From InsideEVs.
Hyundai has one major problem in America, and the Crater shows it’s serious about fixing it.
Hyundai sales in the U.S. have exploded over the last decade and a half. The brand has made inroads with affordable, well-designed products packed with standard features, a strategy that has gotten it this far. But if it wants to match the volumes and profit margins of companies like Ford and Toyota, it needs to conquer America’s final frontier: the wilderness. That’s where the Crater concept comes in.
The Crater Concept is about the size of a Toyota Rav4, but purpose-built for wheeling. That means it gets those knobby tires, skid plates, a low-range mode and all of the requisite off-road lights. It packs all of this into a rugged, fun looking body, painted a greenish-gold to represent the California wilderness where Hyundai tests its off-road models.
The Crater gets the same digital pixel camouflage as the Ioniq 5 XRT, too, which signifies that it, too is an EV. While Hyundai makes gas-powered, adventure-oriented XRT models like the Palisade XRT Pro, the company says the pixel design is exclusive to electric Hyundai XRTs.
Unfortunately, though, "it’s electric" is all the company says about the powertrain. Though there were knobs inside for low range and locking differentials, this whole thing is more of a design study than a real car.
Still, it features some neat touches that could come to future Hyundais. First off, the anodized recovery hooks are etched with a little, knob-toothed face, which the designers call "Crater Man." This little mascot can be spotted all over, from the buckles holding up the cool, cylindrical dash centerpiece to the end caps of the dash itself.
Hyundai says this was inspired by the mascot the company designed for its "Insteroid" film, a sign that cute little flourishes and cartoon characters could be used to bring some life to future Hyundai products.
Speaking of which, the Crater’s interior feels more lively than just about any other EV. There are four small, square displays, each with its own little animated character. They can be used to control games, or for widgets like Spotify, and can even be detached if you’re using them with, say, Camp Mode.
There are actually four camp modes, each of which triggers a different audio theme and a different background animation on the pillar-to-pillar head-up display. One, for instance, shows a crackling fire, while the other shows a perimeter view that tracks wildlife or intruders coming into your camp.
All of this sits in an interior designed around a new design theme the brand calls "Curve of Upholstery." The idea is that every touch point is covered in plush, curving upholstery, while the functional elements are blocky, tough and mechanical. I doubt the built-in fire extinguisher or trunk-mounted turntables will make production, but I would expect this mix of soft padding and tough metal to make it into future off-road Hyundais.
Unfortunately, you can’t buy it even if you wanted to. The Crater Concept is just that, and Hyundai would not say a word about whether or not it was coming to production. Naturally, there’s no way all of this could come to production—the roof lights and camera mirrors wouldn’t be legal here, and they’re not going to launch a passenger vehicle with a full roll bar intruding into the back seat—but as for the overall size and shape, it makes sense.
Subaru has had plenty of success with tidy off-road models like the Crosstrek, and since EV prices scale exponentially with battery size, there’s a good reason to opt for a smaller crossover rather than a giant truck. That’s also a market where Hyundai could outflank competitors; While Ford F-150 buyers may not be likely to swap to a Hyundai truck, I’d imagine compact crossover buyers are much more willing to go Hyundai, especially if it looks cool.
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