Sometimes, you just don’t need a massive pickup truck. While the Ford F-Series is still undoubtedly dominating the pickup truck world, some awesome things come in smaller packages. This year’s compact pickup truck market and mid-size pickup truck market are witnessing a fierce fight between some of the segment’s best makers: Ford and Toyota.
- Base Trim Engine
-
2.5-liter Inline-4
- Base Trim Transmission
-
8-Speed Automatic
- Base Trim Drivetrain
-
Front-Wheel Drive
- Base Trim Horsepower
-
191 hp
- Base Trim Torque
-
181 lb-ft
Aside from Ford’s and Toyota’s stellar contributions to the truck market, there is another compact model produced by South Korean powerhouse, Hyundai, that is also well-priced, very versatile for its size, slick-looking, and can properly deliver both on- and off-road. We are going to take a look at this 2025 compact Hyundai pickup truck and bring you all the information you need to know about it.
To give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from Hyundai’s website and other authoritative sources, including JD Power, Repair Pal, and Fuel Economy.gov.
Small In Size, Low In Price, And Versatile: The 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz
Based on the Hyundai Tucson crossover, the 195.7-inch (L) x 75-inch (W) x 66.7-inch (H) 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz is the small pickup truck that is ripping it up in the segment at the moment. With the same unibody chassis, suspension features, and interior as the handy, easy-to-drive, and versatile Tucson, it is like driving an SUV but with the added bonus of a bed in the back and a sporty look about it.
2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz Trims And Pricing
With a starting price of just $28,750, the Santa Cruz is nearly as budget-friendly as you can get in the compact pickup truck market. There are just five trims available, but each of them is reasonably priced and comes equipped with a lot to get the job done in the most fuss-free fashion possible.
- 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz SE – $28,750
- 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz SEL – $30,450
- 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz SEL Activity – $33,450
- 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz XRT – $40,250
- 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz Limited – $42,750
The Small Santa Cruz Delivers Decent Power
There are two engines available for the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz: one naturally aspirated inline-four and one turbo-four. Neither of them gives the Santa Cruz trims a huge amount of speedy quality about them, but they get the suitable jobs for a compact pickup truck done well and get you to highway speeds in respectable times.
2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz Performance Specifications
|
2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz SE, SEL & SEL Activity |
2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz XRT & Limited |
|
|
Engine |
2.5-Liter Inline-Four |
2.5-Liter Turbocharged Inline-Four |
|
Transmission |
Eight-Speed Automatic |
Eight-Speed Automatic |
|
Horsepower |
191 Horsepower |
281 Horsepower |
|
Torque |
181 LB-FT |
311 LB-FT |
|
Driveline |
Front-Wheel Drive or All-Wheel Drive |
All-Wheel Drive |
|
0-60 MPH |
8 Seconds – 8.5 Seconds |
6 Seconds – 6.6 Seconds |
|
Top Speed |
Approx. 120 MPH |
130 MPH |
|
Towing Capacity |
3,500 LBS |
5,000 LBS |
|
Payload Capacity |
1,411 LBS |
1,411 LBS |
Considering that the Santa Cruz only weighs a maximum of 4,237 pounds, it handles itself very well with a maximum towing capacity of 5,000 pounds, while still delivering decent mpg ratings from both mills. According to Fuel Economy.gov, the most fuel-frugal Santa Cruz you can get is a FWD model boasting the NA inline-four (estimated combined mpg rating of 25 mpg), while an AWD/NA inline-four model will muster 24 combined mpg, and the AWD turbo-four models will achieve between 21 and 22 combined mpg.
Small But Tough, Well-Equipped, And Ready To Roll
The Santa Cruz may be a small beast, but it is still a very capable one. As standard, you get a front-wheel-drive configuration that is good for on-road stuff, but if you opt to add it, you can benefit from HTRAC all-wheel drive on all trims, and lift its capability both on and off-road. Both the XRT and Limited come equipped with AWD as standard.
The base trim Santa Cruz is well-equipped, with wireless smartphone connectivity, a 12.3-inch touchscreen, and oodles of safety features. Thanks to the 2025 Santa Cruz mid-cycle refresh, though, things got better, and features like optional panoramic curved dual 12.3-inch displays, OTA updates, Hyundai Pay, digital key, a fingerprint scanner, and physical shortcuts for HVAC are all available for the base trim.
What Santa Cruz Trim To Choose For Off-Roading
As should be available with all good pickup truck lineups, an off-road grade should be included. The Santa Cruz has its own. If you are looking to take a trim of the Santa Cruz off-road, it is the 2025 XRT you’ll want to look at.
You get the turbocharged engine, which is nice and torquey for crawling; 8.6 inches of ground clearance keeps you reasonably off the rocks; front skid plates protect the underside; the HTRAC AWD system includes Dynamic Torque Distribution, which utilizes an electro-hydraulic coupling system that sends torque between the axles and shores up grip. You also get an XRT-specific front bumper that gives you an approach angle of 19.9 degrees (which is a lot better than the standard 16.9 degrees), and 18-inch wheels wrapped in Continental TerrainContact all-terrain tires.
Inside, the Santa Cruz comes equipped with a Surround View camera system, so you can see the ground beneath you, and Hill-Descent Control helps you maintain a steady speed going down steep slopes. It may not be considered the best off-road pickup truck ever created, but it can still handle the rough stuff exceptionally well.
Urban Usefulness And Work Capabilities
Because the Hyundai Santa Cruz is so short, narrow, and boasts a unibody chassis instead of a body-on-frame setup, it is easy to park in the city, and it doesn’t feel like you are lumbering around urban roads. It is also easier to keep an eye on blind spots and cyclists on the road. It wouldn’t be much of a pickup truck, though, if it could be used in the city and not actually get any lugging jobs done.
This is what makes the Santa Cruz such a hard hitter, though; it is small and easy to drive, but it can also handle the jobs you want a pickup truck to handle. There is only one bed and cab configuration for the Santa Cruz: a four-door crew cab with seating for five people paired with a 52.1-inch bed. This handy little truck boasts a respectable payload capacity and can carry up to 27 cubic feet of gear in the bed, all of which is easily locked away in the underbed storage and under a retractable tonneau cover, so ideal for the city.
2025 Jyundai Santa Cruz Exterior Dimensions
|
Bed Length |
Bed Width (At Wheels) |
Bed Width (Maximum) |
Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
|
52.1 Inches |
42.7 Inches |
53.9 Inches |
27 Cubic Feet |
Owning A 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz
We see some full-sized pickup trucks, like the Ram 1500, costing an absolute fortune in maintenance over ten years ($17,677). Of course, this is an extreme example, but according to Repair Pal, on average, it will still cost you $936 to maintain a full-size truck. This is the beauty of a small pickup truck like the Santa Cruz: it costs a bit less to keep on the road, both in terms of fuel costs and maintenance costs.
Fuel Costs And Maintenance Costs
According to Car Edge, five-year costs for the Hyundai Santa Cruz, including fuel costs, maintenance costs, depreciation, interest, and insurance, are $47,056. Over five years, it will cost you, on average, $9,240 for gas (around $1,850 a year) and $3,077 for maintenance (roughly $615 a year).
There is no data on Repair Pal about yearly maintenance costs for compact pickup trucks, but at $615 for the Santa Cruz, it is certainly a lot cheaper than going for a mid-size or full-size truck, while still getting a good work ethic from it.
2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz 5-Year Costs
|
Depreciation |
Insurance |
Fuel |
Interest |
Maintenance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
$15,854 (34%) |
$12,150 (26%) |
$9,240 (20%) |
$6,735 (14%) |
$3,077 (7%) |
How Reliable Is The Hyundai Santa Cruz?
As another example of how the Santa Cruz is delivering on top form this year, it has been rated as a very reliable pickup truck by its owners. According to reviews left on JD Power, the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz receives a reliability score of 87 out of 100 alongside an overall score of 80 out of 100.
2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz Ratings
|
Reliability |
Driving Experience |
Resale |
Dealership Experience |
Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
87/100 |
76/100 |
79/100 |
71/100 |
80/100 |
Similarly, owners who have left a review on Kelley Blue Book have also given the Santa Cruz high props for reliability, with an average reliability score of 4.7 out of 5, while 88 percent of owners also recommend buying it. It has a lot of everything we want in a tidy and small yet usable package.
If you are like me and miss a truck when you are driving an SUV, the Santa Cruz is the answer. This vehicle is so versatile. It rides like a well-built car, has room for 5, and has a bed that is the perfect size for most weekend trips to Home Depot and outdoor adventures.
Owner review of their 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz on Kelley Blue Book
How Hyundai’s Compact Pickup Truck Stacks Up Against Ford’s Compact Pickup Truck
There is no denying that the Hyundai Santa Cruz does a lot of things very well, but there is another compact pickup truck that is making some huge waves in the market: the Ford Maverick. This year, the Santa Cruz is more expensive than the new Ford Maverick, which is not the best start for the Hyundai, but the Santa Cruz can out-tow the Maverick by some way (4,000 pounds vs. the Santa Cruz’s 5,000 pounds).
The Santa Cruz also boasts a more refined cabin than what is available in the Maverick, thanks to the tech and upholstery, while engine power and torque also outstrip what the Maverick’s engines can eke out (maximum horsepower is 250 horsepower and 280 pound-feet from the Lobo’s 2.0-liter EcoBoost). But that doesn’t mean the Maverick doesn’t have some tricks up its sleeve.
On top of it being cheaper for the Maverick’s base trim (MSRP: $28,415), you get a better combined mpg rating from the 2.5-liter hybrid engine that is available (combined mpg rating of 38 mpg), a higher maximum payload capacity (1,500 pounds), and a slightly longer bed (54.4 inches), which can also be extended.
Both the Maverick and the Santa Cruz have their upsides, and there is no arguing that the Maverick is one of the best compact trucks on the market, but if you are looking for something with more power and slightly better working capacity, it is the Santa Cruz you should take a look at.
Other Cheap And Useful 2025 Pickup Trucks
The 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz does offer exceptional value and work ethic and, depending on what trim you go for, a very good off-road experience, but it is far from the only budget pickup truck in 2025 that can deliver the goods.
2025 Small Truck Spec Comparison
|
MSRP |
Most Powerful Engine |
Horsepower |
Max Towing Capacity |
|
|
2025 Toyota Tacoma |
$31,590 |
2.4-Liter Turbocharged i-FORCE Inline-Four |
278 Horsepower |
6,500 LBS |
|
2025 Chevrolet Colorado |
$31,900 |
2.7-Liter Turbocharged Inline-Four |
310 Horsepower |
7,700 LBS |
|
2025 Honda Ridgeline |
$40,150 |
3.5-Liter V6 |
280 Horsepower |
5,000 LBS |