Hyundai Debuts Revamped 2025 Santa Cruz in New York
Photo: Hyundai
On Wednesday, Hyundai took to the stage at the 2024 New York International Auto Show to reveal the updated 2025 Santa Cruz. A compact pickup by any other name, Hyundai’s Sport Adventure Vehicle gets some notable design upgrades and new technologies on top of its truck-like-but-not-a-truck capabilities.
The 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz doesn’t get too dramatic an overhaul in terms of curb appeal, but it sports a new face. The grille and front fascia have been tweaked for a cleaner yet more aggressive look that Brad Arnold, Hyundai’s senior design manager of exteriors, told New York Auto Show attendees contributes to a “more planted, robust stance.”
Photo: Hyundai
The Santa Cruz XRT gets an exclusive grille as well as front tow hooks and a boosted approach angle. It rides on model-specific 18-inch alloy wheels stylistically inspired by — of all things — wrenches. Those sweet new wheels come wrapped in all-terrain tires, adding to its rugged potential. Adding to the mix are two fresh color options: Rockwood Green and Canyon Red.
2025 Santa Cruz adds new panoramic curved display
Photo: Hyundai
The cabin of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz offers the most notable updates, including a slick new panoramic curved display option that combines a 12.3-inch driver information cluster and a 12.3-inch center display. This massive display sits snugly on a redesigned dash that leverages clean lines to match the truck’s Sport Adventure Vehicle’s bold new face. Rounding out the cockpit are a new steering wheel and air vents.
Tech-wise, the 2025 Santa Cruz gets a nice bump by making wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto standard across the board and adding over-the-air software updates. Other updates include USB Type-C ports, Hyundai Pay integration to pay for parking, Hyundai Digital Key 2 Touch, and a fingerprint scanner for keyless driving.
Though the Santa Cruz may be a strong candidate for electrification down the line, it’s sticking with the engines that brung it for 2025. However, the 2.5-liter turbo offered with the XRT and Limited adds a new towing mode to optimize its trailering capabilities.
The 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz arrives at dealerships this summer. It’ll be joined by the new Tucson, which also debuted at this week’s New York International Auto Show.
Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.