2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz Is A Half Tucson SUV, Half Small Pickup Truck With Up To 275 HP

Hyundai says it’s breaking new ground with the brand new 2022 Santa Cruz. The unibody pickup eschews the boxy proportions of traditional pickups in favor of a youthful design based on its crossovers.

The connection to Hyundai’s crossovers is clear, as the Santa Cruz is kinda like a Tucson, only with an open bed added behind the second row of seats. That’s not to say that the two are identical; the front end design may follow the same philosophy but it’s different, while at 118.3 inches, the Santa Cruz’s wheelbase is 9.8 inches longer than that of the new Tucson, and it also has a 12.4-inch bigger overall length, at 195.7 inches.

In any case, Hyundai claims that its pickup truck boasts “bold yet sophisticated styling, powerful and efficient powertrain options, a flexible open bed for gear, cutting-edge connectivity and a highly maneuverable all-wheel-drive platform that is equally at home in urban and adventure-focused environments”. With four doors and a bed hauling your gear, the automaker also promises that the Santa Cruz combines the best of pickups and crossovers.

Available with up to 52.1-inches of bed length, the Santa Cruz is just seven inches shy of the Nissan Frontier, eight inches shy of the Toyota Tacoma, and 11 inches less than the Honda Ridgeline. That said, it is shorter overall than all of them, something Hyundai says will make it maneuverable enough for city driving and, more importantly, city parking.

To keep your things safe in the city, the Santa Cruz comes with a lockable tonneau cover, as well as hidden in-bed storage cubbies. To help you keep up with bigger trucks, it will also be available bed-extending accessories.

The Santa Cruz is available with two 2.5-liter engines, a 190+ hp and 180+ lb-ft of torque naturally aspirated unit and a turbocharged one with 275+ hp and 310+ lb-ft. The naturally aspirated engine is paired to an 8-speed automatic transmission. Hyundai said they’ve designed it specifically for duty here, with short low gears for off-the-line grunt and longer higher gear ratios for quiet and efficient highway driving. The turbocharged engine, meanwhile, is paired to a dual-clutch transmission with wheel-mounted shift paddles.

Although based on a FWD architecture, no matter which combination you go for the Santa Cruz is available with HTRAC all-wheel-drive. Hyundai boasts that its system can split torque more freely to the rear wheels for a more sporty RWD feel.

Although Hyundai maintains that this is a “Sport Adventure Vehicle” and not a unibody pickup, they have been careful to ensure that it gets a healthy amount of towing capability. The naturally aspirated Santa Cruz can tow up to 3,500 lbs while the Turbo AWD model can tow up to 5,000 lbs.

To ensure that it’s as at home in the city as it is on the road, Hyundai decked it out in crossover design. There is, of course, the Tucson-like front end, while standard 18-inch wheels or optional 20s help the overall look.

Inside the Santa Cruz, you can easily forget that this is a pickup truck – and rightly so, as, with the exception of the traditional gear lever, the design is almost identical to the Tucson. It sports a 10-inch infotainment screen and an optional 10-inch instrument cluster, while a Bose sound system is also optional. Moreover, leather seating surfaces, plush carpeting, and under-seat storage mean that the Santa Cruz is as comfortable and practical as any crossover.

In terms of technology designed to keep you safe, Hyundai made forward collision avoidance, lane keep assist, and driver attention warning standard on the Santa Cruz. Blindspot warning, a blind spot camera, Safe Exit Assist, highway drive assistance, a surround-view monitor, and rear cross-traffic alerts are all available.

Hyundai will build the new pickup truck in Alabama alongside its crossovers and production will begin in June. The 2022 Santa Cruz will be available for sale this summer, with a reservation system for the U.S. market opening later this month.

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