SPY PICS: Hyundai pick-up surfaces

It was a distinct case of déjà vu when these shots of a weird dual-cab Hyundai ute unexpectedly arrived on our screens courtesy of carsales’ South Korean affiliate SK Encar.

Rewind to the 2015 Detroit motor show, where we distinctly remember the look of disappointment, derision and even horror on the face of John Elsworth, Hyundai’s Australian CEO at the time, when the drapes were lifted off the ungainly looking Santa Cruz concept.

Everyone – including at Hyundai Motor Company Australia, which flew us to the US especially for the unveiling – had expected to see the Korean giant’s first direct rival for the all-conquering Toyota HiLux.

But instead of a rugged dual-cab 4x4 ute, Hyundai wheeled out a ‘lifestyle pick-up’ designed in the US, based on the same unibody platform as the Tucson crossover and aimed at American weekend warriors.

Of course, history shows the Santa Cruz was promptly ruled out for Australia, for which HMCA COO Scott Grant said in 2016 the car-based twin-cab was “not in any way suitable” because it was “too small and lightweight”.

Nevertheless work continues on a proper HiLux rival at Hyundai, which has confirmed it will arrive in Australia in “probably 2021”.

Extensive local market research is now taking place and we understand the first Hyundai ute will be available with a range of body styles and powertrain configurations to match its chief competitors including the Ford Ranger.

The HiLux is the top-selling vehicle in Australia, one of the world’s biggest ute markets, and Hyundai would easily leapfrog Mazda into second place on the overall sales chart behind the Japanese giant if it had a pick-up.

So imagine our surprise when, in another oh-no moment, these spy pics of what appears to be yet another left-field Hyundai dual-cab ute emerged from outside a dealership in Seoul this week?

The peculiar looking four-door pick-up is clearly based on the Hyundai iLoad commercial van (as evidenced by the rear sliding doors; and check out the sawn-off rear barn doors!) and features a small but deep, chequerplate-lined tub.

We reached out to HMCA to ask if this is indeed our first look at Hyundai’s long-awaited HiLux fighter, or at least a very early engineering mule in the early stages of its development, or something else.

Thankfully, the answer is it’s almost certainly an aftermarket iLoad conversion commissioned by a Korean pick-up fan, who no doubt grew tired of waiting for Hyundai to make one.

So rest easy and keep holding tight: spy shots of the real deal are bound to surface soon.