{"id":21167,"date":"2021-10-29T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-29T16:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/turo.com\/blog\/?p=21167"},"modified":"2025-04-07T01:40:40","modified_gmt":"2025-04-07T08:40:40","slug":"october-car-of-the-month-hyundai-santa-cruz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/turo.com\/blog\/gearheads\/october-car-of-the-month-hyundai-santa-cruz\/","title":{"rendered":"October car of the month: Hyundai Santa Cruz"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The car that\u2019s also a truck<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a tough ask for a carmaker to try to break into the truck market. Detroit\u2019s Big Three and Toyota have just about every square inch covered, and truck buyers are remarkably brand-loyal. So instead of going in head-first, Hyundai has produced something rather unconventional which can\u2019t rightly be called a truck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or maybe it can \u2014 the new 2022 Santa Cruz looks like the Hyundai Tucson on which it\u2019s based from the front, but from any other angle it\u2019s essentially a compact dual-cab pickup truck, and looks like nothing else on the road. Marissa\u2019s 2022 Santa Cruz is one of the first listed on Turo, so we\u2019ve named it our car of the month<\/a> for this October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Marissa’s 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz (Lakewood, CO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
ENGINE<\/th>HORSEPOWER<\/th>0 to 60 MPH<\/th>TOP SPEED<\/th>MILEAGE<\/th>DAILY PRICE*<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
2.5L 4<\/td>192 hp<\/td>7.5 sec<\/td>120 mph<\/td>23 mpg<\/td>$101<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
ENGINE<\/th>HP<\/th>0 to 60
MPH<\/th>		TOP
SPEED<\/th>		MPG<\/th>DAILY
PRICE*<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
2.5L 4-cyl<\/td>192 hp<\/td>7.5 sec<\/td>120 mph<\/td>23 mpg<\/td>$101<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hyundai<\/a> revealed the Santa Cruz concept at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show, but car\/truck crossovers aren\u2019t a new idea \u2014 we had the Chevy El Camino, a couple other experimental models, then the short-lived Subaru Baja in the mid-2000s (though the Ute platform is still soldiering on in Australia). The Santa Cruz is based on a compact SUV, but Hyundai is calling this a \u201cSport Adventure Vehicle,\u201d a nod to its unibody construction, rather than body-on-frame like \u201creal\u201d trucks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Santa Cruz is powered by a 2.5L four-cylinder engine that puts out a modest 192 horsepower, so it\u2019s not winning any tractor pull competitions. This is a city-friendly vehicle that\u2019s about the same size as Hyundai\u2019s midsize Sonata, so it\u2019s for folks who want a truck, but not a truck<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As modern trucks<\/a> keep getting bigger and bigger, there certainly might be a place for the Santa Cruz among other smaller trucks like the unibody Honda Ridgeline and the new Ford Maverick compact truck. The Santa Cruz\u2019s truck bed is 48 inches long, which is much smaller than any other truck today, but with proper tie-downs, it\u2019ll accommodate your skis, golf clubs, mountain bikes, gardening supplies, or whatever. There\u2019s a built-in lockable bed cover and an extra cargo area under the bed\u2019s floor, which is drainable for handy use as a cooler while tailgating or camping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The interior of this Santa Cruz SEL isn\u2019t nearly as curious as the outside. In fact it\u2019s rather standard for a modern crossover-like vehicle at its price point (starts at $25,000), which means it\u2019s got everything a new car should have these days. To be fair, the cabin is a more attractive place to sit than many pickups out there, and the fully digital gauge cluster has a few tricks and makes the Santa Cruz feel fresh and up-to-date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marissa\u2019s Santa Cruz has the optional all-wheel drive equipped, and she\u2019ll have snow tires on the car from now until the spring to take on the Colorado winter with ease. She also notes she can provide a ski rack upon request, making this an excellent choice for a snowy Rocky Mountain adventure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So it\u2019ll carry you plus four more, and all of your stuff in the back. It\u2019s certainly unorthodox, but if you have some need for a truck\u2019s utility in a smaller, more manageable package, the Santa Cruz just might be for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Share your car, earn extra cash<\/p>\n

Cover your car payments or earn some extra cash by sharing your car whenever you\u2019re not using it.<\/p>\n Get started<\/a>\n <\/div>\n

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Hit the road<\/p>\n

Browse thousands of cars for every occasion and budget near you, or wherever you\u2019re going.<\/p>\n Browse cars<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

*Daily price subject to change<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The car that\u2019s also a truck It\u2019s a tough ask for a carmaker to try to break into the truck market. Detroit\u2019s Big Three and Toyota have just about every…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":24746,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[79],"class_list":["post-21167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gearheads","tag-car-of-the-month"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t