Hyundai’s Santa Cruz Pickup: Facelift Images and Design Changes Revealed

Santa Cruz, the U.S. strategic model
Soon to have its first facelift
Prediction images revealed by Carscoops

Since the Pony pickup, Hyundai hasn’t produced a pickup truck for a long time. However, due to constant consumer requests in the U.S., a major market for pickup trucks, Hyundai developed and launched the Santa Cruz. As a model targeting the U.S. market from the beginning, it is produced entirely in the U.S. and not sold domestically in Korea.

The current Santa Cruz is preparing for a facelift alongside the Tucson, which it is based on. Test cars have been spotted both overseas and domestically, and recently, predictions based on these sightings have become a hot topic in foreign media. Let’s look at what the first facelift of Santa Cruz might look like.

The front has a more angular feel than the facelifted Tucson

Let’s take a look at the prediction revealed by Carscoops. First, the grill pattern has become larger, and there is a hole in the middle compared to the previous grill. The pattern is no longer crisscrossed and is aligned straight. As before, the four corners of the grill have daytime running lights. Of course, the daytime running lights also show a more angular shape following the change in the grill’s shape.

The headlights, located below, do not look significantly different from the previous ones. The bumper design also shows no significant difference from the prior model. However, due to the change in the grill pattern, it feels a bit more angular than before. The rear was not revealed, but looking at the spotted test car, there won’t be a significant difference from the previous model.

Will the interior design change like the current Tucson?

Unlike the exterior design, the interior design prediction has not been revealed. However, according to industry experts, it can be inferred from Tucson’s facelift. This makes sense as the interior design of the Santa Cruz at the time of its launch was almost identical to that of the Tucson that was released then.

Therefore, the facelifted Santa Cruz’s interior is likely to change identically or very similarly to that of the facelifted Tucson. The facelifted Tucson features a panoramic display connecting a 12.3-inch instrument panel and display, the same media and air conditioning buttons as the Sonata, a new steering wheel, and a two-tier center console.

What optional specifications will be applied to the reborn Santa Cruz?

What optional specifications will be applied to the facelifted Santa Cruz? The optional specifications that are expected to be applied to this vehicle so far are ccNC infotainment, head-up display, wireless phone projection, Digital Key 2, and fingerprint authentication system. As you may have noticed, these options are new to Tucson. There is a high likelihood that these new specifications will also be applied to the upcoming Santa Cruz.

The powertrain will likely add a new 1.6 turbo hybrid in addition to the existing 2.5-liter naturally aspirated gasoline and 2.5-liter turbo gasoline. If this happens, the Santa Cruz will be the first pickup truck model a Korean brand produces to have a hybrid powertrain. The facelifted Santa Cruz is expected to be revealed this year.