2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz Review - GARDENING DREAM TRUCK

I'm Yuri. I'm Jacob. We're going for a drive. 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz. Ultimate without launch control. That's good. Horsepower and torque. 281 horsepower, 311 pound feet of torque from a 2.5 liter turbo four-cylinder. And what is the competition for the Santa Cruz? That would be the Ridgeline and the all-new Maverick, which doesn't exist yet, but will soon. And the Subaru Baja, rest in peace, doesn't exist anymore. Literally rest in head gasket pieces. And if you're shopping for a new Hyundai Santa Cruz, click the TrueCar link in the top right corner to get discounted price offers. And what is the starting price of a Santa Cruz? So this one in the States, the starting price is $23,990. Okay, so let's get into what this is. It is a pickup truck-ish version of the Tucson, pretty much. Yes, because it doesn't actually share any body panels with the Tucson, but looks very, very similar at first glance. And this isn't considered a small pickup truck. It's not considered an SUV. It's considered a... It's considered a marketing vehicle, Yuri. It's called a sports adventure vehicle. And yesterday was actually the first day that our new employee started working for us, our new editor. So like and subscribe. So he's got a whole bunch more work to do. Yes, definitely like and subscribe. But extra like, because apparently that's the thing with the algorithm right now. So just drop a like. It's so easy. YouTube algorithm is so difficult. We just try and figure it out every day. Every day, we're just like, what's the algorithm doing? But it changes. I know. Marketing aside, this actually has a bunch of cool pickup truck-y stuff that a lot of pickup trucks don't have. So let's start with the cool things. Okay, so in the bed, yes, it's a regular bed. It is very short. Here is a reference of one of us in the bed. But you can still do pickup truck-y things. You can have a tailgate party because you can open the compartment in the back, which is actually waterproof. Yeah, just like the Ridgeline has, which most normal pickup trucks don't have. But there's a certain line where you're not allowed to fill past or else it could damage the latch. But that's like pretty much the whole thing. Yeah, so make sure that latch never freezes. Or you don't turn with any ice or anything in there. Exactly. But then there's also a drain plug there so you can empty out your drinks and stuff. Yeah, so that's pretty cool. And this is the first factory tunnel cover that's made like this out of metal. It's a very robust system. Yeah, the way it works is you've got a little handle up there. You click it and it retracts all the way. Then you use a string to pull it back or a rope, whatever's attached to it. And then there's a little yellow thing underneath that you can use to lock it. And that locks everything up. So when you leave, it's fine. It's a really cool system. I have no issues with it. And I'm so stoked that it's built in because non-truck people aren't going to go out of their way to go find a nice tunnel cover that they like. Right, probably not. And it'll be soft because this would be really expensive to buy. And then back there, we do have some steps to get in and everything. So it does have a little bit more versatility. And then they show that you can put planks across so you can separate it and stuff like that. And then there is also a way to put plywood there according to their diagrams. And then we do have a couple of factory tie-down points. The only thing is, if you wanted to tie down like a bike or something like that, the tunnel cover actually takes up quite a bit of room for the tire. And then there is also little compartments on the side there where you can get power, which is nice. Yeah, so you got AC power back there. I mean, it's pretty functional. And then this one's got a nice trailer hitch with all the plug and everything ready. Yeah. It's pretty good for minimal pickup truck and a lot better than that old, I think, Escape pickup truck thing, remember? Oh, the F-150, what's it called? With the two-foot bed? Yeah, yeah. It's Extreme Adrenaline. Yeah. Okay. So this can also tow up to 5,000 pounds, which is actually very respectable. It's the same as the Ridgeline, and it's even more than the Maverick. And then to end off the pickup trucky stuff, we do have this little window back there, but it is manual operation. Yeah. So you can't actually do it from back here. So you got to tell your rear passengers if you have any to open it. But like overall, for the minimal truckiness of this compared to a Ridgeline and we don't know anything about the Maverick. This is great. Pretty solid. I think it's not for truck people. It's good for like gardening. My grandma who does gardening, this would be perfect. Using the bed is a lot easier for moving plant stuff around than the back of SUVs, especially if they've got carpeted trunks and pretty much every SUV does. Yeah. Because you can hose this thing out. You can have tall plants in it. I mean, you can have a tree in the back. Dude. And then rolls of sod, they cause a lot of dirt. Yeah. And then like mulch and stuff like that. It makes sense. Like this is probably the landscaper's dream. Instead of the SAV, is that what it was called? Uh, yes. They should call this the GGV, the grandma's gardening vehicle. I think this is perfect for grandmas and older people. I think G-U-V, Grandma Utility Vehicle. Maybe L-U-V, Landscaping Utility Vehicle. I don't know. Landscaping Adventure Vehicle. Grandma Adventure Vehicle. Yes. G-A-V. Okay. So now that we're done the truckiness of it, let's get into the rest of the looks before you drive. Okay. So it looks kind of like a Tucson, except not really. Let's start with the front end. It's got slightly less lights than the Tucson front end. But other than that, it's almost identical. Yeah. So the headlights look just as awesome as we thought on the Tucson. And then moving around to the side. But. Oh, sorry. I do like the old Santa Cruz concept with the old front end, which was that old Hyundai Elantra front end that we really liked. So it would be cool if someone got this and then did a conversion. Nobody is ever going to do that. And then also with the front end, the headlights are actually at the bottom. So that's kind of weird. But the turn signals are there. Nice and amber. They also look very cool. Can we move on to the side now? I would love to. Okay. So this is where it kind of looks like a pickup truck. Well, it totally does look like a pickup truck. But I think the coolest part are the wheels. Like, yes, we have these 20s. Yes, it's kind of ridiculous for a truck, but this isn't really a truck. So it kind of makes sense. Which is cool that they look like the concept wheels. I think the wheels look fantastic. But what would be the Continental recommended tire for this S-A-V? G-A-V? The Cross Contact LX25. And then we have those really cool fender arches with these interesting kind of plastic-y inlays of like a model of this car, which is kind of cool, but kind of weird. It's okay. But with those plastic-y arches, I sent you a photo of a Tucson that was fully dumped that I saw on the highway. Someone's going to dump this and it is going to look fantastic. Okay. This dumped, I approve. It's not like truck truck. Okay. This yellow with silver cladding. I have turned this into the Photoshopped Subaru Baja that everybody wanted to see. Damn, bro. That is sick. Before we talk about the body lines, can we talk about this color? Yeah, I would love to, because I really like it. It has just enough sparkle and it is a nice shade of blue. Yeah. And it's not like that primer 2020 gray. Like, it's good. And you can get a lot of other cool colors, but I think this is the color to get it in. They're all like earthy tones. I think there's a greeny one too, which is nice. And then as for body lines, the Tucson had a ton of triangularism. Yes. And this has only minor triangularism. Don't mind this at all. I think it's good. I like that it's like a different design aesthetic, but it still looks similar enough. It's a really interesting take between both cars. And then the way they make it pickup truck-y from the side view and the front, honestly, I think everything about this looks better than the Maverick. I think it looks less truck-y, but better than the Ridgeline. But I think the older Ridgeline looks compete with this more directly for being more interesting. Yeah. I see where you're going with that, but I do think this definitely looks better than the Maverick as well. Okay. A little push into cliche corner before we finish off on the back end. Okay. Dude, this is pretty good. This is shockingly good. I don't know what they did, but for a weird SUV pickup truck thing, it's just so neutral. Yeah. That was really good. And yes, this is H-track all-wheel drive, but it is primarily front biased. To the back end, we've got Santa Cruz stamped into the tailgate. So that's cool. Yeah. It looks really nice. The taillights are pretty good. They're like arrows. Yeah, kind of, but they don't illuminate like arrows. I wish they did that. Hyundai has much better taillight design. Yes. Somewhere hidden there. They're waiting for the refresh. Yeah. And then in the taillight, it also says designed in California, because I believe this was the first vehicle designed in North America for the North American market. And then how about the exhaust tips? We don't really have any. There's only one on one side because off-roady ground clearance kind of makes sense. Should we? We need to take a listen to the outside. So then looks wise, do you like this more than the new Maverick? Do you like this more than the Ridgeline, the older Ridgeline, the first Ridgeline, or a yellow Subaru Baja? Okay. Number one is a yellow Subaru Baja. Two-tone, yeah. With an STI swap, naturally. Then this one, I think this is probably the best looking in this class. Then I would probably say the first gen Ridgeline because it looks hilarious. Also agree. And then I would probably say the second gen Ridgeline, and I haven't really looked at the brand new Ridgeline because we haven't had a chance to drive it yet. And then the Maverick. Like the Maverick doesn't look that bad, but in comparison to everything else. I don't think the Maverick looks good, but anyways, let's get you behind the wheel. No brake boost because it sucks because it's dual clutch flooring. That's like some good torque. Yeah. That's a solid launch. The first initial bite is very minimal. Like there's nothing. And then it really picks up because we have this eight-speed dual clutch. And then we've got the fast motor only in Canada, where in the States you can get the non-fast motor with an automatic, not dual clutch. That's right. So there are a couple flaws with this dual clutch, especially because this is supposed to be a truck. So I think for off-roading, it would kind of suck because this thing rolls back and forward a lot when you put it to drive in reverse. Bro, Hyundai never said it's a truck. Yeah, I know. But I'm just saying for a truck-ish. But the transmission is really smooth. So downshifts and everything, it's nice and quick. It will automatically upshift for you when you get to red line, but that's what I expect. There's no joy in shifting this. No, but it's nice to have the paddles, especially for like towing and stuff like that. But we also got it on the shifter too. But the shifter, okay. I'm just saying if you do a paddle delete. Yes. But the shifter is actually so nice to rest your palm on. Unreal. Having a normal shifter is cool. Yeah. Great job, Hyundai. But you know what's not normal? What's that? The infotainment with the capacitive touch. We'll get to that in a bit. Okay, so now horsepowers and torques. This engine is fantastic. This is so quick, like genuinely quick. Like not much turbo lag. Just picks up and just goes. Like it is as fast as a Ridgeline. Very, very similar numbers. But it just feels nice and quick. We don't have that naturally aspirated V6, no VTEC. But for this turbo engine, I love it. Yeah, no complaint. Actually more than enough power. Yo, way more. Like this is genuinely quick. And now let's talk about the suspension, because I think it's amazing. It is so soft. The damping is perfect. Driving over imperfected pavement has been amazing. This thing off-road would actually probably be really good for like, you know, genuine like going to your car. Taking the trail up to the... Yeah, exactly. But like that's probably the extent of what people will do. And sending it into cliche corner. Yes, there is some understeer. It's a truck. But like barely. If you go like a normal speed, this is great. Like there's actually fairly minimal body roll. It just, yes, it feels front wheel drive. And that's where you can kind of feel it on the exits and stuff like that. That's where you get your understeer. But this handles really well. This handles better than most normal cars. I think it handles even better than the Tucson. I wouldn't doubt that. It weighs a little bit more, not much. I would... Yo, this against the RDX A-Spec. Maybe. I think the RDX would still have it. But barely. This is really impressive. And we do have self-leveling suspension in the rear. It is not air suspension, but it is really nice to know that if you load up the bed, it will also always stay level. I mean, as long as you're staying within the capacities. And there's also 0.3 inches of extra ground clearance compared to the Tucson as well. So slightly more off-road-y. Truck-y. Okay. So now let's talk about this infotainment, Yuri. It is a disaster. Let's just put it out right now. This car is great until I came to this infotainment. I used to love Hyundai infotainments. And then they got rid of the hard buttons. They got rid of the volume knob and the tuning knob. Now they frigging suck. It's all capacitive touch. So for everyone who's like, you get paid by Hyundai. You'd like Hyundai. You say their infotainments are good. They suck now, okay? Because they changed it. These ones suck because there are still ones... The Santa Fe was awesome. Exactly. Anyways, it's a widescreen. It's got Apple CarPlay, Android Auto. It's got those bulbs for your satellite radio instead of actually showing like the cover art and stuff, which is super annoying because my eyes don't know how to register. I don't read in bulbs. And then we have a 360 camera, which is actually really good. Okay. Yeah, it's good. You can see the wheels and everything. It's great. That part is still really good. Exactly. And we've got a start button for our projection for iPhone, but even our volume and our tuning is touch buttons. It's hard to use while you're doing stuff. Yeah. And even your climate control, like every button to control everything you actually really want and everything you use daily is a touch button. It's so close to being such a good car. Exactly. And it's like that old Cadillac Q system that nobody liked. This is kind of that minus the 3D-ness of it. Yeah. And then when you see all your tiles, they're all blue, which aesthetically is pleasing, but it's hard to see what's going on. They make your Apple CarPlay blue. Yeah. It's supposed to be green. Yeah, it is. I get it's probably cheaper, but it sucks. So let's move on from that to our gauge cluster. Really cool. It is really cool. It's kind of the same idea. It's obviously hoodless, just like the Tucson was, but it changes between drive modes. Looks pretty cool. The animations are pretty cool. No lag. Exactly. I love it. I think the gauge cluster is really cool and you got a lot of good information there. And then we've got our good lane keep assist and everything. Yeah, we do have highway driving assist. It is lane centering. It is very good. I did notice it swaying just a little bit more than other Hyundais. Yeah, like the Sonatas do that a bit, but the Elantra didn't, but the Genesis don't. Because this is highway driving assist one. And again, since this is a top trim, we do have heated and cooled seats. We also have a heated steering wheel. All the buttons down here are very functional. We do have a couple of drive modes. Let's just get to those right now. Normal, sport, and smart. And then we also have terrain modes. If you press the terrain button, snow, mud, and sand. I've actually left this in smart because I don't really need to drive this that quickly. Yeah, so you're normal. You're in drive. A little bit of lag, but once it picks up, it picks up. It's not a sports car at all. Exactly. It really doesn't matter. But it is very torquey when it does pick up. It is. It's good. It's good. Cup holders. Cup holders are fine. And then we even have some cup holders in the back on the doors, which are very cool. The unfortunate part is all of the gloss black around every single cup holder and kind of around every area. And since this is a grandma utility vehicle, whatever we're calling it, come on. Yeah, it's bad. I don't like the gloss black. And for those of you who say we complain about gloss black too much, I have a feeling you haven't driven or lived with a car with gloss black. Once you do that, yeah. And those must all be non-Savage Geese viewers as well, because Savage Geese also hates it. And then the general look of the interior, I love how we've got these two swooping things that lead into the infotainment that we don't like. I think that is very nice. We've got a lot of room in our armrest. The armrest is very comfy. And then we also have a wireless charger down here, which is cool. Yeah. And then we've got like really nice vents. They're blended in and everything like that. Materials are great. Yeah. Normal USB, not USB-C yet, which I'm cool with because I don't have all those cables yet. Well, I did bring my USB-C, which is why I forgot my regular one in this. Seat comfort. Would grandma be comfortable in this? Oh, so comfortable. I took this for like a two-hour ride with my wife and my child. Loved it. Visors? Ooh, let's find out. I think we'll be good. Three, two, one. Full pass. Mine started sliding before I even put any pressure on it. That's greasy. We only have a little sunroof, which I think is fine for trucky stuff. Yeah, totally fine. How about our backseat room? Not very good for myself at six foot one and a half. My knees bash into the actual little like knee cutouts. And at five foot eight, I fit perfectly behind Jacob, even more perfectly behind myself. But my wife sitting behind me and my child in this passenger seat with the rear-facing seat was actually totally fine. Yeah. A lot of room back there. I think it's very nice. And then those backseats can also fold up like pretty much every truck does. And then you've got some little compartments down there to store other things too. Yes. Like brooms and things that you don't want to keep in the back maybe. Grandma's water pistols. Grandma's gardening shovels. Yes. So overall, I think this is a very nice vehicle. I think it's really cool that they introduced something like that. Totally unique. Yes, the Ridgeline existed, but this is like just totally different. It's a different take on it. Nailed everything except for the infotainment. And I think it's time we get to the price. And I just want to say that this actually gets a lot of attention on the road at this time. People are actually breaking their necks and turning around and looking at this. Let's get to the price. So this one's $44,799 for the ultimate trim in Canada. Canadian. And in the U.S., the comparable would be the limited trim at $40,905. Kind of a lot. Yeah, it is quite a bit. It is actually $3,000 more than a comparable Tucson in this trim. But hear me out. If you're into gardening and stuff like that, and you don't want to fully commit to a truck. Yeah. This is the perfect middle ground alongside with the Ridgeline and the Maverick. I did have landscapers legitimately staring me down in this. You just like put a bunch of soil back there. All right, Hyundai. I hope you like your gardening and your grandma marketing people because, yeah, this is what's going to sell this truck, apparently, car, sports utility, whatever the hell this is called. I'm convinced. It's about gardening. Yeah. And if you're shopping for a new Hyundai Santa Cruz and you live in the United States, click the TrueCar link below. There's a discount using the Stray Pipes link. You can also shop for used Hyundais using TrueCar. And if you live in Canada, there's a Car Help Canada link below. So let us know what you think of the new Santa Cruz and let us know in the comments below what manufacturer would you want to see enter this market? I think Bugatti would be really cool in this market. Yeah. Maybe Tesla. Lamborghini. A little Lamborghini truck. They kind of did an off-roading thing, actually. Well, didn't that one YouTuber make a Tesla truck just like this? Yeah, but I wouldn't do Tesla.