The 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz compact pickup truck has made its official debut ahead of its arrival at Canadian dealerships this summer.
Hyundai isn’t referring to the Santa Cruz as a pickup truck but rather a “sport adventure vehicle,” that will be marketed toward city-dwelling millennials “whose lifestyles include the need to escape to weekend adventures of all kinds.” This being a unibody pickup (as opposed to a body-on-frame truck like the Ford F-150), it promises to combine open-bed functionality with the handling, fuel efficiency, passenger space, and fuel economy one would normally expect from a compact crossover. Compared to the mid-size Toyota Tacoma, the Santa Cruz is 414 mm shorter, 5 mm narrower, and 10 mm lower. The bed, meanwhile, is about 211 mm shorter in overall length than the Tacoma's.
The only available engine offered in the Santa Cruz in Canada will be a turbocharged 2.5-litre four-cylinder producing an estimated 275 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque, which will come paired with an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission and a torque-vectoring all-wheel drive system. A Multi Terrain Control drive mode select system is also standard and includes specific settings for mud, sand, and snow. The max towing capacity for the so-called “sport adventure vehicle” is 2,267 kg or 5,000 lbs.
Inside, the Santa Cruz features a standard eight-inch infotainment display with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. For customers who desire more screen space, a 10.25-inch widescreen infotainment display is available too, along with an optional 10.25-inch digital driver's display. Hyundai’s SmartSense suite of advanced safety tech will also come standard, which includes forward collision avoidance assist with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane keep assist, blind spot collision avoidance assist, rear cross traffic collision avoidance assist, and driver attention warning, among more.
The 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz will enter production at the Korean automaker’s plant in Montgomery, Ala., this summer. Stay tuned for Canadian-specific pricing and fuel economy figures as its official launch date approaches.
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