2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz Pickup First Look: Price, Release Date, Spec

Meet the Hyundai Santa Cruz! So what is it? Well, don’t call it a truck because Hyundai doesn’t call it that either, instead, call it a Sport Adventure Vehicle! Outside is a design similar to the new Tucson with LED lights integrated into the grill and of course the new rear bed.

The 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz is a compact pickup truck, At its core, the Santa Cruz is to oversimplify the new 2022 Tucson shorn of its roof aft of the second-row seat. The low-slung four-door pickup based on the 2022 Hyundai Tucson crossover SUV fills the vacuum created when the Subaru Baja left the market in 2006. The unibody utility vehicle with a small bed is more than a foot shorter in length than the Honda Ridgeline, and a few inches shorter in height. At 195.7 inches, it’s a few inches longer than the Subaru Outback and its wheelbase stretches 10 inches longer than the Tucson.

Designed primarily in Hyundai’s California studios, the Santa Cruz has an angular ruggedness that’s missing from the Tucson. It’s not merely another pickup, but it’s not strictly a traditional truck, either in looks or capability. A distinctive design element is the daytime running lights that emerge from behind the grille to make a sort of segmented cascade down each side of Santa Cruz’s face. It’s attractive, even if it’s not shy.

The base engine comes with a 2.5L 4 cylinder making 190HP and 180 lb-ft of torque paired to an 8 speed gearbox and sending power to all 4 wheels capable of towing 3,500lbs. Then comes the 2.5L Turbo making over 275HP and 310 lb-ft of torque-ft of torque paired to an 8 speed DCT gearbox, AWD, and can tow over 5,000lbs.

Outback is where you can find the truck bed with a floor measuring 52.1in long. Part of the bed also lifts up for hidden storage and there are also steps integrated into the bumper and there will also be a bed extender coming soon. There will also be an extendable tonneau cover. Inside gets a similar interior to the Tucson as well with a 10in touchscreen, digital dash, and safety systems. The rear seats also fold up to reveal extra storage. The Santa Cruz will be built in Alabama this June.

2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz Specifications

Release Date	Summer 2021
Vehicle Layout	Front-engine, FWD/AWD, 5-pass, 4-door truck
Engines	2.5L/191-hp/181-lb-ft DOHC 16-valve I-4; 2.5L/281-hp/311-lb-ft turbocharged DOHC 16-valve I-4
Transmissions	8-speed automatic; 8-speed twin-clutch auto
Curb Weight	4200 lbs (MT est)
Wheelbase	118.3 in
Length X Width X Height	195.7 x 75.0 x 66.7 in
0-60 MPH	7.0-8.5 sec (MT est)
Epa City/hwy/comb Fuel Econ	22/28/24 mpg (MT est)
Energy Consumption, City/hwy	153/120 kWh/100 miles
Co2 Emissions, Comb	0.80 lb/mile (MT est)

2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz Price

Hyundai often prices its products below those of competitors, but these 2022 Santa Cruz pickup trucks is more varied than other segments because of the configuration variables. With that said, we think the pricing for this all new Santa Cruz could start from ₦13 million – $26,000 range for a base model with the less powerful engine.

2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz Interior

Inside, the Santa Cruz looks like it could have one of the nicest cabins among mid-size pickups. Hyundai has made a habit of building vehicles with attractive materials and desirable modern features that would look right in costlier vehicles.

It’s the first truck in its class to offer a fully digital gauge cluster, and we appreciate that it has a traditional shifter on the center console instead of a finicky rotary knob or push-button setup.