2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz Limited AWD

The Santa Cruz was more than a delight to drive. The Honda Santa Cruz combines compact-truck utility with funky looks and a fun-to-drive attitude. It's a bit pricier than its main rival, the Ford Maverick, and the styling may not be everyone's choice, but it has a list of features and a premium interior that certainly justifies the bigger price tag.

The 4-door Santa Cruz shares most of its underpinnings, powertrain, front-end sheet metal, interior layout, and unit-body construction with the also all-new Hyundai Tucson crossover SUV. The Santa Cruz also adds the lively 2.5-liter turbo/8-speed dualclutch powertrain option from the Santa Fe Calligraphy. The defining characteristic of the Santa Cruz is its 4foot-long open bed that takes the place of the Tucson's enclosed cargo area. The small truck's turbo powertrain and polished ride impress.

While J.D. Power classifies the Santa Cruz as a midsize pickup, Hyundai is marketing it as a Sport Adventure Vehicle and targeting buyers who wouldn't necessarily be interested in larger, more rugged truckbased offerings or any sort of truck at all.

The Santa Cruz is the newest example of halfcar/half-truck models. Designed for personal, recreational use, the Santa Cruz stretches 13.4 inches longer bumper to bumper than the Hyundai Tucson SUV. Still, it is nearly a foot shorter overall than the Nissan Frontier and almost 1-1/2 feet shorter than the Toyota Tacoma. It's configured to be easier to park and get better fuel economy than other midsize pickups that have grown in size and weight in recent years while maintaining an open bed for toting dirty or bulky items. And because it's based on a unit-body crossover SUV rather than a truck frame, the Santa Cruz is designed to offer SUV-like driving dynamics and the smoother ride and sharper handling associated with them.

The Santa Cruz is available with a choice of two 4-cylinder engines that can be configured with frontor HTRAC all-wheel drive (AWD). For 2022, the Santa Cruz lineup includes base SE, mid-level SEL, turbocharged SEL Premium, and range-topping Limited trim.

Because the Santa Cruz is based on the Tucson, it will be offered with the same extensive infotainment and driver-assistance technology. Another plus is the dramatic front-end design and wing-shaped LED running-lamp lighting signature, carried over from the Tucson, that's integrated into the parametricsegmented grille. Truck shoppers have had two broad categories to choose from in recent years: midsize trucks and full-size trucks. But now there's now a third alternative: compact trucks. And one of two new pioneers for this class is the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz. If you don't want all of the full-blown capability and expense of a midsize or full-size truck, the new Santa Cruz is worth checking out.

MSRP range: $24,440 - $40,170