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2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz 7-Seater Looks Ready to Spite Maverick and Bronco Sport Fans

In the world of all things crossovers, SUVs, and trucks there’s an overly exciting war brewing. No, it’s not the skirmish between the Bronco and Wrangler, nor the battle opposing the Ram TRX to the F-150 Raptor. Instead, it’s a bite-sized fight.
2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz 7-Seater crossver SUV render by Kolesa.ru 7 photos
Photo: kolesa.ru
2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz 7-Seater crossver SUV render by Kolesa.ru2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz 7-Seater crossver SUV render by Kolesa.ru2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz 7-Seater crossver SUV render by Kolesa.ru2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz 7-Seater crossver SUV render by Kolesa.ru2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz 7-Seater crossver SUV render by Kolesa.ru2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz 7-Seater crossver SUV render by Kolesa.ru
After years of neglect, America's compact truck segment got a revitalizing double shot of adrenaline in the form of Hyundai’s 2022 Santa Cruz and Blue Oval’s direct (and exclusive, for now) 2022 Maverick competitor. It’s clearly a fight to be watched once the latter also becomes available at dealerships.

Momentarily, the 2022 Santa Cruz has the upper hand... although it could be said that it’s not necessarily the cheapest new entry into the ailing segment. But, in the land of imagination, MSRPs are of no consequence or relevance. More importantly, it is all about our wishes there. So, if anyone wanted the Santa Cruz pickup truck as a family hauler, here’s Kolesa.ru gladly obliging.

In the real world, a Santa Cruz crossover SUV wouldn’t make too much sense considering the Tucson sibling. Even if Hyundai upped the stakes with even more passenger hauling room despite the very compact dimensions, there’s already a seven-seat Santa Fe out there that wouldn’t be very thrilled.

So, we can all agree this is just wishful thinking. But it does strike a chord, as a seven-seat Santa Cruz all-rounder would make both Ford Maverick and Bronco Sport fans green with envy. It even looks plausible enough as depicted by virtual artist Nikita Chuiko. So, while the front end doesn’t change for this SUV impersonation, the cargo bed is now gone, and the pixel master opted for a beefy hardtop appearance.

It even exudes a body-on-frame SUV atmosphere, although we already know the Santa Cruz is a very modern truck with a unibody architecture borrowed from the current Tucson series. One might notice the second set of doors are a bit longer than on the real Santa Cruz, and that was a conscious decision to facilitate access to the third row of seats.

We have no idea if adults would fit in there, but we do know this imaginary conversion has been performed while virtually retaining all the standard dimensions of the Santa Cruz pickup, including the wheelbase. And while the rear keeps most design elements from the truck, there is one obvious change – the SUV now comes with full-width taillights in the same vein as the Sonata, Elantra, or Tucson.
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About the author: Aurel Niculescu
Aurel Niculescu profile photo

Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution.
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