2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz review
The Hyundai Santa Cruz is part of an emerging trend of pickup trucks based on compact crossover SUVs. Where traditional pickup trucks use body-on-frame construction, a crossover SUV uses unibody construction of stamped and welded sheet steel. Unibody construction offers advantages in weight, chassis stiffness, and ride quality, whereas traditional truck chassis typically offer more off-roading, towing, and carrying capacity. Competing offerings in the unibody truck market include the Honda Ridgeline and the Ford Maverick.
Released for the 2022 model year, the Hyundai Santa Cruz is heavy on style, with a short rear truck bed and a sporty look. The Santa Cruz offers a four-door cab and seating for five passengers, though the back seat is quite small.
Explore the evolution of the Hyundai Santa Cruz
Get our expert take on used Hyundai Santa Cruz models, or view year-by-year changes.
First generation Hyundai Santa Cruz
The Hyundai Santa Cruz is available with front- or all-wheel drive, and with the buyer’s choice of a turbocharged or naturally aspirated 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine. Both engines come with an eight-speed automatic transmission, but the turbocharged Santa Cruz gets a more advanced dual-clutch gearbox with paddle shifters.
Inside, the Santa Cruz leans into a high-tech system of touch-sensitive pads instead of buttons, and it has a large touchscreen infotainment system. The front seats are comfortable, with available seat heating in higher trim levels. A 360-degree camera system is available.
In back, the Santa Cruz offers a few clever features to make the 52-inch truck bed more useful. The first is the ability to angle the tailgate to wheelwell height, allowing longer objects to sit on top of both. Also, there’s a trunk under the bed that is plastic-lined with a drain, so you can use it to secure items outside the cabin and to act as a cooler. Finally, Hyundai offers an available tonneau cover for the bed.
Model highlights
Available turbocharged engine
Seating for five passengers
Up to 5,000 pounds of towing capacity
Available all-wheel drive
Drainable plastic trunk storage under the bed
Changes by year
Latest generation from 2022 - present
2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz
Highlights
Mid-cycle refresh updates grille
Enhanced off-road capability in XRT trim
Redesigned dash with larger, dual 12.3-inch screens
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2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz
Highlights
XRT trim replaced SEL Premium
Standard LED projector headlights
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2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz
Highlights
Standard blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert
Night Edition special blackout appearance package
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2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz
Highlights
First year for the all-new Hyundai Santa Cruz
Available turbo engine and dual-clutch transmission
Available 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment
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Jeff Zurschmeide has been an automotive journalist for more than 20 years, covering the new car business as well as motorsports and industry news. He lives in Tillamook, Oregon, at the confluence of great roads, nice weather, and plenty of space for a collection of strange old automobiles.
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