wheels or an all-wheel-drive system. Hyundai promises it will be rated at 190-plus horsepower. The standard powerplant will be the 2.5-liter four that Hyundai drops into plenty of products including the Sonata sedan and the Tucson. Where the Santa Cruz may have a clear advantage is in its powertrain. Wheels will range between 18 and 20 inches, and the tires will mostly be all-season rated and on-road-oriented. And, like the Honda, the Santa Cruz offers a trunk behind the wheels that can be used as an ice chest. In the things-with-open-beds category, the Santa Cruz joins the Honda Ridgeline in the independent-rear-suspension club. Confirming expectations, the front end is held up by a pair of MacPherson struts, while the tail rides on a multilink system. Suspension design is also in common with the Tucson. Point is, the Santa Cruz is new, but the notions behind it aren't. Maybe the idea goes even further back than that, to the first owner who cobbled together cargo bodies for their Model T. And that's an idea that goes back at least to the 1957 Ford Ranchero and the 1959 Chevrolet El Camino. At its core, the Santa Cruz is-to oversimplify-the new 2022 Tucson shorn of its roof aft of the second-row seat. But it sure looks truck-ish, if not strictly a truck. Hyundai prefers the term "Sport Adventure Vehicle" over "truck" to describe the new Santa Cruz. Because the policy has changed, we updated the story to reflect that.
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