The 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz is a fun, sporty pickup truck with decent fuel economy and an even better starting price, with updates for this model year. The Santa Cruz first debuted in 2021 and has since become a top choice for truck drivers in North America. We see a sleek interior and exterior design plus endless safety features, making this an excellent choice for 2024 and beyond.

This article will serve as a guide to the 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz, covering things like engine performance, interior and exterior specs, safety features, towing capacity, and more, so stick around!

What's New for 2024?

Regarding the 2024 updates to the Hyundai Santa Cruz, this model sees a new XRT trim, replacing the SEL Premium model. With the XRT, you will have a leather-wrapped steering wheel, black faux-leather upholstery, adaptive cruise control, and Hyundai's Digital Key. This trim level will also add wider fender flares, side steps, and bed rails.

Across all trims for 2024, the Hyundai Santa Cruz offers LED lighting standard, as well as haptic feedback through the steering wheel for lane-keeping assist and blind spot collision avoidance has been added. Buyers may also opt for the SEL Activity Package, which now includes a 10.3-inch infotainment screen. Overall, this truck has a significant bump-up in luxury for its most recent release.

Rugged Exterior

Looking at the outside of a 2024 Santa Cruz pickup, you have a rugged, sporty vibe with plenty of standout specs. Specifically, this truck has Bi-LED projector headlights, LED Daytime Running Lights, and LED taillights, plus standard wheels, which are 18-inch alloys. The Night trim offers dark 20-inch alloys with a dark front grille and lower fascias. Your XRT model will feature wide fender cladding, side steps, 18-inch alloy wheels with exclusive center caps, and a dark chrome front grille with premium LED Daytime Running Lights.

Generally, this pickup model is sleek and luxurious and costs under $30,000 to start. It looks different from most trucks in its class, which we appreciate.

2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz Dimensions

Moving onto the dimensions of a 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz pickup, you see decent measurements from front to back. Specifically, this truck will offer you:

Wheelbase: 118.3 inches
Length: 195.7 inches
Width: (in. not including side mirrors) 75.0 inches
Height: (in. not including roof side rails) 66.7 inches

Your interior dimensions are as follows:

Headroom front (with sunroof, front/rear): 38.4 / 39.6 inches
Legroom (front / 2nd-row): 41.4 / 36.5 inches
Shoulder room (front / 2nd-row): 57.6 / 56.1 inches
Hip room (front / 2nd-row): 55.4 / 53.5 inches

2024 Santa Cruz Bed Size

Looking at the bed ona 2024 Santa Cruz pickup truck, you can expect this model to boast the following dimensions across all four trims:

Bed length: 52.1 inches
Bed height: 19.2 inches
Bed width (max/between wheel wells): 53.9 / 42.7 inches
Bed volume: 27.0 cubic feet

This vehicle will have a smaller bed size than some competitors, although many applaud its utility features and general functionality.

Modern Interior

Looking inside the 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz, you have an equally sleek styling outside. Notably, this model will offer things like a spacious, 5-passenger seating capacity with the following specs:

Heated and ventilated front seats
Dual automatic temperature control with Multi-Air Mode
Heated, leather-wrapped steering wheel
8-way power driver seat with power lumbar support
Stain-resistant cloth seats for SE and SEL trims
H-Tex™ seating surfaces for Night and XRT trims
Leather-trimmed seats for the Limited trim
Power tilt-and-slide sunroof
Rear air vents (Limited trim)

Of course, starting trims like the SE and SEL will offer less than the Night, XRT, and Limited as they cost less. Your Limited Santa Cruz is the nicest choice, retailing for $41,320, while the entry SE is $26,900.

Fuel Economy and MPG

You see decent specs from the EPA for the fuel economy and MPG estimates of the 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz. Specifically, this vehicle will see up to 23 combined MPGs, with 22/26 city/highway in FWD models. Moreover, the AWD configuration ranges from 22 to 23 combined, with as little as 19/27 city/highway or 21/25 city/highway.

This pickup truck has a potential three-engine and drivetrain configurations, and the FWD option is your best bet for fuel economy. AWD cuts back on performance quite a bit.

Engine, Drivetrain, and Performance

For the 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz's engine, drivetrain, and performance, you can choose between a base or turbocharged engine, the 2.5-liter 4-cylinder, and AWD or FWD. The engine inside this specific model boasts between 191 and 281 horsepower, with torque of 181 to 311 pound-feet.

The SE and SEL share the 191/181 horsepower/torque specs, while your three higher trims will have faster and larger outputs. Regardless of trim, you have an 8-speed automatic transmission rated highly for on-road smoothness.

To recap the available options:

A 191-hp 2.5L GDI-MPI 4-cylinder engine with 181 lb-ft of torque, paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission with SHIFTRONIC.
A 2.5L turbocharged GDI-MPI 4-cylinder engine delivering 281 hp and 311 lb-ft of torque, paired with an 8-speed Wet Dual Clutch Transmission with paddle shifters.

2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz Towing Capacity

The towing capacity of a 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz ranges between 3,500 and 5,000 pounds, depending on the trim and how you configure your truck. Notably, the base 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine can tow 3,500 pounds, while the turbocharged one can tow 5,000 pounds with the optional trailer brakes installed.

Ride and Handling

Regarding the ride and handling of a 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz pickup truck, you have a smooth, almost car-like drive from the nameplate. Many reviewers have noted that the Santa Cruz feels smooth on the road and operates closer to a large SUV in terms of how it responds to road conditions and gear shifts. Overall, the MPG ratings are good, your FWD and AWD offer stability in nearly all situations, and this truck is quiet inside.

2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz Trim Levels and Pricing

The pricing of an all-new Santa Cruz starts at $26,900 and goes up to an MSRP of $41,320. There are five trims: SE, SEL, Night, XRT, andLimited. The XRT is new to this release and offers several bells and whistles.

2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz SE

This will be your entry trim to the Santa Cruz lineup and retails for $26,900. It includes the following standard features:

191-horsepower 2.5L GDI-MPI 4-cylinder engine
8-inch color touchscreen display audio
Wireless Apple CarPlay® integration for your iPhone
Wireless Android Auto™ integration for your Android phone
18-inch alloy wheels

2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz SEL

Your next bump up the chain is the SEL, which builds on the SE base trim level. It retails for $29,650 and offers these specifications:

191-horsepower 2.5L GDI-MPI 4-cylinder engine
Bluelink® Connected Car System
Remote Start
Proximity Key with push-button start
Dual automatic temperature control

You may also want to add the Activity Package to this model, which retails for $3,660 extra.

2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz Night

The Night trim of the Santa Cruz is another great choice, but it is a bit pricier than the SE and SEL models. You see an MSRP of $38,460 with this truck and the following specs:

281-horsepower 2.5L Turbocharged GDI-MPI 4-cylinder engine
Dark 20-inch Alloy wheels
Dark front grille and accents
Dark front and rear lower fascias
Black H-Tex™ Seating Surfaces

2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz XRT

The newest addition to the Santa Cruz lineup is the XRT trim. This model sees a rugged exterior and plenty of on-suite upgrades, retailing for $40,100. It offers these features:

281-hp 2.5-liter Turbocharged GDI-MPI 4-cylinder engine
HTRAC All Wheel Drive
Smart Cruise Control (SCC) with Stop & Go
XRT Wide fender cladding
Side steps

2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz Limited

As the final and most expensive 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz for this year, the Limited model offers just about everything you could imagine. It starts at $41,320 and has these standard specs:

281-horsepower 2.5L Turbocharged GDI-MPI 4-cylinder engine
HTRAC All Wheel Drive
Highway Driving Assist (HDA)
Surround View Monitor (SVM)
Blind-Spot View Monitor (BVM)

Safety and Driver-Assistance Features

Onto the safety and driver-assistance features of a 2024 Santa Cruz model, you see competitive equipment and tech at a standard, entry-level that only gets better in higher trims. Hyundai's SmartSense suite of driver assistance technology is standard on the 2024 Santa Cruz, offering:

Forward-collision warning and automated emergency braking
Lane-departure warning and lane-keeping assist
Blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert
Adaptive cruise control
Driver attention warning
Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist
Highway Driving Assist
Smart Cruise Control with Stop & Go
Surround View Monitor
Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist
Safe Exit Warning
Rear Occupant Alert

Infotainment and Connectivity

Infotainment and connectivity inside the 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz are just as exciting as the safety and other comfort specs. It boasts an 8-inch color touchscreen display with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto™ integration standard, and higher trim models see a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and touchscreen navigation.

These are some other things to look forward to:

Wireless device charging
Hyundai Digital Key
Bose Premium Audio (Limited trim)
Bluelink Connected Car System
Remote Start
Proximity Key with push-button start

Is the 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz Right For You?

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz is a nice choice for drivers wanting something rugged and sporty and for under $30,000 to start. With five unique trims and two engine configurations, this pickup truck has something for every kind of person. You won't know which Santa Cruz fits your lifestyle best until you test drive one, so swing by Central Hyundai in Plainfield, CT, to find the model of your dreams!

Get Your 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz at Central Hyundai

With this ultimate guide to the 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz complete, there is no better time to visit your neighborhood dealership, Central Hyundai, to test drive and see these pickup trucks in person. We're open Monday through Saturday each week and can't wait to meet you. Drive safe!

2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz