2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz Review

Hyundais’ 2025 Santa Cruz, which releases during fall for a starting price of $29,000, is an ideal option for pickup enthusiasts who experience dissatisfaction with some of the market’s larger options, which can present challenges during routine situations like parking.

MotoPickers Rating: 8.1/10

The 2025 Santa Cruz’s SUV-inspired design blends practicality with utility. More specifically, it features a unibody platform, which brings car-like characteristics, such as smooth handling and improved ride comfort, into the pickup truck segment. Conversely, most pickups contain a body-on-frame platform, which lends itself to activities like off-roading. However, Hyundai has altered the Santa Cruz XRT trim to be more compatible with off-roading so you can experience the best of both worlds. 

A 2025 model year Santa Cruz XRT grade comes with a different grille, XRT-specific bumpers, 18” wheels with all-terrain tires, sharper front and rear approach angles (traversing obstacles), front tow hooks—and more. While the XRT trim delivers updated features, the 2025 Santa Cruz is similar to its predecessor. Changes throughout the 2025 production year grades include a new grille, front fascia DRLs (Daytime Running Lights), and wheel designs.

The 2025 Santa Cruz has received praise ahead of its release for its refinement, ample technology, and solid warranty coverage. However, some have had issues with the bed’s length, pricing for the turbocharged engine, and visibility.

Take a closer look at the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz below to see how it stacks up against competitors like Ford’s Maverick, Toyota’s Tacoma, Chevrolet’s Colorado, GMC’s Canyon, Honda’s Ridgeline, and Nissan’s Frontier.

Exterior design unveiling

The 2025 Santa Cruz made its global debut at the 2024 New York International Auto Show in Manhattan alongside the automaker’s Tucson. Points of emphasis regarding the 2025 Santa Cruz’s exterior design include a rugged presence via a more aggressive front-end design, which helps facilitate the vehicle’s confident, wide stance. 

Hyundai’s previous Santa Cruz design thrived within urban environments while encouraging outdoor exploration. Now, it roots its durability in a bolder, more robust exterior with vertical architecture for the front fascia. This pickup’s rectangular grille contains more oversized air intakes and DRLs, striking a balance between form and function. The lower fascia helps complete the truck’s planted aesthetic, which appears grounded and secure to the road.

The 2025 Santa Cruz XRT trim optimizes itself for more rugged activities like off-roading with a rear bumper containing taller and more robust corners for additional protection, which matches the door and fender cladding and shields the truck from environmental debris like rocks. Hyundai’s 2025 Santa Cruz XRT also contains new coil red front tow hooks that look and play the part well. 

Hyundai complements the 2025 Santa Cruz XRT’s new all-terrain tires with an eye-catching wrench-inspired wheel design. However, one criticism associated with the 2025 Santa Cruz’s exterior is its smaller bed, measuring four feet (ft). The Santa Cruz’s primary competitor, Honda’s 2025 Ridgeline pickup, which also has an SUV-inspired design, has a 5.3-ft bed. Drivers looking to haul items like bicycles and small furniture can still meet their needs with the 2025 Santa Cruz’s bed configuration.

Interior design and comfort

While the 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe’s interior is mostly unchanged, it offers some neat new additions, like debossed XRT logos on the front upper seatbacks exclusive to the updated trim. The instrument panel utilizes horizontal and vertical shapes to match the exterior’s design philosophy for a more cohesive design while offering additional storage, like a new shelf above the glovebox. 

You’ll also notice several minor changes to the steering wheel, with this year’s version containing a more contemporary shape. The steering wheel is more comfortable with upgraded materials and finishes and includes a thin-spoke design for aesthetic appeal and weight reduction. Hyundai has removed its brand’s badge from the steering wheel, giving the wheel a more refined appearance. The driver-assistance monitoring camera is on top of the steering wheel column’s rear but doesn’t reduce frontward visibility. 

This 2025 model-year truck also contains new air vents integrated into its redesigned, streamlined dashboard, which are positioned higher for increased airflow. The center console now has more hard-touch buttons for features like climate control, and air vents within the dashboard connect via a sleek trim strip.

A new medium gray seating surface option gives prospective 2025 Santa Cruz drivers more customization for their interior. Hyundai’s decision to include a traditional shifter instead of a rotary knob or push buttons helps this model attain its pickup characteristics without drifting too far into SUV territory, as shift-by-wire steering is becoming increasingly popular among automakers.

The 2025 Santa Cruz only offers one four-door crew cab configuration, which seats up to five passengers. The optional sunroof is a bit small, and we’d like to see this change given its crossover-inspired design. Cloth upholstery is standard, with leather upholstery available. A six-way manually adjustable driver’s seat comes standard, but you may want to consider upgrading to the eight-way power-adjustable driver’s seat. The Santa Cruz now offers optional heated and ventilated rear seats for additional passenger satisfaction.

Rear passengers will enjoy a new center armrest with two cup holders, but the area’s legroom could slightly improve. One simple but significant feature within this truck’s second row is passengers’ ability to open a small rear bed divider window, which you won’t find within competing pickups like Ford’s Maverick. The primary drawback regarding the 2025 Santa Cruz’s interior is its reduced rear driver visibility.

Performance and handling 

In addition to its classification as a pickup, the 2025 Santa Cruz also contains an SAV (Sport Adventure Vehicle) designation. The first Hyundai vehicle to receive this title was Santa Cruz’s debut 2022 model year, released in 2021. SAV models aim to provide capability, versatility, and value, so let’s see if the 2025 Santa Cruz’s performance checks these boxes.

Drivers can choose between two powertrains: a standard 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine with 191 horsepower or the optional turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder motor with 281 horsepower and 311 lb-ft of torque. SE and SEL trims utilize the base powertrain, with the Night, XRT, and Limited grades linking up with the turbocharged engine. Both powertrains utilize an eight-speed automatic transmission. 

Torque within these powertrains can actively transition to the front and rear based on road conditions, your speed, and your current angle. These real-time adjustments foster better handling during cornering. Still, don’t expect any rapid 0-60 MPH times since the Santa Cruz is based on Hyundai’s Tuscon, which has received some criticism for containing somewhat sluggish acceleration. While the 2025 Santa Cruz is more outdoor-ready with updates to trims like the XRT, it’s still best suited to urban environments. 

Regarding towing, the base powertrain can pull up to 3,500 lbs, with the turbocharged powertrain capable of handling up to 5,000 lbs. The 2025 Santa Cruz’s shorter and lower size increases maneuverability, giving it a handling advantage over rivals like Honda’s Ridgeline, Toyota’s Tacoma, and Nissan’s Frontier. This Hyundai’s peak Limited trim offers the most agile handling. 

Drivers can equip each trim, except the SE, with all-wheel drive (AWD). Placing the 2025 Santa Cruz in Sport mode causes the HTRAC AWD system to favor the rear wheels, which facilitates car-like handling. The HTRAC system uses a variable torque-split clutch for greater traction on varied terrain.

Fuel economy is competitive within the 2025 Santa Cruz, with a front-wheel drive (FWD) configuration yielding 22 MPG in the city and 26 MPG on the highway. However, the turbocharged engine carries more premium pricing.

Technology and infotainment spotlight

Hyundai has listened to drivers fed up with the excess number of touchscreens within newer models’ interiors by bringing more physical knobs and switches back to the 2025 Santa Cruz’s interior. The most eye-catching latest addition to this Hyundai pickup’s cabin is its dual 12.3” connected displays. One of these displays, sitting directly in front of a driver, is the instrument cluster. This digital instrument cluster lacks the personalization of rival brands like Honda but maintains an easy-to-read presentation. Last year’s touchscreen was 10.25”.

Drivers can update their vehicle’s displays and other parts via wireless over-the-air software updates. Hyundai has also added standard wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, increasing the base trim’s value proposition. Separate tech additions include a memory system for front and side mirrors, digital key compatibility, USB-Type-C ports, and a fingerprint scanner. 

The 2025 Santa Cruz’s fingerprint scanner allows drivers to start their vehicle in a more contemporary way, but the feature won’t work unless your key fob is present. This pickup also has a new surround-view camera system, which you can find more information on within our trim guide regarding its availability.

Lastly, Hyundai has added a system allowing you to make in-car payments for products and services using the 2025 Santa Cruz’s infotainment system. These purchases may include fuel, parking, or food orders. The system links with the 2025 Santa Cruz’s navigation system so drivers can more easily target these products and services along their route.

Safety features 

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz received the IIHS’ (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) and NHTSA’ (National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations) highest crash protection ratings of Top Safety Pick+ and five stars, respectively. 

While these organizations haven’t yet released their verdict on the 2025 model year Santa Cruz, drivers can expect similarly high ratings as the new version gains a blind-spot warning feature. However, unlike many competitors, this blind-spot warning system doesn’t contain assistive steering. 

Separate safety features included as standard within most trims include:

• Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist
• Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist
• Lane Keeping Assist and Lane Following Assist
• Rear Occupant Alert
• Safe Exit Warning

Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist can warn you if it senses an impending collision with a cyclist, pedestrian, or vehicle. The system will initiate automatic braking if a driver doesn’t respond. Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Avoidance Assist mirrors Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist by warning drivers in reverse if another car approaches from either side before activating automatic braking if necessary. 

Lane Keeping Assist and Lane Following Assist actively monitor your lane’s lines to alert you of drifting with audio and visual alerts. This feature can also provide assistive steering inputs if needed to guide you back into your lane. Rear Occupant Alert reminds you to check your second row to ensure nobody or no items are left behind, while Safe Exit Warning alerts passengers of oncoming vehicles when leaving the cabin for optimal security.

Pricing and value

Hyundai will offer its 2025 Santa Cruz in the following five trim levels:

• SE ($29,000)
• SEL ($32,000)
• Night ($40,000)
• XRT ($42,000)
• Limited ($43,000)

The base SE grade offers 191 horsepower while reducing cabin clutter via features like wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Even though the powertrain remains the same on the SEL trim, drivers receive new remote start capability they can utilize through their smartphone. The Night Trim boasts unique darkened exterior elements on areas like the wheels, front grille, and interior seating surfaces. Earlier in our review, we covered the redesigned XRT, and the peak Limited trim boasts the new surround-view camera.

Final verdict 

Hyundai’s revamping of its Santa Cruz shows how minor adjustments can go a long way in convincing prospective customers to secure a purchase. If you have some flexibility with your budget, we highly recommend selecting the XRT trim, as it contains the most significant upgrades from previous versions. Its four-foot bed might be smaller, but Hyundai compensates with the XRT’s new rugged exterior, which can more readily handle off-road adventures.

The Santa Cruz’s primary competitor, Honda’s Ridgeline, doesn’t offer the same robust appeal within its trim lineup but has similar handling capabilities. We appreciate how Hyundai has made the 2025 Santa Cruz’s interior more ergonomic than its predecessor. The redesigned steering wheel, center console, and dashboard area give the cabin a sleeker aesthetic.

If you’re looking for a pickup truck that can excel in urban environments while supporting weekend adventures off the beaten path carrying light-to-medium bed cargo, the 2025 Santa Cruz may be a proper fit for your driving needs. We believe the 2025 Santa Cruz is a better option than Honda’s Ridgeline, and that’s why we’re giving this Hyundai an 8.1/10 overall rating.