In this week’s Ask Nathan:
- Were there other Hyundai pickups before the Santa Cruz?
- A few notes on the Chevrolet Colorado
- You guys have way too many video channels!
The first question comes from a fan who is curious if there are Hyundai pickups that predate the upcoming Hyundai Santa Cruz.
Q: (Via NathanAdlen@Twitter) Hi Nathan! I coudl have sworn there were other Hyundai pickups before the Santa Cruz.
Maybe they build them for other markets and I saw one overseas. By the way, I watch your videos all the time. I like the new TFLbike channel a lot too. Alex looks like my younger brother. Anyway can you tell me about the other Hyundai pickups out there?
— CJ
A: Interesting question!
Yes, overseas, Hyundai has built somewhat industrial pickup trucks. These Hyundai pickups are cab-over designs that are popular just about everywhere else but in the United States. There were a few other models that were based on unibody platforms as well, but none of those vehicles made it to our market.
We did get a sweet concept vehicle back in the day. It was the 1995 Hyundai HDCIII – and it was like a Swiss Army knife of coupes. It could be configured as a car, hatchback or tiny pickup. Think of this concept as a Hyundai Tiberon meets a Chevrolet Avalanche – and you get the idea. It was AWD, with a 240 horsepower, turbocharged engine and (obviously) never made it to production.
In some ways, it may be the grandfather to the Santa Cruz concept that debuted about two decades later.
Thanks for the question!
– N
The next questions come from Chevrolet Colorado fans. I received two emails at about the same time, and they want to express their love for the little pickup.
Q: Just a quick note for Nathan. So much enjoy all your reviews on YouTube. Great Info plus fun and humor- good combo.
I want you to know that you are spot on- about the 3.6 V6- what a great engine!!
I bought a 2018 Chevy Colorado WT V6 crew cab short bed 4×4 new- and scored a great deal. Just 25,300 out the door, after rebates and incentives. I had been looking at the Tacoma and GMC Canyon, but they were all at least 7 grand more. My wife and I have 2 toddlers, so the 4-doors have been essential. Plus it’s a handy truck for yard work, towing and moving stuff. In my neighborhood I see a bunch of trucks — the 4 door F-150, Colorados and even some rangers.Â
In my opinion, I think the Colorado is hard to beat as a value buy.Â
I am liking the idea of a sleeper family sedan, getting either a (used) 2014 or newer Buick LaCrosse or Chevy Impala. Buick is smooth, but the Chevy is so darn good looking. What are your thoughts?
Take care and keep up the good work- such a treat to watch you, Roman and Andre on YouTube!
— Stephen J. D
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Q: Hi Big Man!
I wanted to hear it from you. Which is better OFF-ROAD, the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison or the Jeep Gladiator Rubicon? Both of them with the diesel they can come with. I want to get your opinion. I just bought a used ZR2 and I think its the best off road truck out there. Out of all the trucks!
Let me know when you can!
— Ted from Shreveport, Louisiana
A: Thanks for the emails
I’ll answer Stephen’s email first: Congrats on the new truck and killer deal! Yes, I agree, the value proposition you can gain by buying the Colorado can be outstanding. Usually, discounts are pretty deep, and lower end models are often moving off dealership lots at, or below MSRP.
As for your other point about the 3.6 in your Colorado being the same as the 2014 Buick LaCrosse and Chevy Impala – not quite. Those sedans had the GM LFX 3.6-liter V6. Your Chevrolet Colorado has a LGZ V6 (which they started using in 2017). The LFX was used in the Colorado/Canyon up until the end of the 2016 model year.
They are great V6 engines nevertheless. I happy to
hear about your family enjoying the Colorado, and I hope you let us know about your choice between the Impala and LaCrosse. I like both as well, but I think the Buick has slightly better overall build quality.
Cheers!
###
Hi Ted!
Off-road, the Jeep Gladiator Rubicon has the slightest advantages over the ZR2. Off-road, the Gladiator is a better vehicle. If it weren’t for the articulation of the front axle, the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 would easily match it. Now, if you combine on-road with off-road, the Colorado is better.
I agree with you – diesel or no diesel, the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 IS one of the best off-road vehicles you can buy,
— N
The last question/statement comes from a viewer who feels we have too many channels.
Q: (Via NathanAdlen@Twitter) You guys have so many YouTube channels, it gets confusing.
How about one for cars, and one for trucks? That should work!
— Anonymous
A: Gotcha, but there’s a reason behind each channel.
Our TFLcar channel features higher end video presentations, and lots of head-to-head comparisons. Roman and Tommy do a lot of work on that channel. TFLtruck is Andre’s truck domain, and (obviously) it’s filled with truck content. Our TFLnow channel is mostly for behind-the-scenes, quick videos, car shows and news. We found that the TFLnow channel worked well because it cleared up higher end production pieces to be used on the Truck and Car channels.
We found that many fans of older vehicles were not as interested in mixing older vehicles with the new ones on our TFL Carr and Truck channels. Tommy created and runs TFLclassics, which caters to a unique audience. That’s why we also opened up TFLoffroad, which (like TFL’s classics’ channel) features unique vehicles for unique viewers. In this case, all off-road vehicles and off-road adventures. TFLBike is our newest channel, and – as the name suggests – it’s all about the motorcycle world.
Recently, we started TFL Talk, and its basically a video recording of each podcast we produce. The topics covered range from just about everything. As such, we do an episode featuring cars, and another weekly video featuring trucks.
There is so much out there to cover in the world of transportation, we didn’t want to post several videos on just a few channels – it’s just that simple.
Oh, don’t forget about our websites! We have TFLcar.com (the one you’re looking at right now), TFLtruck.com, TFLoffroad.com, TFLbike.com and now our bidding site TFLBids.com!
I like to say, TFL Studios is tenacious, and we never let up. With our crew, we aim at covering as much as we can, as fast as we can, with all the bases covered – for you.
— N
We got a LOT more coming your way!
