“We know this segment is controversial because many people don’t consider the Santa Cruz – or the Maverick, or even the Ridgeline – a “real truck,” because of its size and SUV underpinnings. Our take is that whether a compact to a one-ton dually, a real truck is the one that fits its buyer’s needs. We feel the Hyundai Santa Cruz will do that very well, and that’s why it’s AutoTrader’s Best Compact/Midsize Truck for 2022” – autotrader.com
Since it arrived to Canadian showrooms in late-summer, the Hyundai Santa Cruz has been impressing customers with its bold design, multi-utility features, manoeuvrability, and efficiency. For these reasons and more, Hyundai’s first Sport Adventure Vehicle has been named the Best Compact Truck by AutoTrader for its annual awards program in Canada.
Winners of the 2022 AutoTrader Awards are determined by over 20 expert AutoTrader automotive journalists from all over Canada, who evaluate all 2022 model year vehicles according to 12 key criteria, with all winners being vehicles the judges would recommend to Canadian consumers without hesitation.
“The Santa Cruz defeated every single small truck available on the market, including the Ford Maverick, Honda Ridgeline, Jeep Gladiator, and Toyota Tacoma, which were all finalists. That’s a very diverse lineup, which made this an extremely tough category to judge. The Santa Cruz, Maverick, and Ridgeline are unibody vehicles, and their all-wheel drive systems – optional on Maverick – primarily powers the front wheels. The Tacoma and Gladiator are more traditional body-on-frame trucks with four-wheel drive.
Pretty much their only commonality is that they all have seats and a bed. That meant we had to look through the eyes of each truck’s audience, rather than across-the-board as buyers might in the full-size segment, where features and capability are more evenly matched. For example, the Santa Cruz can’t rock-crawl up the side of a mountain as the Gladiator and Tacoma potentially can. Our question then becomes: How well does the Santa Cruz satisfy drivers who want its level of ability, versus how the Gladiator suits its more hard-core adventure-seekers? That’s the type of criteria we used to determine our champion” – autotrader.com
“The Hyundai Santa Cruz distinguished itself from its competitors with its functional capability, stand-out design and array of technology features,” says Jodi Lai, editor-in-chief, AutoTrader.ca. “We are excited to see automotive manufacturers continue to innovate and cater to the Canada’s most diverse consumer segment, and we are proud to be the entity that evaluates and recognizes their efforts while providing Canadians expert advice throughout their car-buying process.”
The 2022 Santa Cruz boasts bold yet sophisticated design, powerful and efficient powertrain options, a flexible open bed for gear, cutting-edge connectivity and a highly manoeuvrable all-wheel drive platform that is equally at home in urban and adventure-focused environments. The 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz was also recently awarded the IIHS Top Safety Pick, a recognition earned by the vehicle performing at or above in-house development performance targets.
“I would like to thank AutoTrader’s judging panel for awarding us with this prize. This recognition illustrates Hyundai’s commitment to listening to our customers and providing vehicles and technology that go above and beyond their expectations,” says Steve Flamand, director of product and corporate strategy at Hyundai Canada. “We share this Canadian award with Hyundai’s engineering and product planning experts across the globe for successfully creating a segment-leading product for the North American market.”
If you’re interested in test driving a 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz, please click the button below. Depending on current conditions, traditional test drives may not be available so we’ll contact you to discuss what is possible. Thank you in advance for your understanding and patience.
Please Note: The details of this article were accurate at the time it was written. Manufacturers may change the details of any vehicle’s specifications, at any time, without notice.
