Hyundai Unveils Its First Pick-Up, The Santa Cruz

Nearly every car brand has a pick-up truck in its lineup around the world. There’s Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Isuzu, Mitsubishi, Ford, Chevrolet and many others. Even Subaru and Mercedes-Benz had their own at one point. Hyundai is finally joining the club with their first pick-up truck which they unveiled today, the Santa Cruz.

Hyundai is actually calling the Santa Cruz a Sport Adventure Vehicle instead of pick-up truck. That’s probably because this isn’t a body-on-frame vehicle. Instead, the Santa Cruz is built on a unibody chassis just like the Honda Ridgeline which is based on the Honda Accord. In this case, it’s based on the latest generation of the Tucson crossover SUV.

If it looks familiar to you, you’re not alone. Just like its platform, the front fascia is very much identical to that of the Tucson. It gets Hyundai’s parametric LED daytime running lights and a cascading front grille. The bumper is more angular and rugged compared to the Tucson with additional plastic cladding for protection. At the back, the Santa Cruz of course features a bed instead of a hatch.

The functional rear open bed area features secure, lockable in-bed storage, integrated corner bumper steps and a lockable tonneau cover, seamlessly integrated with the overall design. The horizontal “T” LED rear lighting signature also adds visual width and should distinguish the Santa Cruz from anything else on the road.

Inside, if it again looks familiar to you, you’re not alone once again. The Santa Cruz shares pretty much its entire dual-cockpit dashboard design with the Tucson. Features include a 10-inch touchscreen infotainment system, 10-inch digital instrument cluster, and an optional Bose audio system. 

Under the hood is a 2.5 L direct-injected petrol engine. It is available in two different options. The first is a naturally-aspirated version estimated to produce 180 hp and 244 Nm of torque, paired to an 8-speed automatic transmission. The second is a turbocharged version and is estimated to produce 250 hp and 420 Nm of torque while paired to an 8-speed dual-clutch transmission. 

In terms of safety, the Santa Cruz is equipped with a host of Advanced Driver-Assist Features such as Forward Collision Assist, Lane Keep Assist, Driver Attention Warning, and others.

With pick-up trucks very popular in the Philippines, could the Santa Cruz do well locally if ever Hyundai Philippines decides to introduce it here? The 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz will begin production in the United States in June this year and is expected to be available for sale within a few months after that.