Hyundai Santa Cruz production gets underway in US

The 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz compact pick-up truck, easily one of America’s most anticipated new car releases of the year, has officially entered production.

With construction taking place at Hyundai’s Alabama plant, the pick-up is being built alongside other models from the Korean automaker’s line-up, including the Sonata sedan as well as the Santa Fe and Tucson SUVs.

The Santa Cruz, which shares much of its components with these aforementioned models, also utilises Hyundai-Kia’s N3 platform as its base.

Known as the Korean automaker’s third-generation platform, the N3 chassis architecture underpins models such as the yet-to-be-released Staria, as well as Kia’s Carnival and Sorento.

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Dubbed a ‘sports adventure vehicle’, the diminutive soft-roader, as Wheels previously reported, will be powered by a naturally aspirated or turbocharged 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine producing either 142kW/245Nm or 205kW/420Nm respectively.

Drive will be sent to all four wheels through Hyundai’s HTRAC all-wheel drive system and an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission.

Measuring 4970mm long, 1905mm wide, 1695mm tall, and with a wheelbase spanning 3005mm, the Santa Cruz is shorter, wider and lower than its closest competitor, the recently unveiled Ford Maverick.

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With deliveries due to begin in the coming months, the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz is an important model for the Korean automaker, which has already garnered more than its fair share of interest from State Side buyers.

And that’s good news, because the pick-up truck has been specifically created for the North American market.

Sadly, this means we’ll probably never see the compact truck Down Under, as it hasn’t been homologated for right-hand drive.