The Hyundai Santa Cruz Isn’t a Truck, But That’s Okay: Review

It took me five minutes to decide that the Santa Cruz wasn’t a pickup truck. Yes, there’s a four-foot bed in the back that could haul a refrigerator. And the 2025 facelift adds a squared-off grille, exuding a more truck-like vibe. But the Santa Cruz doesn’t feel like a truck. It doesn’t drive like a truck. Hyundai doesn’t even classify it as a truck. Jump onto the automaker’s website and you’ll find it in the SUV section between Kona and Tucson.

It took another five minutes for me to decide that the Santa Cruz’s lot in life was just fine. This is really a small, street-focused crossover with less junk in the trunk. 

The Limited trim comes with 20-inch wheels and reasonably sporty 245/50-series Michelin tires. It rides on a MacPherson strut in front with a multi-link independent setup at the rear, tuned for modest stiffness without killing ride quality. It uses Hyundai’s turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, producing a stout 281 horsepower. Power feeds in nicely as you run through the engine’s meaty powerband. All-wheel drive is standard, and you can paddle-shift your way through eight gears with the wet dual-clutch automatic transmission if the mood strikes you.

Punch the go pedal and the turbo Santa Cruz doesn’t waste time. Sixty miles per hour comes up deceptively quick—about 6.5 seconds according to the unofficial stopwatch app on my phone. Heading into a pair of sweeping turns near my house, I was surprised by the Santa Cruz’s composure. 

This is no sports car with a bed, but there isn’t much body roll in turns either. For that matter, wayward motions in general are largely absent. Fast or slow, the Santa Cruz chugs down the road with little drama and lots of confidence—a quiet companion that doesn’t mind some g-loading.

Pros: Surprisingly Fun, Handsome Interior, Hauls People & Vintage Arcade Cabinets Simultaneously

Those who remember the Subaru Baja will understand the Santa Cruz, because there’s a curious similarity here. In a world filled with sport utility vehicles, having an open bed for cargo is the ultimate in utility. Offering that kind of functionality in a vehicle less cumbersome than a pickup truck emphasizes sport. Frankly, I don’t understand why vehicles like this aren’t more popular. 

The Santa Cruz has no problem cruising. Three hours on a busy highway? Easy. Potholes on the local two-lane? Absorbed without wrecking my spine. Decently quick corners ahead? Yeah, you could slow down. But I’m not sure the Santa Cruz wants you to. After seven days and several hundred miles, I was regularly impressed with how easily it adapts to pretty much any situation. Chalk that up to its Tucson bones, which make for an excellent SUV, but feel a bit more sporty here.  

The Santa Cruz also gets the Tucson’s updated interior, which means dual 12.3-inch screens for this well-optioned Limited trim. It’s leaps and bounds better than the previous version. Everything is easy to read, the widgets are easy to move and configure, and all primary controls have physical inputs along with digital functionality. Even non-primary functions like heated/ventilated seats are button-operated. 

It’s a very intuitive layout that you can jump into without being intimidated, yet it’s not lacking in tech. And it’s an attractive, uncluttered place to be, filled with soft-touch materials that exude a sense of quality. Whoever is calling the shots at Hyundai’s interior design center needs a raise. Every new model I’ve driven has felt great inside. The updated Santa Cruz is no exception. 

Photo by: Christopher Smith / Motor1

Cons: Tight Back Seat, Tow Mode With No Trailer Hitch, No Turbo Option On Lower Trims

The only real gripe I have stems from the back seat. The Santa Cruz isn’t simply a Tucson with a bed—the wheelbase is 10.0 inches longer and the overall vehicle length is stretched by over a foot. Despite this, rear-seat passengers have five fewer inches of legroom compared to the SUV, and that really matters here. The seats are at least comfortable, but I felt a tad cramped with the lack of space and poor visibility. I’m not sure I’d be gung-ho about an hours-long trip back there, and that’s saying something, considering I’m the same height as Tom Cruise.

Keep this in mind if you’re considering a Santa Cruz and regularly commute with two or more passengers. It’s not as bad as an old extended-cab Dodge Ram with a tiny rear bench, but it’s definitely worth a long test drive to get a good sense of the available space. The Tucson has more room, but if you still want small truck functionality, the Ford Maverick does rear-seat accommodations much better.

Photo by: Hyundai

For that matter, the Maverick does truck stuff in general better. Santa Cruz has a 4-foot bed that’s partially blocked by the housing for the retractable tonneau cover. There are some tie-downs and clever storage areas, but by and large, it’s just a bed. It lacks the Maverick’s flexibility to carry longer loads, and the tall bed sides make it very tough to reach over and get things. 

Of course, you could always just hook up a trailer if you need to carry bigger loads. Actually, you can’t—not without some significant after-sale effort, anyway. Hyundai doesn’t offer a hitch from the factory, so you’ll need to have the dealer or shop bolt one up. You’ll also need a wiring harness for it, but Hyundai at least runs the necessary electrical connections to the back of the Santa Cruz. Considering a new Tow Mode is standard for 2025, not offering a hitch to, you know, tow something just seems silly.

Until you remember the very first sentence of this review, anyway. The Santa Cruz is not a truck. Hyundai doesn’t call it a truck. It doesn’t drive like a truck. It’s not equipped like a truck. And when you think about it like that, the $44,105 as-tested sticker price of this Rockwood Green Limited is a bit easier to swallow. Easier, but not easy. 

Photo by: Christopher Smith / Motor1

Photo by: Christopher Smith / Motor1

With its punchy engine, posh interior, and unique character in a sea of SUVs, the range-topping 2025 Santa Cruz is a worthy purchase at $40,000. Maybe. Unfortunately, Hyundai only offers the punchy engine in Limited and XRT trims.

That’s why I suspect the Santa Cruz will follow the same path as the Subaru Baja—largely ignored and shunned for a short production run, then sought after by a small but devoted enthusiast community who love it for being fun, functional, and different. And yes, I’ll be among them.

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Christopher Smith / Motor1