- hyundai has begun production of the 2022 santa cruz compact pickup.
- it's built on the same line as the santa fe, tucson, sonata, and elantra.
- the santa cruz should be reaching dealerships within the next few months.
the ford maverick may have stolen the hyundai santa cruz's thunder as the newest compact pickup truck on the block, but now the race is on to see which can get to customers' hands first. hyundai has officially started production of the santa cruz at its factory in alabama, and the company says it will start reaching dealerships within the next few months.
the santa cruz is being built on the same assembly line as the santa fe suv, the sonata and elantra sedans, and the tucson suv with which it shares many components. it offers the same base engine as the tucson, a 2.5-liter inline-four, and also the turbocharged 2.5-liter inline-four that's available in the santa fe.
we don't have pricing yet for the santa cruz, but we expect it to start around $25,000. we also know it will be available with either front- or all-wheel drive and in se, sel, sel premium, and limited trim levels. shorter in length than the maverick, the santa cruz has a 4.3-foot bed to the ford's 4.5-foot bed. the base front-wheel-drive santa cruz is rated to tow 3500 pounds, while the turbo model is expected to have a tow rating of 5000 pounds.