2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz pickup bed demonstration (2024)

The 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz may not have a long pickup bed (it's only about 4.3 feet), but it does have a versatile one. In this video, we dive into its available features: an under-bed trunk, two storage bins, a 115-volt power point, a tie-down bed rail system, corner steps and, uniquely, a factory-installed rolling cargo cover. There's actually a bit more we didn't touch on, including its composite bed liner and indentations within the bed designed to secure a pair of 2x4's and therefore create a "second deck" for additional bed storage. The Santa Cruz also includes roof rails, a rare pickup features.

JAMES RISWICK: This is Senior Editor James Riswick with the all-new Hyundai Santa Cruz. I'm going to show you some of the distinctive features of its pickup bed. Now, like, say, the Chevy Silverado, this does have corner steps to make it easier to get up into the bed. But then you can also step there, and there, and there. Now, this does have a damped tailgate. It goes down nice and easy. And it's very easy to lift up.

Now, like the Honda Ridgeline, this has a trunk. You open it up like that. It's damped. Now, this certainly isn't as deep as a Ridgeline's, but you can fit, you know, two medium-sized backpacks in there. And there is a drain plug, so you can also fill it with ice, and boom-- you got a mobile cooler. Put it down here. But this does have two additional storage areas. Folds down. This one has an available 150-volt electrical outlet.

The other side does not. Now, you do have these utility rails on either side with cleats. Now, let's take a look at a unique feature of the Santa Cruz. And this is the factory installed tonneau cover. They've provided this nice little strap to make it easier. And it goes all the way back, and it locks into place. And it's rigid. Nice, clean appearance. Improves security. This is an interesting feature. I like it.

You can also make it stop halfway, to allow you to still stick something out the back. This is really a nice package. You know, there is no, you know, Chevy Avalanche pass-through into the back, so, you know, there's only so long you can go with this rather short bed, besides the usual flip-out bed extender. And this is certainly not a competitor for midsize trucks, like a Ford Ranger or Chevy Colorado. You know, it's a lot smaller. And obviously, it's not body-on-frame.

This is a crossover. It's basically the truck version, so to speak, of a Hyundai Tucson. And in that way, you know, Hyundai views this as an alternative to one of those compact SUVs for, you know, the outdoor adventurer car buyer who wants something to store their gear on, to go to interesting places out here in the woods. That's, you know, what gives them a different level of versatility than an SUV can, while, at the same time, being more agile, being cheaper, being more fuel efficient than one of those midsize trucks.

It's an interesting concept. Will the market agree with it? Who knows? There's nothing really like this yet. Obviously, there will be the Ford Maverick, but we haven't driven that yet. So only time will tell if both this and the Ford Maverick are on to something.