compact cross between SUV and a pickup truck

The Subaru Baja derived from the Subaru Brat was an all-wheel-drive, four passenger, four-door utility manufactured by Subaru and marketed for model years 2003 to 2006. The Baja combines the handling and passenger carrying characteristics of a traditional passenger car with the open-bed versatility, and to a lesser degree, load capacity of a pickup truck.
Length (193.1") Width (70.1") Height 2003–04: (64.2") | 2005–06: (65.1")
With Subaru projecting to sell 24,000 per year, only 30,000 were marketed over four and a half years.

The Ford Ranger has been selling since 1983.

Hyundai and Ford are gambling that Subaru had a good concept, but was ahead of it's time. So for 2022 Hyundai is marketing the Santa Cruz, and Ford is marketing the Maverick.

211″ L x 78″ W x 71-72″ H 2021 Ford Ranger
195.7"L x 75" W x 66.7" H 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz
190-195" L estimated Ford Maverick

What do you think? I know that some people believe anything smaller than a F-150 is a waste of time.

I think it is about time! Some of us would get a pickup because we use the utility a few times a year but do not want something as big and thirsty as a F-150. I wish Hyundai would do like the Avalanche and have the backlite be removable so you can put a flat 4x8 there but you also have the covered bed and backseat to put other items in.

The past 10 years have shown Americans want utility. It does not need to be heavy duty and does not need to go off-road. It does need to swallow lots of the stuff we haul a few times a year.

I recall a time when there were a lot of small pickups sold here: Toyota, Nissan led the charge, offering both two and four wheel drive.

Young folks in particular liked them due to cost and better mpg, and many didn't need the room of a full sized pickup, they only needed something to haul their dirt bike.

A well engineered, stout, reliable small pickup would find an audience again, esp. if a 4 X 4 option is available.

I was reading a review by a independent contractor, and one thing they consider when looking at various utility vehicles is whether they have the correct spacing. Like he was noting one vehicle that was short an inch for some standard construction item.

Of course, pure recreation vehicles usually have different considerations. But they should still look at possible items. Like would the bed of that truck hold two standard size mini bikes maybe? Or two sofa chairs. Or one easy chair. Standard dining room table?

A "dealbreaker"can be the ability to fit a 4' X 8' sheet of plywood or particle board: very common in construction.

Quote: rxwine

I was reading a review by a independent contractor, and one thing they consider when looking at various utility vehicles is whether they have the correct spacing. Like he was noting one vehicle that was short an inch for some standard construction item.

Of course, pure recreation vehicles usually have different considerations. But they should still look at possible items. Like would the bed of that truck hold two standard size mini bikes maybe? Or two sofa chairs. Or one easy chair. Standard dining room table?

Automakers have gotten much better at this since the 1980s. It is even a bigger thing on 3/4 ton an up. Those buyers NEED this or that and it will make them decide which vehicle to buy in many cases. The Ram redesign of the early 1990s was one of the first and best. The cab was way easier to use as your office than before. Now there is so much thought into just the tailgate you wonder if these are the same companies that made the Vega, Pinto, and Aspen.

I don't remember what year it was, but my cousin had a Rambler Nash I think it was? The full size bench seat in the front totally reclined so it was very much like a double bed. And what happened to the original SUV, the station wagon?

Quote: petroglyph

And what happened to the original SUV, the station wagon?

It is now just the Outback. I think the market could do well if Jeep brought back the Eagle, a way ahead of its time car. What I cannot believe is I watch the RetroReview of the K-Wagon from the early 1980s and think it would be a practical car.

But wagons are from the 70s, 40+ years ago. One day the SUV will look like the old man's car.

From 1995 through 2004 the Toyota Tacoma was considerably shorter
212-226″ L x 74-75″ W x 71-72″ H (2021 Toyota Tacoma)
179-203″ L x 67-70″ W x 63-68″ H (1995-2004 Toyota Tacoma)
195.7"L x 75" W x 66.7" H (2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz)

So if Toyota felt like they had to lengthen their smallest pick-up 17 years ago, why does Hyundai think it is time to go back to the shorter pickup?

Quote: Pacomartin

From 1995 through 2004 the Toyota Tacoma was considerably shorter
212-226″ L x 74-75″ W x 71-72″ H (2021 Toyota Tacoma)
179-203″ L x 67-70″ W x 63-68″ H (1995-2004 Toyota Tacoma)
195.7"L x 75" W x 66.7" H (2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz)

So if Toyota felt like they had to lengthen their smallest pick-up 17 years ago, why does Hyundai think it is time to go back to the shorter pickup?

Its a game. An automaker starts out with a smaller, crisp vehicle. Each generation the consumer says how they need this or that part of it just a little bigger. Over a couple generations it moves up a size. My 2002 Santa Fe was the larger Hyundai SUV, the next Tuscon is a few inches longer than it was. It was a great size for me except when I wanted to haul a 4x8 sheet. I will get a Harbor Freight trailer for that one day.

Anyhow, eventually there is new room at the bottom so a new vehicle takes it.