2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz SE

The all-new 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz SE offers plenty for all types of drivers and budgets. Starting at just under $29,000, this pickup truck feels more comfortable than standard options, focusing on technology, comfort features, passenger space, and high-end materials, all of which Hyundai is known for incorporating into its lineup. In this article, we will delve into everything the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz SE offers and compare it to the other trims in the lineup. Stay tuned, and let's get started!

What's New for 2025?

The 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz, as a whole, features various aesthetic updates for increased aerodynamics and style on the road, with the SE also receiving a few enhancements. Firstly, the Santa Cruz SE has a restyled grille and front bumper, consistent with the rest of the lineup, which gives it a more rugged feel. The touchscreen inside your Santa Cruz SE is revamped, offering a 12.3-inch infotainment display and analog gauges. The dashboard and center console have been restyled, and the steering wheel and panel of buttons for climate control have been slightly improved.

Overall, this pickup truck has a more spacious, upscale design compared to others in its price and class range.

Exterior Design

As the entry point to the series, the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz SE introduces some new exterior features, though not as many as the higher trims. Notably, even at a base trim, you get 18-inch alloy wheels paired with 245/60 R18 tires, perfect for various road and terrain conditions. You can also expect a compact spare tire, projector bi-LED headlights, LED taillights, Daytime Running Lights (DRL), High Beam Assist (HBA), body-color door handles and side mirrors, a shark-fin roof antenna, and more.

The dimensions of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz SE are noteworthy:

• Wheelbase: 118.3 inches
• Length: 195.7 inches
• Width (not including side mirrors): 75.0 inches
• Height (not including roof side rails): 66.7 inches
• Bed length: 52.1 inches
• Bed depth: 19.2 inches
• Bed width (max/between wheel wells): 53.9 / 42.7 inches
• Bed volume: 27.0 cubic feet

 

Interior Comfort and Convenience

The interior of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz SE is as sleek as the exterior, emphasizing passenger space, upgraded materials for seating and trim, infotainment and connectivity, and overall user-friendly features. Here are some of the interior comfort and convenience features to anticipate in 2025:

• Acoustic-laminated windscreen
• Power windows with driver auto-down
• Front 2-speed/variable intermittent windshield wipers
• Front dual USB ports
• Second-row dual USB ports
• Rear View Monitor (RVM) with parking guidance
• Proximity Key with push-button start
• Front and rear LED interior lights
• Stain and odor-resistant cloth seats
• 6-way adjustable driver seat
• Rear 60/40 split tip-up lower seat cushions

Your interior dimensions and key measurements are also notable. Here are your seat measurements:

• Headroom (front/rear): 40.2 / 39.6 inches
• Legroom (front/rear): 41.4 / 36.5 inches
• Shoulder room (front/rear): 57.7 / 56.1 inches
• Hip room (front/rear): 54.5 / 53.5 inches

The passenger volume inside the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz SE is 101.8 cubic feet, comfortably fitting about five people.

Performance and Powertrain

The performance and powertrain of the all-new Santa Cruz SE are impressive, featuring a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine (191 horsepower, 181 pound-feet of torque) paired with an eight-speed transmission and front-wheel drive. All-wheel drive (HTRAC AWD) is optional for the base trim. From driver reviews, this pickup truck is lively and well-handling, offering a smooth ride on the road and highway.

Many pickups lack smooth ride quality, making them uncomfortable for long distances or daily commuting, so the Santa Cruz is an ideal choice for everyday driving.

Hyundai Santa Cruz SE Towing Capacity

The towing capacity for the base trim SE Santa Cruz is commendable, reaching up to 3,500 pounds. This is thanks to the standard 4-pin trailer pre-wiring on Santa Cruz, which helps you efficiently tow equipment, small trailers, and more. Towing capacity can be increased in higher trims, with a max of 5,000 pounds.

Safety and Driver-Assistance Features

Safety and driver-assistance features on the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz SE are impressive, with the brand prioritizing safety in this lineup. Specifically, the newest release of Santa Cruz includes enhanced SmartSense technology as standard, offering a suite of driver-assistance and collision-avoidance tools to keep you and your passengers safe.

Here are some safety features you can expect for the SE trim:

• Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist with Pedestrian Detection (FCA-Ped)
• Blind-Spot Collision Warning (BCW)
• Lane Keeping Assist (LKA)
• Lane Following Assist (LFA)
• High Beam Assist (HBA)
• Driver Attention Warning (DAW)
• Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (RCCA)
• Safe Exit Warning (SEW)
• Rear Occupant Alert (ROA)
• Surround View Monitor (SVM)

Note: The 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz is one of the few pickup trucks to achieve a Top Safety Pick status from IIHS.

Infotainment and Connectivity

The infotainment and connectivity inside the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz SE are impressive, even in the rear row of this five-seater pickup truck. As previously mentioned, the infotainment system is revamped for 2025, and the SE is no exception. You will get a deluxe 12.3-inch touchscreen as standard, Wireless Android Auto™ & Apple CarPlay®, HD Radio™ Technology, a SiriusXM Satellite Radio Trial, Bluelink+, a 4.2-inch gauge cluster, and Bluetooth® hands-free with wireless audio streaming.

Fuel Economy and MPG

For fuel economy and MPG inside a Hyundai Santa Cruz SE this year, drivers can expect decent performance from its 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine. The EPA rates this pickup truck as achieving up to 22 / 30 / 25 city/highway/combined MPGs for front-wheel drive. In contrast, AWD Santa Cruz will be slightly lower at 21 / 29 / 24 city/highway/combined.

Pricing and Value

The pricing and value for this year's 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz are noteworthy, especially at the base SE trim level. This redesigned pickup truck will retail for a starting MSRP of $28,750, with the price reaching up to $42,750. Although this is the only truck Hyundai offers U.S. shoppers, it checks off the boxes for people in lower price ranges, mid-tier truck budgets, and those willing to spend over $42,000 on their new vehicle. We will break things down by trim below, along with pricing.

SE vs. SEL vs. SEL Activity vs. XRT vs. Limited

Your 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz comes in five available trims, each offering something unique to drivers. Here is what you get per truck and for how much:

SE - $28,750

• FWD: 25 MPG Combined, 22 City/30 Hwy
• AWD: 24 MPG Combined, 21 City/29 Hwy
• 191-hp 2.5L GDI-MPI 4-cylinder engine
• 12.3-inch touchscreen display
• Wireless Apple CarPlay® integration for your iPhone®
• Wireless Android Auto™ integration for your Android phone
• 18-inch alloy wheels

SEL - $30,450

• FWD: 25 MPG Combined, 22 City/30 Hwy
• AWD: 24 MPG Combined, 21 City/29 Hwy
• 191-hp 2.5L GDI-MPI 4-cylinder engine
• Roof side rails
• Heated front seats
• H-Tex® leatherette-trimmed seats
• Dual automatic temperature control

SEL Activity - $33,450

• FWD: 25 MPG Combined, 22 City/30 Hwy
• AWD: 24 MPG Combined, 21 City/29 Hwy
• 191-hp 2.5L GDI-MPI 4-cylinder engine
• Power sunroof
• 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster
• Integrated tonneau cover
• Wireless device charging

XRT - $40,250

• 21 MPG Combined, 18 City/26 Hwy
• 281-hp 2.5L Turbocharged GDI-MPI 4-cylinder engine
• HTRAC All Wheel Drive
• 18-inch XRT alloy wheels
• XRT front dark grille
• 12.3-inch touchscreen display with navigation

Limited - $42,750

• 22 MPG Combined, 19 City/27 Hwy
• 281-hp 2.5L Turbocharged GDI-MPI 4-cylinder engine
• HTRAC All Wheel Drive
• Integrated Memory System (IMS)
• Hyundai Digital Key 2 Touch
• 20-inch alloy wheels

2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz SE vs. Competitors

When comparing the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz SE to its competition, not much matches up to it. Similar releases include the Honda Ridgeline, Nissan Frontier, and Ford Maverick, though the Santa Cruz is exceptional in terms of value. The only model cheaper than the Santa Cruz is the Maverick from Ford, but even it retails for $26,995. The Ridgeline starts at $40,150, and the Frontier costs $32,050.

The Santa Cruz is the most fuel-efficient overall and the most competitive with the Maverick in terms of efficiency. If comparing it to another pickup truck, Ford's option is the closest.

Warranty and Maintenance Coverage

Regarding warranty coverage and maintenance for the 2025 Santa Cruz SE, this model comes with Hyundai's class-leading coverage. Here are your warranties for this model year:

• 5 years/60,000 miles: New Vehicle Limited
• 10 years/100,000 miles: Powertrain Limited
• 7 years/unlimited miles: Anti-perforation
• 5 years/unlimited miles: 24/7 Roadside Assistance

Availability and Test Drive

Here at Granite Hyundai, we have plenty of 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz pickups available for test drives. Whether you want the SE, SEL, SEL Activity, XRT, or Limited, our top-rated team and showroom are open for daily test drives.

Get Your Hyundai Santa Cruz SE at Granite Hyundai

With this ultimate guide to the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz SE complete, it's time to visit your neighborhood Hyundai dealership. The team at Granite Hyundai in Somersworth, NH, is here for all things Santa Cruz SE and beyond; plus, we can help explore your options and get you a set of keys for a test drive. Drive safe, and we'll be here waiting!