Hyundai is believed – by the rumor mill – to prepare for the introduction of the second-generation Palisade flagship SUV in America for the 2026 model year with a boxier style and roomier interior. But before that, we first need to greet two of its smaller 'minions.'
The facelifted Hyundai Tucson and the Santa Cruz will be unveiled on March 27 at the 2024 New York Auto Show, and they will soon launch in the United States after the official public premiere. It is no wonder that the South Korean automaker chose to reveal them together – we know that because they have already started the teasing campaign – since both the Tucson SUV and Santa Cruz unibody compact pickup truck are built on the same Hyundai-Kia N3 platform.
However, that fact has represented one of the potential issues that didn't allow it to fare better against its only US rival – the Mexico-built Ford Maverick is much more rugged and akin to its Ranger and F-150 pickup truck siblings instead of looking like an Escape crossover with a bed instead of a trunk. The Montgomery, Alabama (HMMA)-produced 2025 Santa Cruz supposedly comes with more rugged features and an interior taken directly from the refreshed 2025 Tucson.
Because the little Santa Cruz is Hyundai's only American pickup truck, a lot of interest exists for the model – even if its sales don't compare positively to the 2024 Ford Maverick. As such, even the imaginative realm of digital car content creators has something to say about the subject – the good folks over at the AutoYa info channel on YouTube have imagined the CGI looks of the upcoming 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz, inside and out, just ahead of its planned release date.
Well, as far as the interior is concerned, they didn't have much to say or do about it – just like everyone else, they also believe the 2025 Tucson refresh will have a major influence over how the 2025 Santa Cruz cockpit looks like. Moving outside, the resident pixel master worked all the subtle details of the facelifted 2025 Tucson into the hypothetical design of the 2025 Santa Cruz and then also gave it a complete set of unofficial color options.
By the way, Hyundai is expected to premiere a new XRT grade – this rugged trim adds bolder plastic fender flares, side steps, door trim, and a blackout treatment to the truck. However, the YouTube channel's host made no mention of that, so we suppose they envisioned the standard Santa Cruz in the video feature embedded below. Also, no one really expects any kind of powertrain upgrades, so the unibody compact pickup truck will probably carry on with the 191 hp (194 ps/142 kW) 2.5-liter naturally aspirated engine and its turbo sibling that's good for 281 hp (285 ps/210 kW).
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. Full profile
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