Advertisement
Portland, Oregon, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to RevUnlimiter for the hookup!
Help me out with NPOND. Hit me up at rob@jalopnik.com and send me a fixed-price tip. Remember to include your Kinja handle.
I’m going to start out by saying right away that I cannot imagine this vehicle with the base-level engine; the Santa Cruz needed the turbocharged 2.5-liter engine. It had just the right amount of power and punch you’d want from your car, but it was exactly that: just right. To have anything less than what the turbo engine provides would likely feel sluggish and uninspired. The turbo isn’t giving you tons of extra pep like you’d get on something like the Mazda CX-5; it’s making your base level performance feel a little more exciting.
Adding to that, Hyundai did a solid job making the ride enjoyable. The cabin is nice and quiet, even on windy coastal roads. The low ride height makes the Santa Cruz feel steady, capable, and agile when on long straights or tight turns. I had the chance to try out the Santa Cruz on a little bit of everything, from well-paved highways to bumpy gravel roads, and it handled everything with ease. It’s not the kind of vehicle you want to take off-roading, but it’s also not something you’ll cringe at taking through that rutted dirt road.
And, unlike some pickup trucks, you’ll have a comfortable ride whether you’ve got the bed loaded or not. I will say, though, that we didn’t get a chance to put the Santa Cruz’s towing or payload powers to the test during our drive. That will remain to be seen.
Overall, we’re talking about a very comfortable vehicle, but not necessarily one that’s going to blow your mind in terms of the drive. It drives more like a commuter car than a performance machine — and that’s fine. Not everyone needs a car with an angry exhaust and an overwhelming amount of power. We’ll just keep our fingers crossed for an N or N-Line Santa Cruz, where we can kick things up a notch.
That said, I didn’t have a chance to drive the most affordable trims, so my observations aren’t going to translate.
Many of my favorite things about the Hyundai Santa Cruz were in the little, thoughtful details that put this vehicle a step above others — ones that you actually use every day.
One of my favorite things was the infotainment system. There’s not actually a menu that you have to use to navigate from; instead, integrated tabs line the bottom of the screen. Give it a touch, and you’re immediately moved to navigation. Another touch, and you’ll have music available. It doesn’t require a whole lot of searching to find what you need, which can be a serious detriment with many other infotainment systems. You also had the option to select an arrow on the right side of the screen that would split the screen to show you, say, navigation and your music selection at the same time. I was really impressed.
It really seems like Hyundai paid attention to design through and through. The horizontal LED taillights stretch the truck out to give it a commanding stance while the hidden LEDs on the front end prove that you can create a statement grille without needing to rely on polarizing half of your audience. Further, the sloping cabin definitely retains SUV vibes, but it integrates well into the bed rails, proving that you can absolutely blend design barriers if you’re so inclined.
And we can’t talk about the good without talking about the truck bed. Sure, it’s on the small side, but Hyundai worked hard to ensure that flexibility is key here. Adjustable rails, latches, and molded bed inserts mean that you can secure plenty of goodies inside. You can turn it into a two-tiered bed with some plywood, and you can lock your valuables up in the under-bed storage.
The tonneau cover, too, is standard, not an option. It’s water-resistant (not waterproof; you’ll likely get some leaks in a hard rainstorm), it locks, and it’s self-retracting. Just push up on the tonneau handle, and it’ll roll up for you. Reach in and pull it back, and it’ll close. Best of all, you don’t need tons of strength or height to manage it.
And let’s talk about that under-bed trunk. It’s waterproof, and it features two drain plugs. It fit my backpack with ease, and I could also see it functioning as a cooler on the go for those of you out there who dig your tailgating.
The Santa Cruz was one of the first times I’ve had a truck-like vehicle that actually felt friendly for someone short like me. I know some smaller ladies enjoy the power they feel by driving a truck much bigger than them, but I’m not the kind of person that digs having to pole vault into the truck bed or turn into a bodybuilder to lift myself into the truck. Best of all, the sight lines inside were incredible. Seeing the road — what a concept!
I’ll be honest — there wasn’t a lot that I didn’t like about this truck, but I’ll also admit that it’s not an easy vehicle to review because there’s nothing like it to compare it to. I’ll start with some of the concerns that folks asked about previously:
SE
SEL
SEL Activity
SEL Premium
Limited
I lost count of how many times Hyundai reminded our press group that the Santa Cruz isn’t designed to compete directly with the truck market before then comparing The Santa Cruz’s specs to those of the Ford Maverick. It makes sense; here are two small, affordable trucklets that are meant to be as comfortable in the city as they are on the dirt road heading to your favorite mountain trail. It makes sense that folks are cross-shopping these.
That said, I still think the Santa Cruz and the Maverick are competing for very different segments of the market, with the Santa Cruz appealing more to the SUV crowd and the Maverick aiming for a truck audience. Both have features that set them apart from the niche I think they’d most effectively appeal to — the Santa Cruz has a truck bed, the Maverick is electrified — which make both vehicles a bit of an outlier in their respective markets. But I don’t know that it’s ever occurred to me to compare these two on a one-to-one basis.
There’s no right or wrong answer as to which is better, since they’re both designed for different audiences. But let’s talk some general differences:
Santa Cruz
Maverick
Which is superior? That’s going to come down to your personal preferences and uses for the vehicle. Nothing more.
The 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz is a great, flexible, and approachable vehicle that definitely has the chops to convince an American market that the ute can be a glorious thing — but I don’t think Hyundai quite knows what it wants the Santa Cruz to be yet. Its marketing push toward young, active professionals is a little bland because that’s the market every semi-flexible sedan, crossover, SUV, or truck is aiming toward these days. That angle isn’t fresh or exciting enough to convince people to opt for the result of a sordid love affair between a crossover and a small truck.
Revise that marketing push, and I think Hyundai has a banger of a product. Sell this to small families with kids who like to get muddy. Sell it to short women who want to feel like a badass driving their succulents home from the nursery without sacrificing their comfort. Sell it to eternally-messy guys who want a reasonably sized vehicle that won’t be a pain in the ass to clean out. Sell it to older folks who just can’t climb in and out of their tall work trucks anymore. Sell it to the in-between crowds who aren’t sure if they want a truck or an SUV. If I have to see one more ad showing a 20-something city slicker pulling off her office-wear as she hits the bike trail, I’m gonna snap.
That bland effort isn’t worthy of the Santa Cruz, which is ultimately a fun, peppy little vehicle that makes you smile when you drive it — and when you check your bank account before you think about financing it. It has potential lasting power that means we’ll not only see the Santa Cruz on the road in 10 years but that we’ll also see a fair share of its trucklet competitors. Hyundai just needs to find the in-between places where the Santa Cruz will shine.
If you visited Apollon Nimo at his Detroit-based Parkway Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram dealership, you might have walked out with a damn good deal. In fact, your deal might have been too good to be true. That’s because Nimo was illegally using employee discounts to cut customers good deals, even when those customers failed to qualify for that discount, Auto News reports. In fact, he scammed FCA—now Stellantis—out of about $8.7 million.
Advertisement
In many cases, Nimo nabbed the discount codes from various Facebook groups of which he was part. Here’s more from the article:
In the majority of transactions that prosecutors allege were fraudulent, buyers claimed to be the brother-in-law or sister-in-law of an FCA employee to get a 5 percent discount. The discount codes, known as Employee Purchase Control Numbers (EPCNs), were often bought and sold through private Facebook groups.
Nimo frequently topped the list of auto sellers who sold cars using employee discounts and was handsomely rewarded for being a top salesman. He reportedly received $700,000 in bonuses directly from FCA since 2014, when he first started using his codes—and that’s in addition to dealership-specific rewards.
Out of the 268 unauthorized EPCNs that have been analyzed, every single one was linked back to Nimo. And there could honestly be more, as per FOX 2 Detroit:
A manager at Sterling Heights Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram told federal investigators that Nimo sold about 250 cars in January 2020. The same manager said Nimo sells more vehicles than entire sales departments at most FCA dealerships.
G/O Media may get a commission
So, how did Nimo get away with it for so long? One man who leased three cars from Nimo in December of 2018 stated that Nimo claimed FCA doesn’t review the use of ‘in-law’ relationships with EPCN purchases. So, you could claim to be the mother-, sister-, father-, or son-in-law of an FCA employee, and FCA would be less likely to catch it—possibly because it’s not as intuitive to identify relationships with people who don’t share blood or direct legal ties.
The investigation kicked off after several FCA employees complained that their personal discount codes were being used without their consent. This is where that 268 number comes from; these were just from people who complained. It’s possible many other people had no idea their EPCN was being used.
For GREAT deals on a new or used Chevrolet check out Martin Chevrolet – GM iMR TODAY!
Fans of off-roaders like the new Ford Bronco and Jeep Gladiator are soon to have an attractive option for a camper to bolt to their rigs. GEHOcab is bringing its flashy carbon-fiber campers to America.
Advertisement
GEHOcab is a pretty new player in truck and SUV campers. The German outfit has been making campers only for the past few years, but its futuristic campers look like an attractive choice — if you can handle the price.
GEHOcab planted its stake in the market in Europe with the Kora, a camper that replaces the bed of a Volkswagen Amarok pickup.
But the Amarok was only the genesis of GEHOcab, and it quickly got started with designs for vehicles like the Mercedes-Benz G-Class, Jeep Gladiator, Ford F-Series, Land Rover Defender and yep, even the new Ford Bronco.
G/O Media may get a commission
The folks at Autoevolution got to speak with GEHOcab about its expansion into the U.S. market, and it sounds pretty rad. The brand, distributing under the name GEO-Cab in North America, is bringing its Badger campers here.
Advertisement
The Badger camper brings some luxury to overlanding. The camper shell is a monocoque design and is made using a modular mold system. This lets GEHOcab build the campers in a variety of sizes to fit an array of off-road vehicles. Take a peek at the interior of what these are supposed to look like:
Advertisement
Inside, you get sleeping for up to two adults and one child in a living space that looks more like a luxury apartment than it does a camper hanging off of the back of a truck. The interior furniture and fittings are lightweight, like the camper itself. You can get them in either fiberglass or carbon fiber, and they are laminated into the interior rather than bolted down. You can even get one of these with a full bathroom.
The smallest Badger ST comes in at around 1,014 pounds, while the largest Badger XT comes in at 1,653 pounds before customization. Those numbers are impressive, as a typical American truck bed camper can easily be 1,000 pounds heavier than even the Badger XT.
Advertisement
GEHOcab also says that its campers are extremely customizable. The company works with each buyer to help them build the camper of their dreams.
Advertisement
One thing I was curious about is how the company manages to build a camper for a Bronco, G-Class or Defender. GEHOcab’s pickup-based campers clearly replace the existing bed, but a Bronco doesn’t have a bed.
Installation of the campers to those SUVs involves opening up the vehicle aft of the C-pillar and grafting the camper onto the back.
Advertisement
As you can imagine, these conversions are definitely more permanent than a camper that replaces a truck bed. The company is offering both options, as it seems potential buyers are split between a camper that replaces a truck bed and the full-on conversion.
Advertisement
Then there’s the price. While these campers use high-tech materials and are seriously light, they’re also seriously expensive. The smallest Badger ST starts at $129,000, far more than a traditional truck bed camper. That price doesn’t include customization, shipping or installation.
Despite the high price, I love these things. I wish more camper manufacturers cranked out eye-popping designs rather than boring swoopy decals.
