Pros and Cons Of The Well-Rounded 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz Truck

• Pros of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz include powerful engine options, smart feature integrations, a luxury interior, and impressive handling.
• Cons of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz include the semi-high prices, a confusing infotainment screen, and mediocre second row seating.
• Test drive a Hyundai truck at Tulsa Hyundai to experience the pros and cons of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe.

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The Hyundai Santa Cruz is a great choice for buyers who want the practicality of a pickup without sacrificing comfort or drivability. Its compact size makes it easy to maneuver in city traffic and tight parking spaces. Some of the pros of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz include qualities that set it apart from traditional pickups. Unlike most trucks, it’s built on a unibody platform, giving it a smooth, SUV-like ride. Inside, it feels unexpectedly upscale, with a refined cabin and modern tech features like wireless Apple CarPlay and advanced safety systems. It also offers clever touches like a lockable, drainable under-bed storage compartment, which is essentially a hidden trunk. Despite its compact size, the turbocharged version can tow up to 5,000 pounds! Not to mention it delivers better fuel economy than many midsize trucks. Plus, it’s assembled in Montgomery, Alabama, making it a made-in-USA Hyundai.

Hyundai Santa Cruz Overview

If you like the idea of a pickup truck but find full-size models like the Chevy Silverado or Ford F-150 too large or costly, the Hyundai Santa Cruz is the perfect solution. Beyond its utility, the Santa Cruz impresses with a smooth ride, a quiet and stylish interior, and a generous array of tech and convenience features. This makes it just as livable as a traditional SUV. Thanks to its unique blend of practicality and comfort, the Hyundai Santa Cruz earns a top spot on many people’s lists.

What’s New for the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz

Exterior updates for the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz include a bolder front grille, vertical LED headlights, and new wheel designs. Also, this year we get fresh colors like Rockwood Green and Canyon Red for the XRT. Interior updates for the 2025 Santa Cruz includes a panoramic dual 12.3″ curved display, tactile HVAC controls, a new steering wheel, and improved ergonomics. As far as individual 2025 Santa Cruz trim changes go, we see the discontinued Night edition. Some might see this as a major con of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz, but rest assured, there’s a replacement! Coming in as one of the pros of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz is the newly introduced XRT (off‑road oriented) trim. Tech upgrades were done to the infotainment screens. There is also the addition of wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, Hyundai Pay, Digital Key 2 Touch, and OTA updates as well.

Pros of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz

Needless to say, with all the updates that were done for this new model, there are inevitably an abundance of pros of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz. Major areas we find pros of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz are around the engine options and comfort level.

1. Powerful Engine

We can’t talk about the pros of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz without talking about its impressive engine. The turbocharged 2.5L delivers 281 hp and 311 lb-ft, offering confidence on‑road acceleration and towing up to 5,000 lbs. This puts it to where the Santa Cruz significantly outperforms the base variant’s 191 hp. The optional 2.5L turbocharged engine that’s only available on XRT and Limited trims, delivers 281 horsepower and 311 lb-ft of torque. This is one of the pros of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz that really sets it apart because it’s one of the quickest compact pickups in its class. It can tow up to 5,000 pounds when properly equipped.

2. Convenient Features 

Both experts and fans alike, praise the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz SUV-like ride quality, tuned suspension, and quiet cabin. One of the pros of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz is the fact that the 4-foot bed is full of technological features! Features like lockable under-bed storage, integrated bed lighting, a sliding tonneau cover, and a 115V power outlet. Great for weekend hauls, camping gear, or tailgating, this is a step up from an SUV.

3. Luxury Feel Inside

The interior pros of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz mimics luxury. It’s surprisingly comfortable and refined, more like a well-equipped SUV than a typical pickup. The seats are supportive and nicely cushioned, with available options like heated and ventilated front seats and power adjustments. Materials throughout the cabin are high-quality, with soft-touch surfaces and a modern, minimalist design. Higher trims offer features like a fully digital gauge cluster, and a large touchscreen that adds to the upscale feel. The cabin is also well-insulated from road and wind noise, making it a quiet and relaxing place to spend time, whether you’re on your daily commute or road-tripping.

4. Impressive Handling

Car-like handling and agile cornering, even in off-road trims like XRT offer spirited performance. This benefits from all-terrain tires, better approach angle, surround-view camera, and red tow hooks. Like mentioned earlier, the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz is built on a unibody crossover platform shared with the Hyundai Tucson. This is one of the pros of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz because that makes it drive more like an SUV than a truck. Steering is responsive, the suspension is well-tuned for everyday comfort, and it feels planted on curves.

Cons of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz

Cons of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz are minimal, but notable. Unfortunately, if you’re looking for a truck with full truck-related capabilities, the Santa Cruz might not be for you. To determine whether or not the cons of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz are deal breakers, it’s best to visit your local Hyundai dealer in person.

1. Lacks Typical Truck Utility

The 2025 Santa Cruz does not have all the same utility as a regular full-size truck. One of the more notable cons of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz is that it has a 4.3-foot truck bed that’s 42.7 inches wide between the wheel wells. Also, the 2025 Santa Cruz towing capabilities are significantly less than full-size trucks like the Silverado that can tow up to 13,300 pounds. 

2. Uncomfortable Second‑Row Seats

Rear seating is cramped with upright cushions. Reviews from Edmunds mention that back seats are not very comfy and flat with limited legroom. The rear seat area is one of the more annoying cons of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz. Seatbacks are upright and not very supportive, with limited legroom for adults on longer drives. Unfortunately, taller passengers may feel squeezed in both leg and headroom.

3. Infotainment Can Be Confusing

This con of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz specifically has to do with the system relying heavily on touch controls. While the new curved display is one of the pros of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz, some owners criticize overly touch‑focused controls and inconsistent keyless tech. Physical buttons for climate and volume are limited, which can be frustrating to use while driving. Some users also report a learning curve when using Hyundai’s native interface.

Is the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz Worth It?

If you seek crossover comfort, modern tech, and light-duty pickup capabilities, the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz is a strong pick. The design for this year’s model highlights the luxury and towing edge over its number one rival, the Ford Maverick. However, if rear passenger comfort, true truck utility, or aggressive pricing matter most, these cons of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz might be a deal breaker. Investing in the pros of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz will be worth it in the long run. This is especially true for drivers who want a versatile, comfortable truck with  SUV-vibes and a luxury feeling interior. Its unibody construction and fuel-efficient engines also makes it cheaper to run than most traditional trucks. Hyundai’s industry-leading 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty adds long-term peace of mind. For the right buyer, it serves as the best option for a mid-size pickup truck.

Experience Pros and Cons of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz At Tulsa Hyundai

The 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz is a polished blend: part SUV, part truck, laden with tech and modern styling. It’s powerful, comfortable, and luxurious. This is especially true for higher trims. Thinking about taking a test drive locally? Tulsa Hyundai carries the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz, pros, cons, and all!

If you’d like to enjoy the pros and cons of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz, then Tulsa Hyundai has your back! If you’re not interested in the Santa Cruz, then check out our plethora of other vehicles including the Hyundai Sonata, Hyundai Venue, Hyundai Santa Cruz, Hyundai Santa Fe, Hyundai Tucson, Hyundai Kona, Hyundai Palisade, Hyundai Ioniq 5, and the Hyundai Ioniq 6. We have an extensive certified pre-owned inventory where we’ll help you find something you enjoy.

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