One-Week Test Drive: 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz: Love It or Hate It?

Pickup trucks...they're big, thirsty, and expensive, right? Not so says the Hyundai Santa Cruz, a compact pickup aimed at the Ford Maverick and based on Hyundai's Tucson compact crossover.

The 2024 Santa Cruz comes in either FWD or AWD, offers a turbocharged engine, and offers the practicality of a truck with the comfort and ease of a car. This starts at a cool $28,000 and the fully loaded Limited trim you see here is $43,000 out the door. So does all that make this Santa Cruz worth it? Let’s go spend a week with one and find out.

Pricing:
The base FWD SE starts at $28,000 even (including destination); AWD is another $1500. The cheapest model with the turbocharged engine is the Night Edition and it starts at about $39,500. Our loaded AWD Limited tester rang in at $43,000, including destination. Those prices for the turbo models is a bit high, considering that the Maverick comes standard with a turbo engine and starts at about $26,000, including destination.

Engine:
Base SE and SEL models get a 2.5-liter inline four-cylinder engine that makes 191 horsepower and 181 lb ft of torque. It’s paired with an eight speed automatic transmission and standard FWD or optional AWD.

Then the Night, XRT and this Limited trim get a turbo engine — same size — 2.5-liters — that makes 281 hp and 311 lb ft of torque. It’s paired with an eight-speed dual clutch transmission and standard AWD.

Interior:
We tested a loaded Limited model, which came with a larger 10.25-inch infotainment screen. Lower-end models will get a standard 8-inch screen. What's frustrating is that while our loaded model didn't offer wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, those features are standard on the base models with the smaller screen. And there’s not even a USB C charge port.

New for 2024:
Hyundai dropped the SEL Premium trim and replaced it with the XRT. This off-road-lite version includes some features from the older SEL Premium plus some from the optional Activity Package. This includes a leather-wrapped steering wheel, black fake-leather upholstery, adaptive cruise control, wider fender flares, side steps, and bed rails.

Elsewhere in the Santa Cruz lineup, LED headlights are now standard, there's haptic feedback via the steering wheel for lane keep assist and blind spot collision avoidance, and most models now have dual-zone climate control.

Dimensions:
The Santa Cruz is four inches shorter than the Maverick, plus it's two inches shorter. The Santa Cruz is 2.4 inches wider than the Maverick. And comparing fully-loaded AWD trims, the Santa Cruz is about 400 pounds heavier.

How does all this stack up against the Ford Maverick? Check out out full review to find out.

Ready to shop for a new or used Santa Cruz or any other type of vehicle, no matter what's on your list? Be sure to check out:
- Our full website and listings: https://bit.ly/3xON6ww
- Our award-winning iOS app: https://apple.co/3Owy4B9
- Our award-winning Android app: https://bit.ly/39cW4cD

Presenter: David Undercoffler
Editor: Phil Shuyler

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