The Hyundai Santa Cruz is a cruck (car-truck) that matches what a majority of small truck buyers really want and need. And the new XRT package makes it a favorite.

The 2024 Santa Cruz is a very well-done pickup truck. It offers smooth comfort, good capability, and an alternative to the “must be a truck” designs otherwise available. The Santa Cruz has a lot of appeal.

The Santa Cruz is pricier than its only rival, the Ford Maverick, but offers better comfort and daily ergonomics. Plus a more upscale interior. Nothing about the Santa Cruz feels cheap. Even the backseats, cramped as they are, are more appealing than those that are found in the Ford.

Overall, the 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz is a great compact pickup truck option for buyers who need utility, but who don’t want a big vehicle to get it.

As the only other compact pickup on the market, the Maverick fits the “looks like a truck” crowd who want their pickup to look more traditional. It’s also lower cost than the Santa Cruz, but makes sacrifices in comfort, technology, and fitment to do that. The Ford Maverick is good competition for the Hyundai Santa Cruz, but the two are really aiming for two separate submarkets.

The Ridgeline is larger than the Santa Cruz, but has many similar features as a car-based pickup. The Santa Cruz has under-bed storage and a comfortable crossover-like drive quality. As does the Honda Ridgeline. The Ridgeline is larger with more capability, however, so is only marginally comparable.

The starting price for the Santa Cruz is a little over $28,000 plus delivery. Most buyers will be over $30,000 with their purchase, however, once packaging and options are added.

The table below shows the most common trim levels and how much they will run you.

Hyundai added a new XRT trim level and changed content for several trims to add more items as standard.

The XRT trim level replaces the former SEL Premium, giving a better name to the second-highest trim point. The trim levels are now the SE, SEL, Night, XRT, and Limited. The base level SE remains largely the same, with a good entry-level set of features. Most buyers end up in the SEL package, which adds more creature comforts to that, including the lockable cargo bed storage bin.

The Night trim is mostly an appearance package for a more Knight Rider kind of feel. The new XRT trim fits just above that, taking the SEL package and adding all of the options to it plus several more things like wider fenders, cargo tie-down rails in the bed, and so on. We drove this version and really enjoyed its combination of creature comforts, driver’s aids, and additions.

There are two engine options for the 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz. The standard 2.5-liter four-cylinder offers 191 horsepower and an eight-speed automatic transmission. Front-wheel drive is standard, all-wheel-drive is optional. This is a good setup, though pretty basic and not very exhilarating. Towing is limited to 3,000 pounds. We’d recommend upgrading to the turbocharged version of this engine.

The turbocharged four-cylinder boosts horsepower to 281 and comes standard with AWD. Much more exciting. Towing increases to 5,000 pounds.

On the road, whatever the engine, the Santa Cruz is a good drive. It’s engaging enough to keep one interested, but not very demanding. Comfort is good and noise levels are better than most trucks. This is a good utility for daily driving.

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz has received very good marks from the two crash testing bodies in the U.S. Hyundai overall has a strong reputation for safety with all of its vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has given the Santa Cruz five stars out of five for safety testing. So the Santa Cruz joins the rest of the Hyundai lineup as a 5-Star vehicle.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has named the 2024 Santa Cruz a Top Safety Pick. The Santa Cruz received top scores of “Good” on all crash tests and second-best “Acceptable” for all advanced systems and child safety designs.

Two things affect how we view reliability with consumer vehicles like the Santa Cruz. First are the dependability scores given by various recognized outlets for that, including Consumer Reports, RepairPal, and others. Second is the warranty that the manufacturer puts on their vehicle. Lots of coverage for a longer period of time is a good indication that a company stands behind its product.

The Santa Cruz receives average reliability scores from most outlets measuring that. This compact pickup has been on the market long enough to have 3+ years of background to draw those scores from.

Where the Hyundai Santa Cruz stands apart is its segment-leading warranty. So we give the Santa Cruz a little higher marks for that.

We’d recommend getting the SEL package as a good start for the Santa Cruz. It comes pretty well loaded up with heated side mirrors, keyless operation, the lockable rear storage bin, and heated front seats. A long list of advanced safety equipment is also standard.

For those who need the added goodies of the Activity Package for the SEL, which adds a cargo bed tonneau cover, sunroof, roof rails, dual-zone climate, larger touchscreen, and other goodies, it’s worth considering the new XRT package instead. That includes all of those things from the SEL Activity plus a more aggressive-looking exterior package and synthetic leather upholstery and adaptive cruise control.

The Santa Cruz has the best warranty in its segment and Hyundai has a reputation for industry-leading warranties and for honoring them.

• Basic: 5 years / 60k miles
• PowerTrain: 10 years / 100k miles
• Perforation: 7 years / Unlimited miles
• Roadside Assistance: 5 years / Unlimited miles
• If buying used look at our best extended warranties

There are used models entering car lots now, making a used Santa Cruz a real option. Given that the manufacturer’s warranties follow the vehicle (are transferable), there could be some gems available at a used car price. We recommend shopping carefully.

We recommend favoring Certified Used models of the Santa Cruz to guarantee warranty coverage if something goes wrong.

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