More Americans are going off-road than ever before – or, at the least, are looking for vehicles capable of taking them out onto the trails. Hyundai has been moving in that direction with its recent XRT trims but appears ready to take things to a new level, at least if the Crater Concept set to debut at this week’s Los Angeles Auto Show is any indication. Headlight.News checks it out.
The COVID pandemic impacted America in a variety of ways. Among other things, lockdowns led many Americans to find ways to get out of their homes, even if that just meant heading out to the back woods. Over the past half-decade there’s been a surge in demand for trail-ready vehicles and virtually every mainstream manufacturer now offers a line-up of products providing at least a little more in the way of off-road capabilities.
That includes Hyundai with its XRT and XRT Pro trims for vehicles like the Santa Cruz and Palisade SUVs. But at a recent event, company officials told Headlight.News they were looking for ways to take things a step further – and the Hyundai Crater Concept coming to the Los Angeles Auto Show later this week appears to be what they were hinting at.
“Crater Concept is a compact off-road SUV show vehicle that embodies capability and toughness,” the Korean carmaker said in a news release. “It is a design exploration that captures the spirit of adventure. Inspired by extreme environments, the Crater Concept was conceived at Hyundai America Technical Center (HATCI) in Irvine, Calif. and has been crafted to amplify the same spirit and robustness found in Hyundai’s XRT production vehicles.”
What’s the Hyundai Crater
If Hyundai were to take on familiar off-road models like the Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler, this is exactly what we’d expect. The most immediate question is how far the concept comes to the LA Auto Show this week will stray from these design sketches. The obvious follow-up is whether the automaker has serious intent to bring Crater into production.
From these sketches and renderings it’s apparent that Crater isn’t just another Hyundai XRT or XRT Pro trim package, models that might be described as “off-road light.” They’re far more rugged, with massive all-terrain tires and significantly more ground clearance than anything Hyundai currently offers in its line-up – more in line with products like extreme Wrangler Rubicon packages.
There are the requisite features accessories one would hope to find when heading into the wilds, including what looks like front and rear skid plates and the big lightbar seen in these images. Of course, there are some other details that look more like something you’d expect in a cinematic adventure such as Mad Max – notably the flared wheel knock-offs.
What we’d like to know
Hyundai added a more capable Palisade XRT Pro package for 2026.
The Crater Concept leaves so many questions unanswered. For one thing: what sort of powertrain does it use? While Hyundai has a variety of internal combustion options it has been moving towards rolling out more hybridized packages, both conventional and plug-in. And, as Jeep has discovered with PHEVs like the Wrangler 4xe, off-roaders like the idea of hitting the trails in all-electric mode where they can hear, as well as see, the wilds around them.
Indeed, that’s what the Detroit automaker is betting with the upcoming launch of the new Jeep Recon, an all-electric alternative to the Wrangler. Perhaps Hyundai has the same battery-powered approach in mind with Crater. It could flesh out the brand’s growing EV line-up as something of a rugged alternative to the Hyundai Ioniq 5.
We hope to find out a lot more when the Hyundai Crater Concept makes its debut at the 2025 Los Angeles Auto Show at 9:45 AM PST on Thursday, November 20.
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