The Most Awaited Santa Cruz Sport Adventure Vehicle To Hit U.S. Markets This Summer!

Hyundai Motor Company recently revealed its most awaited Santa Cruz Sport Adventure Vehicle. 

Production for the model will begin in June  in Montgomery, Alabama and will be set to go on sale in summer. With the addition of Santa Cruz to HMMA production will add approximately 1,200 jobs to the U.S economy. 

“Santa Cruz, with its bold styling, breaks open all new segment territory, both for Hyundai and the industry as a whole. Open-bed flexibility coupled with closed-cabin security meets the changing everyday needs of its adventure-oriented buyers, while powerful and efficient engines and superb manoeuvrability ensure it is a pleasure to drive in urban or off-road environments. Our customers will wonder just how they managed before owning one,” said president and chief executive officer of Hyundai Motor North America Jose Munoz.

The Santa Cruz was manufactured to be the ultimate Sport Adventure, featuring a secure, open bed space that consists of a lockable tonneau cover, a hidden bed storage, as well as flexible bed extension accessories. 

The front of the vehicle is equipped with a hidden lighting signature that only can be viewed within the grille when illuminated. Next to that, there are parametric jewel design daytime running lamps (DRLs) and a more striking, cascading grille anchors that are paired with a skid plate element in the lower front fascia. 

This is followed by the 20-inch alloy wheels with a multi-faceted, triangular design, as well as powerful body side volumes contrast with precise triangular sheer-edged surfaces and tight radius character lines. Available as an option is also the 18-inch wheels with more voluminous tire sidewalls for off-road adventures. 

Also included is a horizontal “T” lighting signature and rear tail lamps that are branded with: “Designed in California” in honour of  Hyundai’s California-based design team. 

As for the interior, it features an enveloping dual-cockpit design with premium centre stack display features inclusive of a standard 8-inch colour touchscreen that is compatible with Apple Carplay and Android Auto. 

On top of that, the vehicle is fit with an in-cabin storage below the rear seats and also an eight-speaker Bose® Premium sound system. In addition to that, also available is a Qi wireless charger and Digital Key that is supported by a smartphone app. The Hyundai Digital Key app gives owners the convenience and peace of mind to control selected vehicle systems remotely with their smartphones. 

This allows owners to lock and unlock the vehicle, activate the panic alert and start the engine. This way users can leave traditional keys at home and allow the secure sharing of keys with family and friends. However, Digital Key is currently compatible only with phones using the Android operating system.

Under the hood is a standard 2.5-litre direct-injected in-line four-cylinder engine that produces 190 hp and 180 Nm of torque that is paired with an eight-speed transmission. The Santa Cruz also offers a 2.5-litre direct-injected turbocharged engine that produces 275 hp and 310 Nm of torque that is paired with an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission (DCT) which comes with steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters for manual shifting control by the driver. 

Both engine options come with HTRAC® all-wheel drive capability which comes with a Sport setting that provides a more agile feel to the vehicle. The towing capabilities for the 2.5L 4-cylinder is rated at 1,588 kg and the 2.5L Turbo AWD model is rated at 2,268 kg. 

Dimensions of the Santa Cruz stand at 4,971 mm in length, 1,905 mm in width, 1,694 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 3,004 mm. The upper bed length is at 1,229 mm and the lower bed length is at 1,323 mm. 

The vehicle comes with a generous set of safety and convenience features that are a part of the Hyundai SmartSense feature suite. Among these features are the Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS), Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (with pedestrian, cyclist and junction-turning detection), Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist (BCA), Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (RCCA), Lane Keeping Assist (LKA), Highway Driving Assist (HDA), Blind-Spot View Monitor (BVM), Surround View Monitor (SVM), Safe Exit Assist (SEA), Smart Cruise Control (SCC) and Driver Attention Warning (DAW). 

Other than that, the vehicle also comes inclusive of Blue Link® Connected Car service enhancements. Blue Link is complimentary for three years and comes with features that include Remote Start with Climate Control, Remote Door Lock/Unlock, Stolen Vehicle Recovery and Destination Search by Voice and many more. These features can be accessed through interior controls or even through the MyHyundai.com web portal, the MyHyundai with Blue Link smartphone app, the Amazon® Alexa Blue Link skill and the Blue Link Google Assistant app. Not only that, some features can even be controlled through Android Wear™ and Apple Watch™ smartwatch apps.

Some of the key features in the Santa Cruz are the Remote Engine Start, Remote profile management, Remote seat heating and ventilation, Vehicle Status Notifications, POI Send to Car now with Waypoints (ability to add up to three way points, to be delivered to the vehicle together and automatically set order of destinations) and Maintenance Alert Enhancement. 

For more information on specific Blue Link–equipped vehicles, visit hyundaibluelink.com