2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz

Some people want a truck for fun instead of work. A vehicle that can transport muddy things like mountain bikes without making the cabin dirty. They don’t need anything as big as a midsize truck like the Toyota Tacoma or Chevrolet Colorado. And if it drives more like an SUV and less like a typical pickup, that would be great. They’re in luck because we’ve just described the Hyundai Santa Cruz.

The Santa Cruz derives from the excellent Hyundai Tucson compact SUV, only with a pickup bed — a rare combination. What makes it doubly unusual is its unibody construction, instead of the more traditional body-on-frame approach of the aforementioned midsize trucks. We think Hyundai has done a great job with the Santa Cruz. Our owner reviews praise the comfortable heated front seats, fuel economy, and smooth ride. We also praise the excellent warranties.

For 2025, the Santa Cruz gets updated exterior styling and a couple of new colors, while the interior has received more attention, including better tech like larger screens and wireless phone integration.

The main rival is the Ford Maverick, which starts a couple thousand below the Santa Cruz, although its entry-level XL trim is much more basic. The other SUV-based unibody pickup is the larger, more powerful, and significantly pricier Honda Ridgeline.

Before buying a new Santa Cruz compact pickup, check the Kelley Blue Book Fair Purchase Price to know what you should be paying. Santa Cruz resale values are about typical of small and midsize trucks. Recouping more money when you sell a vehicle can mean a bigger down payment and lower monthly payments on your next one.

Many Santa Cruz buyers go for the turbocharged engine with all-wheel drive. That would be our choice as well. We like the acceleration made possible by 281 horsepower, the ability to go from a standstill to 60 mph in about six seconds. That’s in the same frame as the turbocharged version of the Ford Maverick (with 238 horses).

The extra muscle also works better for a full cabin or heavier loads. We find the base engine better suited to running around town and lighter-duty stuff. With either unit, though, the Santa Cruz drives easily like the Tucson compact SUV on which it’s based and not like a truck. Civilized and maneuverable, the Santa Cruz is also a cinch to park. We’re glad blind-spot monitoring is standard, though, because we’ve noticed that rear outward vision is hindered somewhat by the cabin’s design.

One change this year is that the off-road-oriented XRT trim gains all-terrain tires, which should enhance its capabilities in the dirt. If we were heading farther into the wild, though, we’d prefer to be in a Maverick with either the FX4 or Tremor packages.

Fuel Economy

The popular all-wheel-drive/turbo engine setup returns 22 mpg combined. The non-turbo engine achieves 23 mpg in combined city/highway driving, regardless of the number of driven wheels. Overall, the Ford Maverick is a little easier on gasoline and offers a 37-mpg hybrid version as well.

We like the comfortable front seats and the cabin’s overall refinement. The big change this year is the dashboard. Higher trims gain a curved unit that brings a 12.3-inch driver information display and a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen (with over-the-air updates), both featuring sharp graphics. Lower trims still get the infotainment screen, and come with an analog instrument cluster. The interior also gains USB-C ports.

In a victory for common sense, Hyundai has included physical controls for the heating/air conditioning and often-used audio functions. The steering wheel has also been redesigned to look a little neater, along with the air vents. Further along the dashboard, there’s now a shelf above the glovebox. In the back is a new center armrest with a couple of cup holders.

The Santa Cruz steals a little rear legroom from its Tucson stablemate to help create space for the bed, but 39.6 inches is still acceptable and about the same as the Ford Maverick. Last and possibly least, Medium Gray seating surfaces are a new color option.

We always thought those multiple lights in the grille were cool. Hyundai retains them while changing the front fascia (mildly) to give the 2025 Santa Cruz a slightly squarish, tougher look. In addition to fresh wheel designs, Rockwood Green and Canyon Red join the palette of exterior colors.

The pickup bed of the Santa Cruz is 52.1 inches long and has 27 cubic feet of space. That’s smaller than the Ford Maverick (54.4 inches, 33.3 cubic feet), the closest competitor to the Santa Cruz. Make sure that’s big enough for whatever tasks you have in mind.

Wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto
Hyundai’s earlier tech offerings meant that it wasn’t possible to have wireless phone integration with a bigger infotainment screen. That’s all changed because the 2025 Santa Cruz gains a large display as standard and comes with this cable-free feature.

Versatile bed
This bed includes a lockable compartment that doubles as a cooler. A tonneau cover and a 115-volt outlet are also available.

Highway Driving Assist
This adds minor steering inputs to keep the Santa Cruz in its lane. On a long trip and in conjunction with adaptive cruise control, we’ve noticed that it really lightens the driver’s load. We’ve also found that driver assistance systems from Hyundai/Kia/Genesis work exceptionally well.

XRT model
As the most off-road-inclined version of the 2025 Santa Cruz truck lineup, the XRT receives a more advantageous approach angle, front tow hooks, a 360-degree camera system, and the excellent Blind Spot View Monitor that shows live video in the driver’s information display.

Digital Key 2 Touch
Users can access and drive the 2025 Santa Cruz using their phone as a key (while still keeping it in their pocket or purse). Authorizing someone is as simple as sending them a text. This function now works with iPhones as well as Android devices, plus Apple Watches.

Fingerprint scanner
For an extra layer of security, a new fingerprint scanner becomes available in the higher trims.

Despite other changes to the 2025 Santa Cruz pickup, its drivetrains remain the same. The standard setup is a 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine making 191 horsepower and 181 lb-ft of torque. The more popular alternative is another 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine, turbocharged to produce 281 hp and 311 lb-ft of torque. Both units connect to an 8-speed automatic transmission. Front-wheel drive is the base configuration. All-wheel drive is an option with the non-turbo engine; the turbo unit is paired with all-wheel drive exclusively.

One minor change for 2025: The turbo-4 gains a tow mode. With all-wheel drive, maximum towing capacity is 5,000 pounds (1,000 pounds more than the Ford Maverick) — or 3,500 pounds with the non-turbo engine.

5-Year/60,000-Mile Warranty

Hyundai has some of the best warranties in the business. The company’s new-vehicle coverage is for five years or 60,000 miles, whichever happens first. The powertrain warranty lasts 10 years or 100,000 miles. Hyundai also includes free scheduled maintenance for three years or 36,000 miles.

Safety Ratings

The Santa Cruz has been named a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). It also received the maximum 5-Star overall score from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Standard safety equipment includes forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking and pedestrian detection, plus blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert.