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Hyundai reveals 2022 Santa Cruz

3735 Views 13 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  Trucklic
Hyundai has revealed what the 2022 Santa Cruz will look like and it looks like an interesting competitor to the Maverick.



  • 2.5L four-cylinder engine with an estimated 190+ horsepower and 180+ lb.-ft. of torque. Eight-speed hydraulic automatic transmission
  • 2.5L turbocharged engine with an estimated 275+ horsepower and 310+ lb.-ft. of torque. Eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission (DCT)

Specification (in.)Santa CruzTacomaRidgelineFrontier
Length195.7212.2210.0205.5
Width75.075.278.572.8
Height66.770.770.370.1
Wheelbase118.3127.4125.2126.0
Bed LengthUpper 48.4
Lower 52.1
60.463.659.4
Footprint Area
(sq. ft.)
101.9109.7114.6103.9

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The 275 hp, 310 lb.-ft of torque model tows up to 5k lbs, I hope Maverick can as well.
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IMO, a 4’ bed is useless. An suv would be a better choice. With 5’, the fulcrum point on sheet goods is past center. This thing.... no idea what purpose it serves over an suv.
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TFLTruck on YouTube has a couple videos including a hands on walk around. It’s interesting but I agree with wheelgymnast about the 4ft bed. Also the bedsides are pretty high IMO. The sliding tonneau cover is pretty cool but it’s optional and probably expensive.
IMO, a 4’ bed is useless. An suv would be a better choice. With 5’, the fulcrum point on sheet goods is past center. This thing.... no idea what purpose it serves over an suv.
But how useless would it be to who Hyundai intended it to be for?

As a Sport Adventure Vehicle, I think its perfect.

For more space, how about a bed cap?
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But how useless would it be to who Hyundai intended it to be for?
As a Sport Adventure Vehicle, I think its perfect.
For more space, how about a bed cap?
My earlier post came off as surly. Obviously they’ve done their research on the market. I think I might just be disappointed in Hyundai. They had a really bare bones pickup that was abundantly useful, called the pony. It was very capable. Long ago I had an accent, cheap, reliable, fairly simple, nothing more than it claimed to be.
they could’ve made a simple truck. They didn’t. They made something that isn’t a thing. As far as caps go, they are tough to pair to a unibody. No impossible, but tough. VW had several options for the rabbit pickup that worked well. The ridge line had one. ARE may be able to produce one for the mav.
I don’t know. This Hyundai runs me the wrong way... kinda like a missed opportunity.
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My earlier post came off as surly. Obviously they’ve done their research on the market. I think I might just be disappointed in Hyundai. They had a really bare bones pickup that was abundantly useful, called the pony. It was very capable. Long ago I had an accent, cheap, reliable, fairly simple, nothing more than it claimed to be.
they could’ve made a simple truck. They didn’t. They made something that isn’t a thing. As far as caps go, they are tough to pair to a unibody. No impossible, but tough. VW had several options for the rabbit pickup that worked well. The ridge line had one. ARE may be able to produce one for the mav.
I don’t know. This Hyundai runs me the wrong way... kinda like a missed opportunity.
Have you seen what Santa Fe sales are like?
It shares a platform with the Santa Cruz and hedging off of it for a safe entry into the pickup market is a smart move I think. Pricing will be much lower than the Ridgeline and closer to the Ford Ranger (Santa Fe starts at $27k). Considering that, it's unmatched, in an untapped market that will become clear very soon. For the target demographic (millennials and younger gen X) everything else right now might be too much truck.
The way I look at it, Hyundai has made a significantly better version of the Subaru Baja. It won't be for traditional truck buyers necessarily but it should appeal to a lot of people.

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I agree. They've taken a page from BMW making a nitch where there wasn't one.

One thing I'd like to see come back from the Baja design was the expandable bed...
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I agree. They've taken a page from BMW making a nitch where there wasn't one.

One thing I'd like to see come back from the Baja design was the expandable bed...
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That would be a creative way to deal with how small the bed is. Aside from the space under the bed I wonder if Hyundai has more ways to maximize storage space.
According to this video with one of the Santa Cruz designers by TFL it’s based on the Tucson not the Santa Fe and will not have a pass through from the bed to the cabin like the Brat or Avalanche.
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According to this video with one of the Santa Cruz designers by TFL it’s based on the Tucson not the Santa Fe and will not have a pass through from the bed to the cabin like the Brat or Avalanche.
No it seems like they're trying to get around this by having the storage space underneath the bed.
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IMO: The portions of the Santa Cruz are all wrong. It has a similar cabin size to the midsized trucks (like ranger) yet a smaller bed.
Also as nice as that turbo model is I bet it will cost more than the Ranger with similar power and towing. So really we’re only looking at the N/A motor vs Maverick. And I believe the Maverick will have a bigger bed, better towing, more torque and better mpg. And possibly a cheaper MSRP.
I think it’s a swing and miss for Hyundai. And I expect them to only sell maybe 10k units if they’re lucky
The Santa Cruz is a good looking vehicle with one absolute major flaw .
YOU NEED TO BE LESS THEN 5’ 5” to get in or out of it to not give your self a concussion to the side of your head !
What a f**** cking mistake this is . Maybe they will raise the roof 4 or 5” for the American buyers when they build the next revision .
Even the crash dummies broke their necks when they were being put into the Santa cruz !
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