In this week’s episode, join John and Richard as they take a deep dive into the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz. Discover how this compact pickup redefines versatility by offering a unique blend of the comfort and power of an SUV combined with the practicality of a pickup truck. With its retractable bed cover and ample interior features, it’s the perfect alternative for those who don’t need a full-size truck but crave functional space. As they explore its capabilities, John and Richard highlight the impressive turbocharged engine that performs exceptionally well at high altitudes, a crucial feature for outdoor enthusiasts.
All right, we are back, and it’s that time of the week where we do new car reviews. We’ve got a couple to do this week, Richard. We both were in both of these vehicles, but I’ll start with the 2025 Santa Cruz, and I will say that’s a Hyundai Santa Cruz is what I should say. We drove the limited all-wheel drive. This vehicle came in at a… A Monroney price of $4,500, fully equipped. And I’ve talked about this vehicle on Drive Radio numerous times because people will call in and ask, you know, what do I get? You know, what options do I have? I don’t want to buy a full-size, you know, pickup truck or, you know, the medium-sized pickup trucks like, you know, Tundra and Colorado and Ranger. you know, what other alternatives are there? I just need to pick up bed for some things periodically. Well, the Santa Cruz has got you covered. And what I mean by that is even the load itself, it comes with a retractable cover on the back, Richard. So it’s much like, think of it this way, it’s like having an SUV only with the ability to put a lot taller stuff in the back, yet having all of the same interior creature comforts you would get out of an SUV with the same power of an SUV, all-wheel drive. And I will say, if there’s anything about this car, Richard, that I really enjoyed is, A, it’s very comfortable, very quiet, and it runs fabulous.
SPEAKER 01 :
It does. It is a fabulous running vehicle with that turbocharged engine, especially, as we always say, Dad, at our altitude. Correct. It just works great. And you said it best. It is a small SUV, basically with no back end, which gives you some extra functionality, right? Because you can put some taller things in there, as long as they’re not super heavy, right? This is not a, you know, full, you know, half ton, three quarters on one ton pickup, right? This thing’s not hauling several thousand pounds. No, that’s right. However, it’s not meant to be. But if you do, you know, you did go pick up, I’ll be honest, I actually picked up a safety the other day, 500 pounds. This vehicle would haul that. I think it has a max payload of about 1,400 pounds. Yep, it would haul it just fine.
SPEAKER 02 :
Good point.
SPEAKER 01 :
And you could stand it up and you could put tie-downs on it. Ours did come with a really nice locking kind of a built-in tonneau cover, right? Yes. You could put some stuff in the back. It was easy to pull and easy to slide, which made it easy. There is some storage in the bed compartment. It is not an overly large vehicle. vehicle truck because it is a truck on the inside um at least for the back seat passengers the front passengers are just fine um however dad if you’re looking for a lot of the creature comfort that comes standard and as you mentioned all-wheel drive this is a vehicle for you right
SPEAKER 02 :
No, it’s got everything that you could ever want in that size of vehicle. And for those of you listening, yes, this competes with like the Ford Maverick. The Ford Maverick, I should say. The Honda Ridgeline is a little bit larger vehicle. Now, I’m going to say this, and Hyundai, I know you hear all these reviews. Here’s my only complaint. i think it’s a little bit high priced for what you get at the end of the day and let me explain folks when i say that this particular vehicle granted this was the upper end and it’s in the low 40s 42 500 you can spend about four grand more and buy a honda ridgeline nothing nothing against this particular vehicle so again hyundai will listen to this but great vehicle hyundai But I think when you’re trying to compete in the marketplace and have an edge, that price difference, in my opinion, Richard, needs to be a little bit farther apart. That’s my only, literally, that is my only negative with this car. It’s one of the first things I even told my wife when I got in it. Outside of that, is this a car I would own? Absolutely. I just wish the price was a little lower, Richard.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, well, and with that price increase, if you’re wondering what do I get, you get some more creature comforts, right? You get a little bit more. The touchscreen on the side is a little bit different than some of its competitors. Some more creature comforts as far as, I think, heated and ventilated front seats, if I’m not mistaken, Dan. You get some of those extra features that maybe you deem as more important to you and you would rather have than more room. So if this sounds interesting, folks, It really is an interesting car and truck if you haven’t seen them. Head to your local Hyundai dealer, check it out. Again, 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz, and let them know that John and Richard Rush from Drive Radio and Rush to Reason sent you.
SPEAKER 02 :
This is John Rush from Rush to Reason and Drive Radio. Thank you so much for listening. Check out more of our podcasts at RushToReason.com or Drive-Radio.com.
