New XRT trims brings robust look, soft-roader consolation.
Textual content and footage by Amos Kwon
2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz XRT AWD
Trim Base MSRP: $40,000
As Examined Value: $42,075 (incl. $1,395 inland freight & handing)
Overview
Vehicles are sizzling, and that’s evidenced by stratospheric gross sales volumes. However the life-style unibody pickup truck phase is a little more difficult since they don’t present the identical utility and ruggedness as body-on-frame fashions. The Hyundai Santa Cruz competes with the Ford Maverick and the Honda Ridgeline, and the Santa Cruz pushes to make its little truck much more distinct with a refresh for 2025. The “extra rugged” XRT trim pushes a extra off-road leaning model even if there’s no extra floor clearance and no skid plates. What it does get are extra rugged tires, trim-specific wheels, decrease door safety, some suspension tuning, and (lastly) a pair of entrance restoration factors. Other than that, it’s extra of an aesthetic distinction somewhat than a purposeful one. The brief 48” mattress is extra for outdoorsy gear than for carrying hay bales, however the upside is a degree of utility and practicality that works higher for extra of us than a bonafide pickup truck would.
Design
There’s no mistaking the Santa Cruz for one thing discovered on a building website loaded with instruments and lumber. The profile is modern and edgy whereas the redesigned entrance finish is definitely extra truck-like than earlier than with a blockier grille sample, bigger headlight housings, and a brand new decrease grille.The brand new pink tow hooks on the entrance are a welcomed addition for 2025, too. The XRT advantages from chunkier fenderwell trim, satin black decrease door safety pads to match the outside trim, and an ordinary sliding tonneau cowl.
Energy and Efficiency
The Santa Cruz XRT comes commonplace with HTRAC all-wheel drive and a 2.5-liter four-cylinder turbo mill beneath the hood with 281 horsepower and 311 pound-feet of twist. It’s mated to an eight-speed twin clutch transmission. The naturally-aspirated 191-horsepower 2.5-liter four-banger base engine just isn’t accessible on the XRT, and that’s a great factor as a result of the extra highly effective engine is the one one which feels competent. 60 mph from a standstill arrives in about 6 seconds, and throttle response is fairly good. The twin-clutch transmission offers competent shifting duties.
Journey and Dealing with
The XRT trim advantages from smaller 18” wheels than the 20” variations on the fancier Restricted trim. The softer tires with taller sidewalls additionally assist present a snug journey over most surfaces. It feels something however truck-like, making it excellent for city jaunts. That mentioned, we nonetheless didn’t shrink back from mounting the curb when parking head-in for tight spots. The decrease journey top and the superb steering make for nice maneuvering. It’s even higher than the Honda Ridgeline for fast lane adjustments and hitting apexes. We discovered ourselves having fun with the drive greater than we anticipated.
Connectivity
For 2025, the Santa Cruz ups its in-car tech with a unified infotainment display screen and instrument cluster pairing. The separate models from the 2024 mannequin had been positive, however this setup is each higher trying and functionally simpler. It appears to be like extra just like the model BMW has in its autos.There’s no shroud over both of the 12.3” models, however visibility in brilliant daylight stays uncompromised. Additionally of observe is the up to date infotainment software program that comes with wi-fi Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
What’s most vital to us, although, is the change from the gloss black contact controls for local weather and audio, changed by a brand new management unit with knob and button controls. There are nonetheless a couple of contact local weather controls, however they now sit on a matte floor that’s not the fingerprint and dirt magnet the previous unit was. We will testify that the brand new setup is way simpler to function whereas driving and likewise higher trying. It permits the vents to sit down decrease on the sprint for a extra cohesive look with improved performance.
Room and Consolation
There’s a lot to like concerning the cabin of the Santa Cruz in terms of area and luxury. The brand new ergonomics of the sprint, middle stack, and middle console enhance consolation and operation, but it surely’s the spaciousness in each rows that shines for on a regular basis use. The entrance seats have good cushioning and assist. The seating place is rather like a automobile with good sightlines over the sloping hood. The 8-way energy entrance seats with lumbar make it simple to get into an excellent place, and largely comfortable surfaces meet your elbows and arms. The varied adjustments to the inside of the Santa Cruz assist place it forward of each the Honda Ridgeline and the Ford Maverick.
We had been particularly impressed with the rear seats that present 39.6 inches of headroom, 36.5 inches of legroom, and 56.1 inches of shoulder room. Seating for tall occupants doesn’t current an issue, and even the center place isn’t an disagreeable place to sit down, simply not for lengthy journeys. Welcomed additions for the 2025 XRT are rear vents and charging ports. Storage isn’t large, however there are sensible areas. We love the sprint storage shelf and the massive charging binnacle. The door pockets are on the small facet, however the middle armrest, cupholders, rear under-seat storage, and seatback pockets are fairly good.
Worth
Simply over $42k isn’t low cost for a small off-road-esque pickup truck. It’s a few grand greater than the all-wheel drive gasoline model of the Maverick Lariat and about three grand lower than the Ridgeline Trailsport. Whereas Hyundai touts the Santa Cruz as a Sport Journey Car somewhat than a pickup truck, the Santa Cruz properly toes the road between small truck and mid-size SUV. The system works effectively, and the adjustments for 2025 make the Santa Cruz much more interesting. The probability that drivers will take the XRT trim off the crushed path isn’t excessive, however like so many “ruggedized” trims within the trade as we speak, it’s good to know you possibly can.
Amos has been an automotive author and editor for nearly twelve years. He has written for Gear Patrol, Askmen, Primer Journal, Fatherly, and is the present automotive editor for the favored males’s life-style web site, Cool Materials. As a lot as he loves monitoring supercars such because the Mercedes-Benz AMG SLS Black Collection and the BMW M5 Competitors, he’s most happy by really glorious and reasonably priced mainstream vehicles just like the Mazda3 and the brand new Chevy Trax. His dream automobile is the Ferrari 288 GTO, however he’d settle for almost any gas-powered, rear-wheel drive, guide transmission automobile. He lives in Evanston, IL, together with his spouse and three kids.
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