Crater Concept Is The Radically Fun Off-Roader Hyundai Needs
Hyundai describes the Crater as a "compact off-road SUV vehicle that visually expresses capability and toughness." The only part of that we might take umbrage with is calling it a compact. Because whatever size it actually is, it looks enormous.
A Hyundai Fit For Dune-Jumping
"Crater began with a question, ‘What would freedom look like?’, and it stands as our answer. It is a vision shaped by our unending drive to explore."
- SangYup Lee, executive vice president and head of Hyundai and Genesis global design.
Of course, just about every vehicle looks massive (and off-road capable) if you put a big enough set of tires on it. The 35s on this one (with 18-inch wheels) give you an idea of just how small it is, because we thought those all-terrain tires were much larger than that.
Hyundai's California design studio created this vehicle. The forms and details are meant to be reflections of the landscape that inspired them, but those landscapes are not found on Earth. The shapes, from the hexagonal wheels to the sharply-angled roof panel lines, are clearly from another planet.
Even though it's a concept, or maybe because it's a concept, Hyundai has added every bit of off-road hardware it could find. It has a wide skid plate underneath that the Korean automaker claims is functional. It has rocker panel protection inspired by an indestructible phone case, and it has four driving lights on the roof. It even comes with limb risers. They're the cables running from fender to roof rack, and they're meant to lift tree branches out of the way. Even if the extra-terrestrial landscape Hyundai shows in the images doesn't have any.
As wild as the outside is, Hyundai stylists have gone overboard inside. Let's start with the crash pad, the top of the dash. It looks like it was hand-made, stamped from a sheet of steel. The main dashboard looks like it is held in place by straps and buckles, though it really is attached to the interior.
The black and orange interior color palette is meant to look like a well-worn jacket or a good set of boots. Hyundai says it will patina over time, showing the use and abuse it has endured as a badge of honor, not something your detailer needs to fix.
Hyundai's Most Fun Since Vision 74
Once it was done, Hyundai loaded the Crater up with fun details. One of the recovery hooks, for example, is a bottle opener. Automakers love adding bottle openers to off-roaders, which seems strange in a world of aluminum cans and plastic.
There is a removable Bluetooth speaker in the center console. The center controls really are cylinders you spin to control the vehicle. And there is a small character called Crater Man that Hyundai says is integrated into surprises all around the off-roader.
The goal here is to show off what Hyundai's XRT models could look like in the future, but also to show Hyundai's desire for more capability and fun for future versions of cars like the Ioniq 5 XRT.
The Ioniq 5 gets a refresh this year that includes a new XRT trim for venturing off the beaten path.
