2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz Review: A unique type of pickup | Autoblog

Pros: Fun and refined to drive; high-class inside; nice tech; intelligent mattress options

Cons: Cramped again seat; excessive value; sluggish and inefficient base engine

When we first drove and reviewed the Hyundai Santa Cruz, it was the only option in a compact pickup truck phase of precisely one. Not solely was it smaller than different vehicles, however it had a car-like unibody construction. Effectively, it’s a crossover truck. That made it lighter, extra agile and extra environment friendly by way of each gasoline consumption and inside area. It additionally made it much less strong for off-roading and towing (even when its floor clearance and 5,000-pound max are higher than the typical crossover), whereas its diminutive measurement features a comparatively rinky-dink 4.3-foot mattress. There had been undoubtedly execs and cons with the strategy, however it appeared like a typically agreeable method.

That’s nonetheless the case for the 2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz, however a giant, whopping factor has modified: it now has a competitor. The Ford Maverick is one other compact crossover pickup, that means of us will inevitably line up their specs and do some cross-shopping. What they’re sure to seek out, although, are two very totally different autos past their fundamental measurement and car structure. The Santa Cruz has a stunning, tech-filled inside with a premium vibe and a cramped again seat. The Maverick is extra utilitarian in look, supplies and area. The Santa Cruz is shockingly enjoyable to drive with its potent turbocharged engine, whereas the Maverick wows with its 37-mpg hybrid base powertrain. The Santa Cruz presents a bunch of intelligent mattress options, whereas the Maverick has a bigger, extra typical mattress with out the gizmos. The Santa Cruz is daring, athletic and distinctive in look, whereas the Maverick has its personal boxy appeal.

In the top, neither is healthier than the opposite. They’re simply totally different. It’s finest to view the Santa Cruz as a substitute for outdoorsy compact crossover SUVs. Its open mattress remains to be far longer than an SUV’s cargo presents and clearly presents infinite peak, whereas these intelligent mattress options keep the form of safety and all-weather safety offered by an SUV. If there’s a foremost situation it’s the sluggish and inefficient base engine, together with the a lot stronger turbo engine being unavailable on cheaper trim ranges.  

Interior & Technology   |   Passenger & Cargo Space   |   Performance & Fuel Economy

What it is prefer to drive   |   Pricing & Trim Levels   |   Crash Ratings & Safety Features

What’s new for 2023?

The Santa Cruz follows a preferred development by providing a blacked-out Night trim degree pictured above. It builds off the SEL Activity AWD trim by including the two.5-liter turbo engine commonplace plus darkish chrome grille, unique darkish entrance and rear decrease fascias, gloss black mirror caps and door handles, aspect steps, and 20-inch darkish alloy wheels. Elsewhere, the SEL Premium trim positive aspects the ten.25-inch touchscreen, voice instructions and adaptive cruise management with stop-and-go functionality and enter from the navigation system. Blind-spot and rear cross-traffic warning at the moment are commonplace on all trims. Finally, Atlas White and California Sand exchange Ice White and Mojave Sand, respectively. Oh thank goodness.

What are the Santa Cruz inside and in-car expertise like?

The Santa Cruz inside has a extra premium appear and feel than common for a compact crossover due to every little thing ahead of the B-pillar being shared with the spectacular Hyundai Tucson. This provides the Santa Cruz a major leg up on the Ford Maverick and justifies, at the least to some extent, its larger value. In the Limited trim, the leather-based upholstery, extra-mile luxurious options like ventilated seats and heated steering wheel, widescreen infotainment system and fancy-looking capacitive contact controls step issues up even additional.

As for the tech, Hyundai’s infotainment techniques, whether or not the usual 8-inch unit or the ten.25 widescreen one proven under, are a number of the best to make use of available on the market whereas being feature-packed and fashionable in look. We’re much less enamored with these capacitive controls. Though moderately responsive, it takes an excessive amount of focus to seek out them together with your finger amidst the shiny black expanse. Such controls have at all times had this drawback, have at all times acquired backlash from house owners and have at all times been changed with typical knobs and buttons with the following era or sooner. We cannot see the Santa Cruz being any totally different.

How huge is the Santa Cruz?

The reply to this actually will depend on what you are evaluating it to and which dimensions you are . For a pickup, the Santa Cruz could be very small at 195.7 inches in size. Even the smallest midsize truck, the Nissan Frontier, is 210.2 inches lengthy in its smallest model and goes as much as 224.1. Even the Ford Maverick is 4 inches longer. Total peak variations are equally out of whack, however the Santa Cruz has loads of floor clearance (8.6 inches) and general width much like these midsize vehicles (and a couple of.4 inches wider than the Maverick). It’s additionally essential to notice that the Santa Cruz is greater than a foot longer than the mechanically comparable Hyundai Tucson, which is among the greatest compact crossovers.

That measurement distinction with crossovers is the results of the Santa Cruz’s truck mattress, which is considerably longer than the cargo areas of most SUVs no matter phase. On the flip aspect, although, it is the shortest pickup mattress presently available on the market measuring 4.3 ft. The Ford Maverick’s is a bit greater at 4.5 ft and extra typical in form. What it could lack in general capability, nonetheless, it counters with loads of intelligent options that intention so as to add versatility and safety past the same old pickup expertise. You can learn our complete Hyundai Santa Cruz pickup mattress evaluate right here or watch our video about it under.

When we glance inside, we flip issues round once more. The cabin can truly be extra voluminous than the crew cabs of midsize pickups (particularly the Toyota Tacoma), with a again seat that is on the very least extra spacious and cozy. Often it is higher on each fronts. Then once more, the again seat has significantly much less legroom than compact crossovers and its backrest angle is extra upright. We additionally discovered it to be a bit much less spacious and cozy (and fewer accommodating to a rear-facing little one seat) than the Ford Maverick on this again seat evaluate.

What are the Santa Cruz gasoline economic system and efficiency specs?

The Santa Cruz SE and SEL come commonplace with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder that produces 191 horsepower and 181 pound-feet of torque, which is a typical quantity for the bottom engine of a compact crossover. It is paired with an eight-speed automated transmission and commonplace front-wheel drive, however all-wheel drive is obtainable as an choice. EPA-estimated gasoline economic system is 22 mpg metropolis, 26 mpg freeway and 23 mpg mixed with FWD, which is much decrease than the 37-mpg Ford Maverick Hybrid. The base Santa Cruz engine returns 21/25/23 with AWD, which you’ll’t get with the Maverick hybrid. Maximum towing capability with this engine is 3,500 kilos with trailer brakes and 1,650 with out.

The SEL Premium, Limited and Santa Cruz Night come commonplace with a 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder good for 281 hp and 311 lb-ft. That’s extra strong, particularly by way of torque, than what you may discover in midsize pickups. It blows away most compact crossovers in addition to the two.0-liter Maverick. All-wheel drive is commonplace and the transmission is an eight-speed dual-clutch automated guide. Fuel economic system is almost the identical because the naturally aspirated model at 19 mpg metropolis, 27 mpg freeway and 22 mpg mixed. Its most tow ranking is 5,000 kilos with trailer brakes (the identical 1,650 with out), which is 1,000 kilos greater than the Ford Maverick and far stronger than the standard compact crossover SUV.

What’s the Santa Cruz prefer to drive?

The Santa Cruz is among the most responsive and agile compact crossovers … no matter what is going on on behind the C pillar. There is completely nothing truck-like about it, which is maybe a nasty factor for those who want a bouncy experience, tippy dealing with and sluggish steering. Otherwise, it proves to be shockingly sharp and able to flicking a couple of twisting mountain highway. Nudge the drive mode toggle into Sport and the steering loses its preliminary little bit of off-center numbness in favor of simply the correct quantity of additional effort. The suspension, with its impartial multi-link setup on the rear, stays resolutely planted and composed. At the identical time, the experience is on the agency finish of the spectrum, however not in a truckish manner. More in a Mazda CX-5 firm-but-well-damped manner.

Then there’s the powertrain. We haven’t examined the 191-horsepower naturally aspirated 2.5-liter base engine, however our time with one thing comparable within the Tucson would point out it will be unrefined and uninspired, even when it makes aggressive energy and torque. We have examined the two.5-liter turbocharged engine, which feels each bit as fast as its ample 281 hp and 311 lb-ft. We simply want you possibly can get it on all trims, particularly given its gasoline economic system relative the bottom engine.

We additionally want Hyundai would provide a hybrid Santa Cruz. Besides its chief competitor, the Ford Maverick, coming commonplace as a hybrid, the Santa Cruz’s mechanically associated Tucson sibling is obtainable in hybrid and plug-in hybrid fashions.

What different Hyundai Santa Cruz opinions can I learn?

2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz First Drive Review

More in-depth info will be discovered on this evaluate concerning the Santa Cruz’s distinctive design and the engineering that went into it, in addition to our preliminary driving impressions. 

2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz Pickup Bed Review

We go deeper into the Santa Cruz’s many modern mattress options, together with its lockable rolling tonneau cowl and under-bed storage. 

Hyundai Santa Cruz vs Ford Maverick Back Seat Review

Comparing the again seat area of the Hyundai Santa Cruz and Ford Maverick, together with for rear-facing little one seats.

What is the 2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz value?

Pricing begins at $26,745, together with the $1,295 vacation spot cost, for the bottom Santa Cruz SE trim degree with front-wheel drive. Adding all-wheel drive is a $1,500 choice for the SE and SEL. It comes commonplace on these trim ranges that come commonplace with the turbo engine.

Base engine trim ranges
SE: $26,745
SEL: $29,085

Turbo engine trim ranges
Night: $37,105
SEL Premium: $38,645
Limited: $41,615

Standard tools is appreciable, together with 18-inch alloy wheels, rear privateness glass, a composite mattress liner, three mattress storage compartments, a compact spare tire, stain and odor-resistant fabric upholstery, a guide height-adjustable driver seat, a six-speaker sound system, two USB ports, and an 8-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Key upgrades on the SEL = embody proximity entry and push-button begin, heated entrance seats and an eight-way energy driver seat. The Activity package deal ($3,270) provides various fascinating extras that embody the assorted mattress upgrades (built-in tonneau cowl, a 115-volt outlet, LED lighting, utility rails) plus a sunroof, sliding rear window glass, wi-fi system charging and a ten.25-inch digital instrument panel. The new Night trim principally takes an SEL with the Activity package deal and provides the usual turbo engine plus a darkish chrome grille, unique darkish entrance and rear decrease fascias, gloss black mirror caps and door handles, aspect steps, and 20-inch darkish alloy wheels

The SEL Premium contains the Activity package deal together with the turbo engine and commonplace all-wheel drive, therefore its appreciable value leap from the SEL. The Limited steps issues up firmly into luxurious territory with leather-based seating surfaces, ventilated entrance seats, Bose audio, capability inside controls and the ten.25-inch widescreen infotainment system you see right here in footage.

What are the Santa Cruz security scores and driver help options?

Every trim degree comes commonplace with ahead collision warning with automated braking and pedestrian detection, lane-keeping help, blind-spot and rear cross-traffic warning, and driver inattention warning. Hyundai’s “Highway Driving Assist” adaptive cruise management with stop-and-go functionality and lane-centering steering help is commonplace on the SEL Premium and Limited.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety named the Santa Cruz a Top Safety Pick for its best-possible crash check efficiency and its top-rated frontal collision prevention techniques. The base headlights on the SE and SEL trims had been rated “Poor,” nonetheless, stopping the Santa Cruz from getting the total Top Safety Pick+ award. The upgraded lights on the SEL Premium and Limited acquired the best-possible “Good” ranking.