It’s an SUV! It’s a Pickup! Yes…Hyundai’s Found a Way to Give You Both

“Now for something completely different.”

–Monty Python’s Flying Circus

The 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz is something completely different in mobility: an SUV that’s also a pickup truck. According to CNET, “Hyundai calls the new Santa Cruz a Sport Adventure Vehicle. We just call it cool.”

The CEO of Hyundai Motor North America, Jose Munoz describes the Santa Cruz as the first entry in an “all-new segment territory.” Or, as MotorTrend.com put it, “It’s a truck for people who live in big cities and drive 45 minutes out of town to go hiking, mountain biking…or whatever on the weekend. How much truck do city people really need, and more importantly, how much truck do they really want to park?” That pretty much describes many Colorado’s drivers.

This little “truckini” (CNET’s moniker) is coming to Schomp Hyundai this summer and is available for pre-order now.

The Santa Cruz, built on the Hyundai Tucson platform, is shorter and narrower than a conventional mid-size pickup truck, which makes it easier to park. It still has room to seat four in the cab, but it also has an open truck bed that can handle 660 pounds of gear. It can haul either 3,500 or 5,000 pounds, depending on which engine you choose.

By the numbers

• Four trim levels
• Two engine variants – 2.5-liter, 191-hp, 181-lb-ft, DOHC 16-valve I-4 or 2.5-liter, 281-hp, 311-lb-ft turbocharged DOHC 16-valve I-4.
• Two transmission variants – 8-speed automatic or 8-speed twin-clutch automatic
• Estimated fuel economy – 22 city/28 highway/24 combined miles per gallon
• Front-wheel or HTrac all-wheel-drive
• Three driving modes –  Sport, Normal and Smart
• Two tire sizes – 18” & 20”
• Hyundai’s outstanding warranty – 5-year/60,000-miles, 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty, plus three years/36,000 miles of complimentary oil changes and tire rotations.

“Does it truck?” asks MotorTrend. It can carry a sheet of plywood, or a dirt bike. Its tailgate is adjustable or removable, lockable and opens with the key fob. The truck bed has other features that make it usable, including an in-bed trunk/cooler with a drain plug, enclosed side storage, steps to make it easier to access, LED lighting, tie downs, optional sliding rear window enabling you to carry longer items, and optional metal cover.

Safety and More

Safety is built in with standard features including active lane control, automatic emergency braking and pedestrian/bicyclist detection. Options include blind-spot monitors and blind-spot and surround-view cameras and Highway Driving Assist with adaptive cruise control, lane-centering assist and driver-awareness tracking. There’s plenty of connected car technology including a three-year BlueLink subscription with remote start, remote locking/unlocking and the ability to track your Santa Cruz if it is stolen.

Yeah, the Santa Cruz is completely different, and we hope you’ll come in and see for yourself how useful when it arrives at Schomp Hyundai in June.