Hyundai earlier this month unveiled a 2022 Santa Cruz it said combined the SUV and truck segments to create what Hyundai calls a “Sport Adventure Vehicle.”

“Santa Cruz, with its bold styling, breaks open all new segment territory, both for Hyundai and the industry as a whole,” Hyundai Motor North America CEO Jose Munoz said in a statement. “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 maneuverability ensure it is a pleasure to drive in urban or off-road environments. Our customers will wonder just how they managed before owning one.”

Hyundai’s April 15 news release didn’t contain details about the vehicle body’s lightweighting and crashworthiness. Product and advanced powertrain public relations senior manager Derek Joyce said it was too early to share materials details (the Santa Cruz goes on sale this summer), but he did confirm the vehicle is unibody.

Hyundai has released other information relevant to the collision repair industry.

The Santa Cruz’s bed ranges between 48.4 inches and 52.1 inches in length compared to the 5-foot-long beds on competitors like the Toyota Tacoma, Honda Ridgeline and Nissan Frontier, according to Hyundai. The bed includes a retractable and lockable tonneau cover, hidden storage and integrated bumper steps.

According to Hyundai, a demographic of urban consumers want a vehicle with an open truck bed instead of a typical SUV hatchback. But those buyers still want the easy parking, gas mileage and interior space of an SUV. So the OEM built the Santa Cruz.

Over in the front of the vehicle, repairers will notice the lighting behind the grille and a skid plate in the lower fascia. Hyundai said the vehicle’s daytime running lamps have “high-tech precision detailing.”

Other exterior details repairers will encounter include a raised triangle pattern and a raised Santa Fe profile on the wheel arches, the words “Designed in California” stamped into the taillights, and “Santa Cruz” debossed onto the tailgate.

“Small, discrete design details such as this can be found throughout the exterior and interior,” Hyundai said of the “Designed in California” hidden within the tailights.

As for body lines, Hyundai described the Santa Cruz as possessing “precise triangular sheer-edged surfaces and tight radius character lines.”

In terms of advanced driver assistance systems, Hyundai plans to sell autobraking, lane keeping and driver monitoring standard. The OEM is offering a bunch of other ADAS optional.

More information:

“Hyundai Unveils Segment-Shattering Santa Cruz Sport Adventure Vehicle”

Hyundai, April 15, 2021

Images:

The 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz is shown. The bed is a little more than 4 feet long. (Provided by Hyundai)

The bed and tonneau cover of the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz are shown. (Provided by Hyundai)

The wheel arches of the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz carry this detail. (Provided by Hyundai)

The words “Designed in California” are found within the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz taillights. (Provided by Hyundai)