Over the past few days, it’s felt like Hyundai was going to steal the New York Auto Show. A secret debut, so confidential that not even members of the press knew about it in advance. While we expected something along the lines of a production-spec Crater, the vehicle actually unveiled is even cooler than that. This is the Hyundai Boulder, a body-on-frame concept SUV aimed straight at the Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco.
It’s no secret that Hyundai plans on building a body-on-frame midsize pickup truck in America by the end of the decade, but it felt naive to imagine that the marque would only use that platform for one thing. The Boulder Concept isn’t confirmed for production, but it would be foolish not to build it for real.
Right off the rip, Hyundai nailed the styling. It’s blocky in all the right ways, upright in the manner of a Bronco or a Wrangler or a Land Rover Defender. Speaking of Bronco, there’s definitely a whiff of 2004 Bronco concept to the shape of the grille panel, but that’s probably fine. Huge fenders and curved rear quarter windows definitely help add distinction, and that’s before we get into the details.
In profile, the dominant force on the Hyundai Boulder is the presence of coach doors. Are rear-hinged rear doors practical on an off-roader? Regardless, they look awesome and they’re something you can just do when you’re starting with a ladder frame. Right above those doors, you’ll find safari windows to let a little more light into the cabin without being blocked by a roof rack. Placing these windows right above the passenger compartment is a smart translation of a cue previously seen on the Land Rover Defender. It feels like tribute, paying homage to pioneers of the segment.
While Hyundai hasn’t stated what’s powering the Boulder concept, a possibly production version certainly wouldn’t be all-show and no-go. Just check out those huge 37-inch mud-terrain meats, on par with the largest tires offered on the Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco. That’s the sort of size that isn’t chosen on accident, and a full-size rear-mounted spare tire signal genuine trail intent. Speaking of the rear, let’s talk about that fifth door. Not only is it hinged on both sides for convenience, the rear window can motor down into the door 4Runner-style for a breezy feel. It really does feel like Hyundai’s compiled a greatest hits album here, just about every feature loved on iconic 4x4s combined into one vehicle.
Moving inside the Hyundai Boulder Concept, it’s all surprisingly pragmatic. We’re talking rugged materials, grab handles, and plenty of interior storage. The multiple little gauge pods we saw on the Crater make a return, along with toggles for locking differentials and four-wheel-drive mode selection. There’s a little concept car flight of fancy to everything such as the ornateness of the shifter, but strip that away and it’s not hard to imagine the near future.
What’s more, there’s actually stuff underneath the Boulder. Long-travel remote reservoir dampers, a coil-sprung solid rear axle, huge upper A-arms up front. This looks like a platform made to actually go off-road, which is hugely exciting considering how many concept cars these days are just pusher models.
The more I look at the Hyundai Boulder, the more two distinct things become obvious. Firstly, Hyundai has a proper midsize off-road SUV concept for the 2020s before General Motors. That’s wild. Secondly, Hyundai needs to build this thing for real. With the off-road SUV market continuing to grow and a body-on-frame platform in development, there’s no reason not to. So come on, let’s see a version of this out on the trails in a few years.
Top graphic image: Matt Hardigree
I like it but it’s a wasted opportunity without a removable roof and certainly not a Jeep or Bronco competitor. Why in the hell are Asian OEMs afraid to make topless off-roaders that would allow them to print money in the US?! I’m looking at you Toyota and still waiting for an FJ40-inspired topless 4×4. Be sure to bring bad all the old glorious colors as well.
Topless SUVs make it too easy for Godzilla to snatch occupants.
Indeed, I hadn’t considered that.(thinking emoji)
I think that there’s a good number of people who do not want a removable top vehicle. IMO there really needs to be a fixed roof competitor to the Bronco/Wrangler.
I think the biggest issue with this one os that it’s not a 4door. With the Bronco and Wrangler, the 4 doors dominate sales by a huge margin.
This is more of an FJ competitor, and while everyone thinks FJ’s are cool now, other than the first year or two the sales numbers were garbage. If I recall correctly, other than the first year of production, any given year of Jeep JK production topped the entire run of FJ sales. Jeep was selling 100K a year while FJ sales were in the teens.
Which FJ and when? Aren’t all Landcruiser models FJs? If you are talking about the original FJ40s, Toyota hadn’t proliferated in the US then or established itself as a reliability leader in the industry. Their brand recognition and loyalty are exponentially better now and would help bring people into the segment that wouldn’t otherwise consider it. If you mean the hardtop FJCruiser from 20(?) years ago, I’m not going to bother explaining it’s deficiency and irrelevance to my original comment. Hint: HARD TOP.
PS I do appreciate your brand loyalty and I’m rooting for the turn around at CDRJ, especially now that they brought back their domestic star exec.
At least in my circle, when someone says “FJ” they’re most likely referring to the 2007+ FJ Cruiser. I’ve hung out with a lot of Toyota nerds, and “FJ” = FJ Cruiser, and the old ones are referred to with the series number, “FJ40”, etc.
Copy that, thanks for the tip and I’m not being sarcastic.
Also, not all Land Cruisers are FJs. They are all Js, but the letters in front of the J vary (denoting the engine it came with). For example, if you see a 100-series Land Cruiser in the US, it’s probably a UZJ100 (UZ = 2UZ-FE gas V8, J = Land Cruiser, 100 = 100-series with independent front suspension). Meanwhile, some markets got the HZJ105 (1HZ diesel I6, Land Cruiser, 100-series with solid front axle).
OK, I’ve definitely seen FJ used for 4-door LCs recently but thanks for the info/clarification. It’s always nice to learn something new.
Yeah, I think the 80 series was a FJ80, then became the FZJ80 in 93 when the 4.5L engine was introduced.
And IMO the FZJ80 series is the best Landcruiser and most capable Toyota 4×4 ever sold in the US. Front and rear coil sprung axles, available front and rear diff locks, and the ability to run a 35″ tire with minimal mods. They drive pretty nice too.
Those were sweet and one of my best friends drives one. I’ve definitely seen a good bit of them overland kitted in recent years. I had an opportunity to buy a low-miles modded 80-90s 4D stick LC with big tires and a platform on the roof from my old boss about 16 years ago but got a loaded Tahoe instead for the kids. It was one of many cars he had and it had lived in LA for most of it’s life. Damn, I wish I bought that thing as a second rig! Silver with a blue interior.
How is this not a four door? These pictures don’t show it but those are coach doors, the rears swing backward, like Lincoln “suicide” doors
I went back to the article and saw where I missed that fact. If they function like the ones on extended cab pickups, I don’t like that opening the door becomes a two-step process of having to open the front door first.
If this ever made it to production they’d probably go with conventional doors.
This 100%, I was so excited for the new Defender and then….meh, I mean Jeep even has a topless truck….. Your back window rolls down- cool story bro- so did my granddads Family Truckster wagon!
Exactly
It is the brand new Hyundai FJ-Bronco-Defender. It really does look like they just mashed those together and called it a day.
I can see the taglines now:
Boulder: Rock Solid.
Boulder: Like a Rolling Stone.
Boulder: Rock On.
Boulder: Like a Rock…
…Wait, why is that guy in the Chevy shirt sharpening a pitchfork?
Nice! They could also make a hardcore vid of it crushing off-road terrain with Limp Bizkits’s song Rollin’ blasting over it, minus the sphinter reference at the beginning.
There’s always the Boulder song from Big bang theory.
Hey, perfect tie-in for the spinoff with Bert!
Boulder: Solid… as Iraq.
Looks much better than the Crater. Good job.
It will be way overpriced for a hyundai. I imagine most jeep and bronco buyers wouldn’t go anywhere near this thing.
If they can undercut the Wrangler and Bronco on price by a few grand, they may have a market. But if built overseas and subject to tariff, that’s not going to happen.
I can’t believe I’m saying it, but I’m already getting burned out on the retro, Jeep-aerodynamic look. The Pilot isn’t bad, and Toyota is doing okay, but this is pretty solidly a new Bronco. Nice vehicle, but they don’t all have to be the same.
Seeing a lot of FJ Cruiser in that design
their design rip offs are getting bolder and boulder
It’s definitely not going to grow moss with how quickly they are moving.
You can see all the design copies just tumbling down from it.
How is a vehicle without a removable top a wrangler or bronco competitor?
Does competing with those sound better than it’s actual completion, 4runners and landcruisers.
I agree. I daily drive a 4-door Wrangler that actually has been off road, but not often. I’m really more of an aspirational off roader than an actual one.
For me, the reason to put up with the compromises of solid axels and body on frame construction is the fact that the top goes down. Wrangler and Bronco are the only vehicles to offer a fully removable top and seat five people. I didn’t really cross so the Bronco either because of the plug in hybrid available in the Wrangler. Even with the challenges the 4xe system has had, I would still make the same choice today if I had to, although the IFS in the Bronco is a better solution for me.
Long story short, this wouldn’t even be in the conversation for me due to the lack of removable roof.
Because a lot Wrangler and Bronco owners never actually remove the top.
I would bet more people drive them without tops than drive them places off road where you couldnt drive a forrestor. I think that for a notable number of owners they are a fun convertible more than an off-road vehicle.
It’s not that you do- but you can if you wanted to. Offroad- yes, Convertible- yes, family hauler- yes, Truck (Gladiator) Yes. Some people like me do have multiple tops and switch them out- and I tow a 2 horse trailer often with my Gladiator. It’s all about having options.
Sure. But I’m not sure I would classify that as meaning a 4Runner isn’t a competitor to a Jeep. That was the (indirect) point I was making, since I’d wager most buyers use a 4Runner the very same way they use a Wrangler, even if the roof doesn’t come off. I’d also think most people do consider these vehicles as direct competitors (Wrangler, Bronco, 4Runner, this Boulder…).
The thing is, Bronco and Wrangler are in a different class when it comes to offroad capability. A 4R and Landcruiser cannot compete. Where the Toyota’s shine is at being a better daily driver or getting you to that medium level trail in comfort.
One of the reasons that I used to love my 97 “ZJ” Grand Cherokee was that it had the same exact suspension setup as a TJ Wrangler. It was super comfy on the road, but it could really get down offroad too and surprised lot of people on trail runs.
My 4Runner had ATRAC and all that MTS stuff, and I would put money on that ZJ with 30″ tires and a drop in rear locker being more capable offroad.
Not sure where your landcruiser hate comes from.. They most definitely can compete off-road with a Wrangler.
I don’t hate Landcruisers at all, it’s just reality. The last few generations of LC are nice luxo cruisers, and the 80 Series can be an absolute offroad beast with a few mods.
But talking 2026 vehicles, just look at the approach angle alone…the Wrangler can climb things a LC couldn’t even get a tire on. A LC is a road vehicle you can take off road, the Wrangler is an offroad vehicle that you can drive on the road.
Yes, basically. Hyundai would absolutely rather have the narrative be “Bronco/Wrangler fighter” than 4Runner/Passport fighter. Because there’s nothing really out there like a bronco or wrangler, and while not everyone buys one of those, ALOT of people have at least thought about it.
Remember, when Land Rover announced the new Defender it was touted as a wrangler alternative in more than one news outlet.
Blatant rip off in design, at least the Crater concept was based on the Ioniq 5 and using their own design language even if an EV only is objectively the wrong vehicle platform for a hard core off road concept at least with today’s technology
Sigh. I guess I just need to get used to the alpha-macho rockbasher-but-for-the-highway automotive trend because it’s clearly not going anywhere.
Thank you for saying this. I feel less alone now.
Yep.
Has Hyundai made any other body on frame vehicles?
Yep: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyundai_Porter
Given the shared parent company with Kia, I would say the the Kia Borrego counts, and that was even sold in the US.
The first-generation (1995-2002) Kia Sportage and first-generation (2003-2009) Kia Sorento were also BOF vehicles.
And Kia also inherited several BOF models from Asia Motors.
They had the Galloper in basically every market but here, but considering it’s a 1G Pajero they licensed, I guess they didn’t engineer it per se.
I’m more excited about the Forester Wilderness Hybrid. That’s a damn near perfect dad car if I’ve ever seen one.
I need something appropriate to listen to Wilco in, goddamnit!
I dig the front end. It’s got late 70s Plymouth Trailduster / Dodge Ramcharger vibes to it
Nice call.
Crazy how much it pulls from every BOF truck/suv contender out there. Not even just the body, the steering wheel is Toyota, and the wheels are Nissan.
We need more lifted bricks on the road with high-mount headlamps like we need the intensity of a million suns reflected by our mirrors into the back of our skull.
Just wear your sunglasses at night as the song implies.
If they can make this the Kirkland Signature alternative to the Bronco and Wrangler, they won’t be able to build them fast enough
Moot point anyway, since dealers will just slap a $20,000 ADR on there
if the Telluride is any indication, no they won’t.
Speaking of the Telluride I’ve already seen over a dozen of the new ones in Tampa Bay.
I can’t tell if they look good in person or if the new Palisade is just so overwrought that the new Telluride looks good in comparison….but I’m seeing them now too and I rather like them
There’s one around here in a matte bronze (Terrain Brown Matte, apparently) and it’s pretty damn sharp.
They come in a great dark turquoise as well. It’s the perfect amount of color for a family hauler.
As I increasingly give in my to my love of bronze in almost all color schemes, this is one matte paint color I might be willing to deal with.
I’ve been seeing them up north, only a couple, but they look better in person than they do in photos. Really store Land Rovers design language though, which gives it a “poser” feel to me.
They do look good in person.
That’s a much less niche product
And also slightly different dealers
correct, the Telluride entered a crowded segment, but their boxy styling which was unheard of for a FWD, 3-row unibody crossover proved to be a sales hit, and many dealers cashed on that. $10K admin fees were not uncommon during the first couple years. I can’t recall any other H/K product that sold over MSRP on a regular basis.
Which makes me think this Bronco/Wrangler competitor would easily do even higher.
Looks attractive, but this Hyund Rover Bronc Cruiser thing is a disappointing pastiche. I don’t really see original design language anywhere on the Boulder.
It would be so funny if Hyundai beat the upcoming Xterra to market. These guys seem to work fast.
Its like a compilation album of every song the band ever did…that people skipped on other albums: Familiar and disappointing.
when I buy a Big Country album I expect to hear In A Big Country
All that money GM is wasting on Cadillac and the Hummer, GM could have had a real competitor to the Bronco. And Hyundai has a really good design with the Boulder.
The Hummer EV exists in part because GMC cancelled their Jimmy, a GMC exclusive Bronco/Wrangler competitor based on the Canyon that would have had a V8 option with the TurboTax 4 being the standard engine.
I’m not one to do the whole, “This car looks like this car” thing, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Ford was warming up their lawyers right now, because holy shit that’s a blatant Bronco rip-off.
IDK… Seems like they took the front end and rear fenders of the Bronco, mixed with the body of the FJ Cruiser, Xterra, and Defender. I feel like the Chinese do a better job at blatant copies.
The Chinese don’t even need to copy any more – they’re kind of the global standard now.
Everything about this screams Ford to me. It’s even the same color as the ’04 Bronco concept. Really kind of shocked that this is the best Hyundai could do here. I thought their designers were better than this.
It’s definitely a pastiche of competitors’ cars, but, to me, it kind of adds up to its own thing. Not that I’d ever buy one.
Eh, that front quarter view definitely looks Broncoish, but the rear looks like a new Defender, then the side-view with the rear-hinged door I get FJ Cruiser, except when I see the alpine windows which are borrowed from Land Rovers but weirdly put over the front windows.
Wheels are Xterra
The swooshy Hyundai ellipse looks so completely out of place in those blocky wheels.
That’s like saying “this cardboard box from Amazon looks like that cardboard box from Target.”
You could also make a case that Ford “borrowed” a bit from the FJ Cruiser in the Bronco redesign. There are just so many tropes for any segment of car design. This one is sort of taking as many as they could find and mashing together. It becomes its own thing in a way.
Of course, this isn’t the segment where I spend a lot of energy considering anything so someone with more emotion for it may easily disagree.
Coincidence that Toyota names their most extreme offroaders the TRD HAMMER? You know, Hammers beat Rocks (Boulders) or something like that?
Shouldn’t it be the TRD Paper then?
The Charmin special edition
Just wait for the Jeep Mopar Scissors edition! Running with scissors has never been so capable!
this naming trend opens up the possibility for a wildcard: Introducing the all new Fiat Lizard, and the Jaguar Spock
AKA waffle stomp
The Hammers are a series of hard core offroad trails in the Johnson Valley OHV Area in California. So a TRD Hammer is kinda like a Jeep Rubicon Edition.
maybe it will get a powertrain that actually belongs in the 21st century
If it does it will be one that breaks twice under warranty.
Where’s the driveshaft?
Bluetooth, likely
Be cool if it was an E-axle.
Also the more I look at the rear axle shot, I’m fairly convinced it’s taped up cardboard tubes
I feel like caring if a concept can be driven or not is something only a journalist does. FWIW, that hardware hardly looks functional
First thing I noticed as well…esp. the painted duct tape…but as Nug said…hardly functional looking, but I do appreciate showing some detail on potential hardware direction they might go? If a BOF pick-up is planned, it makes sense to offer an entry into another segment, but have to wonder if the volume is really there to justify the investment?
Could be a rather short driveshaft that just isn’t visible in the shot, or it’s bluetooth like most concept cars.
Good spot. I’m looking at what I do see under it and it doesn’t compute. The pumpkin doesn’t look right, it looks like a plastic replica. For example, the bolts looked molded in, there’s a weird dent when it shouldn’t. Looks like it likely is a 3D printed piece almost.
Absolutely. The majority of these concept cars are wood-and-plastic pieces of artwork that are designed to (at most) drive on and off the stage under their own power. This would have a small electric motor and nothing you’re seeing would reflect how it’s actually powered. The solid rear axle (with diff) is for show, and I’m sure they didn’t expect anyone to crawl under the car from that angle.
With 37s on the thing, upskirt shots were going to happen whether planned or not.