The Santa Cruz is a steady sips.
The Hyundai Santa Cruz is a hot concept that was introduced at the 2015 North American International Auto Show. Now, the Sport Adventure Vehicle will be in production. Official EPA-rated fuel economy figures from South Korea’s automaker have been released. They show that the Santa Cruz is a reliable and efficient choice in the world of mid-size pickup trucks.
The numbers show that all versions of the small pickup have very similar fuel mileage. The base front-wheel drive model gets 21 mpg in the city, and 26 on the highway (23 combined mpg). The all-wheel-drive version of the same truck is next, with 21 mpg in city and 27 highway (23 mpg together).
The turbo model is the only difference. It gets 27 mpg highway, but 19 mpg in the city (22 combined). The difference is almost too great to be true, but both cars put up impressive numbers. The Honda Ridgeline gets 24 mpg, while the Ford Ranger gets 19 mpg and the Jeep Gladiator gets 19 mpg.
The Santa Cruz comes standard with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that produces 190 horsepower (142 Kilowatts) as well as 180 pound-feet (244 Nms) of torque. Hyundai has added a turbocharger for the four-cylinder engine, increasing performance to 275 horsepower (205kW) and 310lb-ft (442 Nm).
We are curious about how the Santa Cruz will do with sales set to start in the summer of 2021. It’s a fun, adventurous package that doesn’t consume a lot of fuel.