The 2024 Santa Cruz has accomplished something few other pickups have – cuteness. It’ll also deliver, at a lesser price, at least some of the qualities of its mighty, brawny GM and Ford brothers with their gulpy hemis and vast beds. Let’s take a look.
What’s New For 2024
The 2024 Santa Cruz XRT trim features wider fender cladding and lower door garnish, bed rails and side steps, all distinguishing it from the others in this trim. It also now includes XRT-exclusive front and rear skid plates.
Body
If you sliced off the pickup bed, this would be a mid-size SUV.
Yet it’s smart and stylish with its body-colored door handles, grinning front end and 6-point pinwheel rims. The back bed isn’t huge but it is big enough to fit most of what the casual hauler will have to transport, and that’s the point. There’s also an underbed storage area which comes in handy to hold stuff that shouldn’t bang around while you drive. You roll on 18-inch alloy wheels.
The 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz arrives in five trims – SE, SEL, Night, XRT and the flagship Limited. The XRT starts at $39,850 but the lower trims are in the high 20s. My tester, with all options and delivery charge, came to $41,365.
Engine
My XRT arrived with a Smartstream 2.5L Turbocharged 4-cylinder engine mated to a smooth 8-speed transmission. You have paddle shifters on the steering column and all-wheel-drive is standard on this trim, meaning snow and mud aren’t a big problem. Mileage is around 19 MPG in cities, 25 on the highway.
Inside, and Tech
Inside, you step magically into a car – as far as atmosphere and feel – but that’s not necessarily a bad thing due to the comfort of the seats and the overall smart, sturdy styling. You’ve got heated leatherette front seats that will fit the big and tall, but in the back it’s a bit tighter. There are lots of pockets and storage compartments.
My XRT tester arrived with an attractive 10.25-inch center touchscreen as well as 10.25-inch digital gauge display. Despite the lack of volume knobs, requiring you to take your eyes from the road when you want to lower or increase the volume of the sound system, it performed as it should, everything logical and easily accessible.
The Drive
The Santa Cruz’s carlike driving characteristics mean you don’t have to necessarily be hyper-aware as you would with a huge, heavy pickup. Parking lots, parallel parking and driveways aren’t any more difficult to negotiate than you might find with your average midsize SUV. It has more pep at lower speeds than on highways, making errands fun.
Brakes are suitably tight without mushiness or grab, and steering is acceptably sharp. You can tow up to a formidable 5,000 pounds with a 1,568 payload, up to 1,749 pounds. Once you understand what the Santa Cruz is and isn’t, you’ll find it a capable, practical drive.
Safety
You’ll find the latest in safety equipment on Santa Cruz, including forward collision warning, forward automatic emergency braking, rear cross-traffic alert, Lane departure warning, lane keep assist, lane centering assist, blind spot monitoring, pedestrian detection and more.
Click here for warranty info and more.
Impression: Hyundai’s Santa Cruz makes a great alternative to a full-size, growling pickup, and I really enjoyed the test.