2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz adds rugged XRT trim, fresh interior at New York Auto Show

The 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz was just revealed alongside the also-refreshed Tucson at the New York Auto Show, and the little pickup is being treated to a similar array of updates as the crossover it shares a platform with.

Just like the Tucson, the Santa Cruz makes a number of exterior tweaks with a new front grille, fresh front bumper, re-styled daytime running lights and new wheel designs. Where things get a little exciting is the Santa Cruz’s new XRT off-road-oriented trim it’s adding for 2025. It’s not just an appearance package, as Hyundai’s engineers have added true capability upgrades to its little ‘ute.

The big XRT upgrade is the addition of 245/60R all-terrain tires wrapping trim-specific 18-inch “wrench-inspired” wheels. An XRT-exclusive front bumper improves the approach angle, and Hyundai also adds front tow hooks for off-road recovery. An XRT grille design and rear bumper round out the exterior changes, but Hyundai also adds XRT logos inside and makes the Surround View Monitor standard to improve visibility in off-road situations.

Both of the Santa Cruz’s powertrains carry over unchanged for 2025, but the 2.5-turbo upgrade adds a tow mode to its drive mode selection for both the Limited and XRT trims – maximum capacity is still 5,000 pounds for the Turbo.

The interior updates are similar in scope as what we see for the Tucson, which means it gets the new panoramic curved screen setup that features a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system running the latest Hyundai software – wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto are standard. It also does away with all the touch haptic center stack controls in favor of real buttons and switches for easier use. Plus, Hyundai says it’s redesigned the steering wheel, air vents, instrument panel and rear seat armrest.

Also mirroring the Tucson are the various new tech systems available on the Santa Cruz, including items like a fingerprint scanner for vehicle startup, Digital Key 2 tech (for phone-as-key use), over-the-air update capable infotainment, more powerful USB-C ports and a new driver attention monitoring system.

The new Santa Cruz will arrive at dealers this summer and be available in two new shades: Rockwood Green and Canyon Red. Updated pricing will be revealed closer to the on-sale date.