--- title: "Hyundai releases new teaser images of 2022 Santa Cruz" url: "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/2021/03/hyundai-releases-new-teaser-images-of-2022-santa-cruz/" publisher: "Pickup Truck + SUV Talk" content_signal: "search=yes, ai-input=yes, ai-train=no" author: "Jill Ciminillo" published: "2021-03-31T20:46:30+00:00" modified: "2026-08-19T15:43:23+00:00" image: "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Large-45404-2022SantaCruz-scaled.jpg" --- # Hyundai releases new teaser images of 2022 Santa Cruz By Jill Ciminillo Published: 2021-03-31T20:46:30+00:00 Updated: 2026-08-19T15:43:23+00:00 ![Featured image]() ![2022 Santa Cruz]() 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz teaser image (Image courtesy of Hyundai Motor America) We still don’t know a lot about the all-new compact Hyundai Santa Cruz pickup truck. But we do have a timeline and some teaser photos. Hyundai just announced that it would do a full digital reveal of the Santa Cruz on April 15. Oh, and they’re not calling it a pickup truck. Nope. They’re calling it a “Sport Adventure Vehicle” — not to be confused with a “Sport Activity Vehicle,” a term BMW likes to use for its SUVs. But it has a bed, which says pickup truck to us, so if it walks like a duck and talks luck a duck — just saying. Thus, it just looks like it’s going to be the smallest pickup truck currently on the market — perhaps hearkening back to the Subaru Baja of yore. So, what do we know? It will have an all-wheel drive platform as well as a “flexible” and open bed for gear. While we don’t know what that means exactly, if you look back at[the concept revealed back in 2015 at the Detroit Auto Show](), the bed of that truck had a rigid retractable tonneau cover and multiple tie-down points as well as an “extender” that would make the bed equivalent to a midsize truck capable of holding a motorcycle. ![2022 Santa Cruz]() 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz teaser image (Image courtesy of Hyundai Motor America) And if Hyundai holds the line on the concept, that second-row seat will be usable for passengers and car seats. At the time it introduced the concept, Hyundai said its target customer is someone who’s probably already in a compact SUV and would still need all the interior functionality of that vehicle. One thing we’re fairly sure the production vehicle *won’t* be getting: the diesel powertrain from the concept. Since, [as we’ve previously reported](), the Santa Cruz is slated to be built on the all-new 2022 Tucson platform, it would make sense to share powertrains as well. The Tucson’s primary engine will be a 2.5-liter direct injection that delivers 187 horsepower and 178 pound-feet of torque. The big question with regard to powertrains: Will it also get the hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions slated for Tucson as well? ![2022 Santa Cruz]() 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz teaser image (Image courtesy of Hyundai Motor America) ### **The bottom line on the 2022 Santa Cruz** There are still a lot of unknowns here, but it’s clear Hyundai is pushing the envelope and creating a new vehicle segment. While we know Ford is coming out with [a compact Maverick](), it’s unlikely the two will compete in size or functionality. Hyundai isn’t a truck maker and, by all appearances, is ignoring the traditional truck capabilities — like towing and payload — in favor of flexibility and interior form. Nope, this new truck will be a party of one. For now. So, what do you think? Will this compact activity truck launch a whole new segment or stick around a couple years then go the way of the Dodo? **Related posts:** > [Finally! 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz slated to make debut with 12 new SUVs]() > [2022 Hyundai Tucson: Concept car design on a tech-heavy production vehicle]() > [2022 Ford Maverick spied: Is the U.S. ready for a compact Ford truck?]() ## Related vehicle coverage - [2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz]() ## Structured page information ~~~json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Article", "@id": "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/2021/03/hyundai-releases-new-teaser-images-of-2022-santa-cruz/#article", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/2021/03/hyundai-releases-new-teaser-images-of-2022-santa-cruz/" }, "author": { "name": "Jill Ciminillo", "@id": "https://pickuptrucktalk.com/#/schema/person/17a307b2bd8654a0efc57d38f2e79df8" }, "headline": "Hyundai releases new teaser images of 2022 Santa Cruz", "datePublished": 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