Rugged Hyundai SUV to challenge Land Cruiser? Official says 'no problem'

Hyundai's garage is packed with SUVs that have a commanding road presence, offer a superior ride quality as well as pack in the absolute latest that advancements in technology have made possible. The world over, Hyundai SUVs are finding more takers than ever before and yet, many question if these vehicles can actually be called SUVs because they may not be rugged enough to tackle a wide vareity of terrain challenges. The Korean car maker has no offering that is based on a ladder-frame chassis but that doesn't mean that it can't go down this path if it chooses to.

Or at least this is what a company official believes.

In an interview to Carsguide, Andrew Tuitahi - Hyundai Australia's General Manager, highlights that the car maker is every bit as capable of offering an all-conquering SUV to rival the might of traditional powerhouses in this regard. "I don’t think that would be a problem if we were to bring a rugged SUV to market," he reportedly said. ""I think what we’ve done with things like the i30 N, challenging the traditional RS and GTI buyer mindset has been very successful."

In the global markets, Hyundai is currently known for its stylish and feature-packed SUVs like Pallisade and Santa Fe. It is also gearing up to drive in the 2021 Tucson which gets a stellar design upgrade. All of these offerings, however, are seen as vehicles oriented for the family and meant to remain on roads - city or highway.

There have been some speculation though that Hyundai is working on a platform with Kia through which it could roll out 4x4 SUVs in the times to come. That the demand for larger vehicles has been on the up for some time now, especially in markets such as the US, means that this is a challenge that the Koreans would be tempted to meet head on.