- The 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz has a good acceleration
- Despite being a truck, the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz handles well
- Hyundai did a good job with the interior
The brand-new 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz is Hyundai’s attempt to enter the American pickup truck market, and while it has some good qualities, it also has some bad qualities. As a result, many car critics, including Consumer Reports, gave the truck a mixed review. However, Consumer Reports still liked a couple of things about the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz, and here’s a look at three of them.
The 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz has a good acceleration
2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz | Getty Images
Currently, according to Consumer Reports, Hyundai offers two engine options on the Santa Cruz. The standard engine is a 2.5-liter four-cylinder, and it’s not very remarkable. It gets 191 hp and 181 lb-ft of torque, and it’s paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. Consumer Reports described this engine option as “rather strained.” But there is a more powerful option.
That more powerful option is one of the things Consumer Reports liked about the Santa Cruz. Hyundai offers a 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, and it gets 281 hp and 311 lb-ft of torque. It’s also paired with a dual-clutch automatic transmission, and on the top-tier trims, Hyundai will throw in all-wheel drive as standard in addition to this powerful engine.
Thanks to that 281 hp, the Santa Cruz can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just 6.6 seconds. According to Consumer Reports, that’s almost a second faster than what larger pickup trucks can do. As such, the Santa Cruz got a 4 out of 5 in terms of its acceleration score.
Despite being a truck, the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz handles well
Consumer Reports notices that not only is this Hyundai pickup truck very quick when it’s equipped with the right engine, but it also handles well. This is partially thanks to the truck’s unibody construction, which is a feature few trucks have. Most sedans have unibody construction, but most trucks have something else.
This Hyundai truck handles more like a car than a truck. In fact, Consumer Reports wrote, “The Santa Cruz feels more responsive and agile through turns than any other pickup.” That unibody construction also gives it benefits in terms of its ride quality, as it is a comfortable truck to be in.
The Santa Cruz isn’t perfect though, and Consumer Reports said that it handled worse than SUVs like the Hyundai Tucson. Regardless, it still performed well on the test track, and it’s why the Santa Cruz has good scores in terms of its handling and braking.
Hyundai did a good job with the interior
The last thing that Consumer Reports liked about this Hyundai pickup truck is its interior controls. The Santa Cruz was designed based on the Tucson, so naturally, their interiors share a lot of similarities. As a result, the Santa Cruz’s interior, especially its controls, is generally good, though it does have some of the same issues other Hyundais have.
For example, Consumer Reports liked how usable most of the Santa Cruz’s controls were, but there were some exceptions, such as the heated-seat buttons. In terms of its infotainment system, the Santa Cruz comes with an 8-inch touch screen display, and its controls were also easy to use. Not only are the icons large and easy-to-understand, but there are also shortcut buttons that make it easy to navigate the system.
Those controls are also nestled in a cabin that’s stylish and comfortable to be in. And of course, customers can opt for improved features, such as a 10.25-inch touch screen display. These features will function as well as the standard ones do.
Keyword: 3 Things Consumer Reports Likes About the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz