2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz - The Truck's Biggest Pros and Cons, Exposed!

the Hyandai Santa Cruz has been one of the most popular vehicles in the US market ever since it was first introduced back in 2021 its countless virtues made it a serious threat to the blue ovals little bread winner the Ford Maverick however as good as a Santa Cruz is it's not without its faults so let's expose the biggest pros and cons of the 2024 Hyandai Santa Cruz and check out if the truck is worth your money starting with the good stuff number three an incredibly well-built cabin honestly we're astonished at the build quality of the Santa Cruz especially when compared to the Maverick for starters we simply can't believe that the Santa Cruz is virtually covered in soft touch materials that neutralize squeaks and rattles furthermore you also get aluminum and chrome accented bits and pieces which adds a fair bit of character to the car especially compared to the Mavericks old plastic l layout it adds An Elegant Touch to the car and allows a cabin experience to be much more pleasant than the price tag of the Santa Cruz would suggest we'd like to highlight the seats as they're leagues in front of the Ford Maverick both in terms of contouring and quality furthermore the cabin itself is just so much better designed than the Maverick it's ergonomic modern and quite stylish the large infotainment screen in the middle is what makes the whole package look and feel much more upmarket than the Santa Cruz is while also adding a new dimension to the interior space and despite being stylish the interior remains practical as Hyandai decided to keep physical buttons and dials which allows for a much more responsive and direct relationship with the car overall we're pleasantly surprised at how good the interior is and we love that Hyandai keeps focusing its attention on the little details that often times matter the most however this is not the only thing that makes Santa Cruz as popular as it is number two exceptional driving characteristics ever since it was first introduced the Hyandai Santa Cruz has been adored by both buyers and critics when it comes to driving Dynamics the general agreement between us all was that the Santa Cruz despite being a truck drove like a regular vehicle scrap that it drove better than a regular old boring car this is because the Santa Cruz rides on the same platform as a critically acclaimed Hyandai Tucson therefore sharing most of its characteristics first of all the steering of the Santa Cruz is sharp and direct and it allows for a much more precise way of taking on Corners more aggressively the steering is aided by a well balanced chassis and a generally rigid frame that neutralizes most of the body Ru that comes from a tall center of gravity further theore despite being stiffened up a bit the car itself isn't exactly uncomfortable the suspension all beit firm does iron out Road bumps with relative ease and the comfortable seats serve as further filtering of Road imperfections overall in terms of how it drives the Santa Cruz manages to offer a better and more complete ride than its rival which allows it to be a far more interesting choice for those of us who enjoy driving speaking of driving enjoyment number one class leading power plants we're so glad that Hyandai didn't disappoint in the power plant Department unlike some other car manufacturers and we're not looking at you Ford instead of offering us a lackluster and gutless engine paired with a CVT gearbox Hyandai decide to be brave about the Beating Heart of their compact pickup truck as a result the Santa Cruz has only two engine options and neither of them is electrified nor is it paired with a CVT instead both of these engines have only two things in mind Simplicity and potency the lower trim levels come as standard with a weaker naturally aspirated 2.5 L I4 and while that might sound slow and bad you couldn't be further from the truth as even as such the engine manages to push out 200 horsepower with ease it also makes do with an 8-speed automatic gearbox along smooth and elastic gear changes this makes it quite a good choice if you don't need any kind of excessive power as the engine will be more than plenty for most however if 200 horsepower isn't just enough for you well don't worry as you can get the turbocharged version of this engine which Believe It or Not achieves power figures that are just shy of 300 horsepower making it considerably more potent than the Maverick 2.0 ecoboost furthermore unlike younger brother their turbocharged 2.5 L is also paired with an 8-speed DCT ensuring impeccable gear shifts and a fantastic blend of comfort and sportiness plus the truck will also be able to tow up to 5,000 lb which is incredible for such a small truck not to mention that unlike the Maverick you're not obliged to choose one engine over the other so that you can get AWD as it is available as an optional extra for for both engines but it's not all fun in games and for all the good it does the Santa Cruz has its fair share of gaping flaws number three cramped rear seats despite being quite comfortable for its class and despite the cabin feeling way more upmarket than it honestly should we're appalled at how bad the rear seat room is furthermore the rear seats also seem to be less comfortable than the front ones which further hampers the rear seating experience honestly if you're looking for a vehicle that will carry more than four adults regularly we wouldn't exactly recommend the Santa Cruz sure you'll be able to drive them around for a short period however any prolonged ride will be a hassle this is especially weird because a Tucson has noticeably more leg room than the Santa Cruz all in all while this is annoying we wouldn't exactly call it a deal breaker that said considering that the Santa Cruz is designed as a crew cab only Hyandai should have tried harder at making the rear seats more usable or at least make the bed larger speaking of the bed number two a disappointingly situational truck bed another big gripe of the Hyandai Santa Cruz is its lackluster truck bed especially when compared to the Maverick don't get us wrong the bed was designed well and it is usable thanks to the fact that it has been thoughtfully designed with a bunch of closed cargo compartments all over it but unfortunately its biggest problem is the fact that it's just too short for any real truck workor coming in at around 4 ft of total length it goes without saying that you won't be carrying longer items in it furthermore because the Santa Cruz is based in Tucson the width of the bed is also not great which leaves the pickup truck's practicality fairly compromised overall the Santa Cruz makes more sense when thought of as a regular car car that happens to have a bit of added practicality rather than a fully fledged compact pickup truck like the Maverick it's for this reason that we would be willing to overlook this fault however we in our right Minds cannot do that because of another glaring issue that in our opinion is a massive deal breaker number one a steep price tag honestly all would be good if the Santa Cruz was a bit cheaper than it is because because it is one of the least practical pickup trucks in terms of bed size you'd expect it to be close to the Maverick when it comes down to the price however rather surprisingly the Santa Cruz starts from around $26,600 which makes it a fair bit more expensive than the base model Maverick however the base model isn't even the problem here as it does come with a fair bit of Kit compared to the Maverick the problem arises from the fact that the mid-range trim levels are very close to the $40,000 Mark with higher trim levels even Crossing it without optional extras and yes you do get a comfier ride compared to the Maverick as well as a much better interior and a very py engine but honestly why wouldn't you just buy a midsize pickup truck at this point the Honda ridg line comes to mind first as like the Santa Cruz it utilizes a unibody chassis this makes it equally as interesting to drive as a car retains the structural rigidity that makes it ideal for onroad performance however due to its larger size the ridgel line completely neutralizes Santa Cruz's other issues it offers far better bed utility as well as a considerably larger and less cramped cabin the interior quality is also comparable if not better than the ridge line the catch is that you can get a fairly well equipped one at under $445,000 making it undoubtedly better value for money than the topof thee line Santa Cruz honestly Santa Cruz's pricing is its Achilles heel as we simply cannot recommend most of the lineup because of the Fairly steep MSRP that said the base model does come with quite a lot of features and is a very comfortable car considering its size so if you're looking for a Better Built alternative to the Maverick and are not worried about the loss of bed practicality the Santa Cruz SE and seal might be a good choice for you

Channel: Speed Spectrum

Views: 14,138

Keywords: automotive, cars, pickup trucks, pickup truck reviews, pickup truck comparisons, best pickup trucks, pickup truck off-road, pickup truck towing, small size trucks, compact trucks, mid-size trucks, full-size trucks, heavy duty trucks, Toyota Tacoma, Ford Ranger, Chevy Colorado, Nissan Frontier, Honda Ridgeline, GMC Canyon, Ford Maverick, Toyota Stout, Jeep Gladiator, hyundai, hyundai santa cruz, hyundai santa cruz 2024, hyundai santa cruz review, 2024 hyundai santa cruz

Id: F-_uId6voF4

Length: 9min 59sec (599 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 09 2024