Crater Skater

If the exterior is a collection of sharp edges, the interior is meant to protect the occupants from all the forces they’ll have to contend with off road.

Offering soft materials and rounded shapes, the cabin appears functional and inviting, with a series of tiny screens in place of the EV genre requirement of one mega-screen. It also doesn’t cater to the minimalist aesthetic, which lately has come to represent a visually sparse and needlessly boring experience.

With copper and brown colors dominating the interior, the Crater’s cabin is breath of fresh air at a time when EV interiors shun ornate and colorful details of any sort. Grab handles on the A-pillars, an integrated roll cage, and limb risers stretching to the pixel lights on the roof rack all add a touch of functionality to what could otherwise have been merely a design exercise.

The automaker is staying mum about its powertrain, beyond the fact that it’s electric. But it’s not too hard to guess that the ubiquitous E-GMP platform is underneath.

Its off-road capabilities appear well thought out. The concept is equipped with front and rear locking differentials, as well as terrain mode selectors optimized for mud, snow, and sand. There is even a trailer brake control function, in addition to a downhill braking system.

But does the Crater concept actually preview something we could see in the coming years?

This is a sign that the automaker wants to turn XRT into something more serious than an Ioniq 5 hatch with a more rugged bumper and a slightly lifted suspension.

The Santa Cruz XRT and Palisade XRT Pro have already taken a step in this direction, but they have stopped notably short of trail-rated capabilities.

A production version of the Crater could change that, while offering Wrangler-style off-road chops. But that’s only if the automaker wanted to cater to the off-road crowd in a much more serious manner. That crowd, by the way, is mostly served by the much larger Rivian R1S, and eventually the Jeep Recon.

Whether or not Hyundai sees space in the segment for a smaller but still trail-capable EV offering remains to be seen, the XRT project is proceeding very conservatively. To win over serious off-road enthusiasts, though, Hyundai will eventually have to build something people can buy.