Hyundai trucked its 2025 Santa Cruz to this 12 months’s New York Auto Show for debut. With dealer deliveries anticipated later this summer season, it is time to reply the query each dad is programmed to ask on the finish of a meal when consuming out: “What is the injury?” As with nearly each 2025 light-duty automobile, the approaching Santa Cruz prices greater than the present Santa Cruz. Let’s recap what the cash pays for. We’re taking a look at a brand new entrance grille and contemporary entrance bumper, re-styled daytime operating lights, and new wheel designs. Inside updates are comparable in scope to what we noticed on the refreshed Tucson, the Santa Cruz’s SUV sibling, that means the arrival of Hyundai’s panoramic curved display screen setup that includes a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system operating the most recent Hyundai software program. It does away with the contact haptic middle stack controls in favor of actual buttons and switches for simpler use, and makes wi-fi Android Auto and Apple CarPlay normal. Hyundai additionally redesigned the steering wheel, air vents, instrument panel and rear seat armrest.
Additionally mirroring Tucson tech are varied new programs accessible on the Santa Cruz, together with gadgets like a fingerprint scanner for automobile startup, Digital Key 2 tech (for phone-as-key use), over-the-air updates for the infotainment system, extra highly effective USB-C ports, and a brand new driver consideration monitoring system.
And Hyundai made the XRT off-roading trim a extra sturdy off-roader after introducing it as an look package deal in 2024. The XRT is thought by an unique grille, purple tow hooks poking by a redrawn entrance bumper that gives a greater strategy angle, a brand new rear bumper, and 245/60R all-terrain tires wrapping trim-specific 18-inch “wrench-inspired” wheels. The cabin options XRT logos and the Encompass View Monitor comes normal to enhance visibility in off-road conditions.
Powertrains powertrains carry over unchanged. Meaning a naturally aspirated 2.5-liter four-cylinder making 191 horsepower and 181 pound-feet of torque, shifting by an eight-speed computerized transmission to both the entrance or each axles, or a turbocharged variant of the identical engine making 281 hp and 311 lb-ft, shifting by an eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox to each axles. Nevertheless, the two.5 turbo provides a tow mode to its drive mode choice for each the Restricted and XRT trims, regardless that most capability holds pat at 5,000 kilos; the non-turbo can pull 3,500 kilos.
Lastly, the Evening trim isn’t any extra. The extremely darkish stepping stone filling the $10,000 hole between the SEL and XRT is now the SEL with the Exercise Bundle.Â
Okay, to the MSRPs then. Costs for 2025 after the $1,395 vacation spot cost and their variations from 2024 launch pricing are:Â
- SE: $29,895 ($1,910)
- SEL: $31,595 ($1,220)
- SEL Exercise: $34,595 (New trim)
- XRT: $41,395 ($210)
- Restricted: $43,895 ($1,490)
As we have seen with another automobiles for the 2025 mannequin 12 months, Hyundai raised costs throughout the 2024 mannequin 12 months. We’ve a sense automakers are doing this for 2 causes: 1. They will; 2. So tales about new pricing do not appear so dangerous when evaluating the most recent pricing to what’s forward. As an example, the 2023 Santa Cruz SE started at $26,745 after a $1,010 vacation spot cost. When announced for 2024, the little hauler began at $27,985 after a $1,335 vacation spot cost. Based mostly on a Hyundai value sheet, in June of this 12 months, the SE’s MSRP rose to $26,900 plus a $1,395 vacation spot cost, for a base value of $28,295. So what appears like a $1,600 premium over the 2024 Santa Cruz is barely legitimate if going again to June, and does not depend the cumulative $310 bump in MSRP and vacation spot earlier than then.Â
As for the putative competitors, the 2025 Honda Ridgeline begins at $41,545, the still-hot-selling Ford Maverick will begin at $27,890 for 2025. Â