The Hyundai Crater concept is a compact SUV that'll survive the apocalypse

Say hello to the Hyundai Crater. Quite a thing, right? Unveiled at the LA AutoMobility Show, it apparently draws on the Korean carmaker’s off-road XRT range, which embraces all things adventure.

See the Ioniq 5 XRT, Santa Cruz XRT, and Palisade XRT. All of them get plenty of off-road chops, but the Crater concept is easily the most hardy of the lot. 

It wears a green-gold matte exterior paintjob inspired by California’s coastal terrain, and there’s no mistaking its purpose from the rugged looks. We’re told it gets steep approach and departure angles to “support serious off-road exploration”, aided by those 18-inch alloys, which were inspired by “a hexagonal asteroid impacting a sheer metal landscape”. Right. They’re clad in 33in off-road tyres, for improved traction and ground clearance.

There’s a few Easter eggs too, including front-mounted roof spotlights which get a pixelated Pac-Man theme, and what Hyundai is calling ‘limb risers’, which are really just cables stretching from the bonnet to the roof for protection from low-hanging branches.

Other notable features include removable side mirror cameras which double as flashlights, and tow hooks which also double bottle openers, for when you decided you’ve had quite enough of trying to stay alive during the apocalypse and just want a nice cold beer. Oh, and there's rear-hinged back doors.

And if you thought the exterior was special, wait until you set eyes on the cabin, with its desert sunset and campfire-themed ambient lighting. It gets a squircle steering wheel complete with central display, plus quick access terrain mode buttons for switching between Snow, Sand, Mud, Auto and XRT modes. It’ll never catch on…

There's also a full-width head-up display complete with rearview camera feed, below which sits displays for your hill descent control, trailer brake control, compass and altimeter. The seats get ‘three-dimensional padding’, while there’s also a Bluetooth speaker on the centre console. Oh, and a first aid kit and fire extinguisher, because safety first, kids. 

Sadly, we’re not told any powertrain specifics, but we'd imagine it's all-electric. Heck, why don't we all assume that it's got the 641bhp twin motor setup from the Ioniq 5 N?