A few weeks ago, Hyundai finally, after a years-long tease, put on the official presentation of its new pickup truck-like vehicle, the Santa Cruz.
This week, the automaker’s Canadian division announced that consumers can now pre-order the model by visiting the company's website at www.hyundaicanada.com.
For now, the Santa Cruz is available in limited quantities, and pricing isn’t even known yet. That will be announced closer to the time of its arrival in dealerships.
Unveiled as a prototype at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show, the Santa Cruz will position itself in the midsize pickup segment, but due to its unibody construction, it actually slips into a sub-niche where only one other vehicle is currently residing: the Honda Ridgeline.
Both the Ridgeline and this new Santa Cruz are designed to deliver the handling of an SUv combined with the versatility of a pickup truck. And as it happens, that's pretty much how Hyundai describes its new model.
“With the Santa Cruz pre-sale, we are one step closer to this exciting vehicle coming to showrooms. We identified a demand among consumers for a new definition of versatile transportation. In typical Hyundai fashion, we rose to the occasion of surprising and delighting our customers with a bold new offering that blends the best of both truck and utility vehicle worlds,” said Don Romano, president and CEO of Hyundai Canada.
“We know customers still value the secure utility of a compact SUV, but need the open bed possibilities of a truck”, he added. “The Santa Cruz with its unique, bold design, creates an entirely new segment that meets these specific buyer needs like no vehicle before it.”
Production of the model will begin in June, and not too long after that it should start to appear at Hyundai dealerships.