It’s up for dispute whether the 2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz counts as a proper pickup truck, but there’s less disagreement over its unique appearance and practical cargo box. The Hyundai’s maximum towing capacity is 5000 pounds, and there are mid-size vehicles that can handle mud and rough terrain better. However, the Santa Cruz isn’t attempting to pass like one of those irate-looking, trail-eating, jobsite mule pickups. Consider it as a little Hyundai Tucson with a truck bed instead. After all, the vehicles’ platforms and drivetrains are similar. A weak 191 horsepower four-cylinder and a 281 horsepower turbo-four that is an option both power the Santa Cruz’s performance. The stronger engine is only compatible with all-wheel drive; it is only offered with the top two trim levels. The stronger engine is available with either front- or all-wheel drive. The SEL Premium and Limited offer the best technology and the nicest interiors, but they forego a greater number of physical controls in favor of less practical touchscreen buttons and are significantly more expensive than the less expensive variants. However, the 2023 Santa Cruz stands out for striking a mix between usability and enjoyable driving characteristics.
In This Article...
The Hyundai Santa Cruz, which costs $24,000, is a truck that drives like an SUV, making it the ideal vehicle for adventures.
- The 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz is unlike anything else on the market, being both a pickup and an SUV.
- It has a modest but surprisingly adaptable truck bed and costs $24,000.
- It’s the ideal vehicle for weekend activities since it combines SUV proportions with pickup-truck functionality.
Three different people approached me and asked the identical question in the course of just one afternoon while I was driving Hyundai’s new pickup truck, the 2022 Santa Cruz: “What the heck is that thing?”
If we didn’t live in a time when many people’s social skills have completely vanished, much like their early-pandemic sourdough starters or their desire to dress oneself below the Zoom line, I imagine the figure would have been higher.
The majority of folks haven’t actually seen a Santa Cruz up close because it only came onto the scene this summer. However, there’s another reason why people always ask inquiries and give Hyundai’s small truck perplexed looks: it’s freakin’ strange.
The Santa Cruz is unlike anything else you can purchase today, occupying the odd space between a pickup and an SUV. In essence, Hyundai took an SUV, removed a sizable portion of the roof, and added a tiny truck bed where the trunk should have been.
Although the end result sounds horrifying, it flawlessly combines the functionality of a pickup truck with the comfortable form and feel of an SUV. The Santa Cruz is a brilliantly funky response to the big trucks and generic crossovers that rule US roadways, and it is in a league of its own.
SERPRESULT
The Hyundai Santa Cruz is an economical compact pickup truck combining the usefulness of a small truck and the comfort and driving dynamics of an SUV.
The specifics of the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz (including the Hyundai Santa Cruz XL) aren’t a surprise because it’s the first pickup truck to grace the Hyundai portfolio.
The genuinely compact pickup is revived with the Hyundai Santa Cruz.
The brand-new 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz is a two-row, crew-cab style vehicle that is aimed at city people seeking weekend getaways. The tiny pickup holds four adults in the cabin and has space for their belongings in the bed. It is the manufacturer’s first consumer pickup truck of any size or design to be marketed in the U.S.
An adequate amount of luggage and recreational equipment may fit in the pickup bed’s four feet, and a locking, metal roll-up tonneau cover keeps them safe and secure. The tonneau is a sensible feature that will probably be a well-liked factory option. In addition, the Santa Cruz has a lockable storage space built into the floor of the bed, similar to the Honda Ridgeline’s bed storage box.
Does Hyundai currently own a truck?
Although the Hyundai Santa Cruz is an unusual pickup truck, many drivers find it to be the ideal vehicle. It has the practicality and driving qualities of a compact SUV similar to the Hyundai Tucson on which it is based thanks to its small size, car-like chassis, and capacious 4-door body.
Do Hyundai or Kia produce pickup trucks?
Unfortunately, Kia does not currently sell a truck in the United States, but it does sell the Kia Bongo, a well-liked cabover pickup truck, in countries like South Korea, Indonesia, and Australia.
Does Hyundai produce compact pickup trucks?
The small pickup truck is back. An unorthodox combination of trucks creates a new class of vehicles. The Ford Maverick comes from a company that has been producing trucks for more than a century, but the Hyundai Santa Cruz is the Korean brand’s first foray into this market. These two little trucks bring back memories of the days when small trucks ruled the highways. These two engage in a contemporary conflict.
Will Kia produce a truck?
Kia has announced its AutoMode self-driving car technology, a new electric pickup truck that will go on sale by 2027, and that it will produce the pickup and electric SUVs in the United States in a presentation outlining its business objectives for the remaining 2020s.
Is a pickup truck being developed by Kia?
By 2027, Kia intends to release 14 new electric vehicles (EVs), including its first pickup truck. The idea was presented by the Korean manufacturer, which is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group, this week as part of its “roadmap to 2030” event.
What is the name of the Kia pickup truck?
The Bongo is a pickup truck made by Kia, however it isn’t offered for sale in the US. For rollbacks, flatbeds, and other work truck applications, it is offered as a pickup or chassis-cab in a cab-over configuration. A single cab, extended cab, or double cab variation of the Bongo is available. It was initially released in 1980.
Kia has attempted to create a pickup vehicle before. Kia started working on a truck in the early 2000s to fill in some of the “gaps” in its line of products. The Sorento SUV architecture would serve as the foundation for the new truck. The V6-powered Sorento had a ladder frame design.
In 2004, the KCV-4 Mojave concept truck made its premiere at the Chicago Auto Show. The Sorento frame was extended to provide room for the bed. Additionally, it had all-wheel drive, which came standard on all models of the Sorento.
Where is the Hyundai Santa Cruz truck manufactured?
- Hyundai will manufacture the Santa Cruz pickup in Alabama in the future. Hyundai has stated that the company’s assembly factory in Montgomery, Alabama will be used to build the next Santa Cruz pickup truck.
- Review of the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz: Car or Truck?
- First impressions of the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz: Now for Something
Hyundai is there a Santa Cruz for 2023?
The pickup truck on a unibody platform enters its second model year with the 2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz. The new Night package for the vehicle broadens the brand’s product offering. Prices have increased by as much as $1,780 throughout the lineup.
All-wheel drive and every piece of equipment from the SEL Activity trim level are included in the Santa Cruz Night grade. This model has a 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine and an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission in place of the 2.5-liter normally aspirated engine.
A Santa Cruz—is it a truck?
The Santa Cruz blends the practicality of a compact truck with quirky styling and a fun-to-drive attitude. It costs a little more than its primary competition, the Ford Maverick, and the style might not be to everyone’s taste, but the extensive list of features and the high-end interior more than make up for the higher price.
Will there be a new Chevy El Camino?
A conventional pickup truck is not what the new Hyundai Santa Cruz is. Hyundai refers to it as a “Sport Adventure Vehicle” instead. The Hyundai Tucson serves as the tiny Santa Cruz’s foundation, hence it rides on a unibody platform. It is a Tucson that has a pickup bed, therefore making it a ute.
Although this body type is well-liked in Australia, it hasn’t recently been made available in the US market. The Chevrolet El Camino was one of the most well-liked American utes before to the Santa Cruz’s introduction this year. Chevrolet stopped making the El Camino in 1987, and currently has no intentions to bring it back.
Casados Design, an Alabama-based metalworking company, is creating its own contemporary Chevrolet El Camino to fill the hole.
Based on a heavily modified 2010 Chevrolet Camaro, the custom ute was created. The chassis has been lengthened and the back doors have been opened to accommodate the bed. Additionally, there are bespoke fender flares and a b-pillar that was inspired by a Chevrolet Avalanche. Although the Camaro was never meant to be a pickup, the bed fits in with the body well without distorting the proportions.
The design features and proportions have been completed, and since work on the project started about two months ago, an aluminum diffuser and rear bumper cover have been installed. The Camaro-based ute will also get an additional set of exhaust tips from Casados Design to give it a more aggressive appearance.
The client “didn’t want to imitate an actual automobile but rather, rethink the notion with his own very precise limits,” the designer claims, even though it appears to be a contemporary El Camino. We are eager to see the outcome of this project because it is obviously being undertaken with a lot of effort and love.
Kia does it produce hybrids?
Kia provides two different hybrid car models. Full Parallel Hybrid technology powers the Kia Niro and Sorento Hybrid vehicles. A motorized electric drive unit is connected to the Kia Gas Direct Injection (GDI) engine. Depending on your driving conditions, both motors can operate cooperatively or independently to give the perfect power to achieve the highest levels of fuel efficiency. Regenerative braking is another ingenious feature of the Full Parallel Hybrid system. The electric traction motor absorbs kinetic energy as it slows down and stores it in the battery. Kia hybrid vehicles include benefits such as lower emissions, fewer trips to the gas station, and smooth power delivery.
Electric vehicles, also referred to as EVs or plug-in hybrids, only use electricity as a source of power. The exciting all-electric Kia EV6 and the nimble Kia Niro EV are two examples of this kind of vehicle. Simply connect the car to a 240V or 480V Direct-Current Fast Charge station or a regular household outlet to begin charging.
Who creates vehicles with truck beds?
The Chevrolet El Camino is perhaps the first vehicle that comes to mind when you discuss a car with a truck bed. Even though you don’t often see the El Camino hauling a noteworthy quantity of cargo in the truck bed, many people nevertheless adore its novelty. This sportster, which is categorized as a coupe utility muscle car, looks to have it all.
Will there be another Ford Ranchero?
According to reports, the highly regarded Ford Courier truck will be replaced by the unibody 2023 Ford Ranchero. It will pay homage to the Ford Maverick’s original construction and have a unibody architecture like that vehicle.
In 1957, the original Ranchero was released with a distinctive design. It was modified from a two-door station wagon design in which the body merged the cab and cargo bed. Two years before the El Camino, it was released.
It was the first automobile with a truck bed and was manufactured until 1979. It was abandoned because of dwindling sales. Ford thought consumers wanted a more compact, more economical alternative. Thus, the Mazda-based Courier took its place.
The Kia Bongo is marketed in the United States.
Fans of Caldwell Kia frequently inquire, “Does Kia make a truck?” In the United States, Kia does not currently sell a truck. Although the Kia Bongo is a well-liked cabover pickup truck in South Korea, Australia, and Indonesia