The 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz gets a range of mid-cycle updates alongside the Tucson.
It’s New York Auto Show time, and one of the reveals happening at this week’s show is the revamped 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz and its stablemate, the Tucson crossover. Both bring a list of noteworthy updates, though the automaker is especially keen to show off its rugged, off-road-focused XRT model.
Before we get into the XRT’s specifics, all 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe models get a similar range of tweaks as the Tucson. That is, you can expect a new grille design, tweaked headlights and daytime running lights, and a revised lower fascia in the front. In profile and around the back, the Santa Cruz is more or less the same as before, although the updated model also gets new wheel designs.
Two new colors are available for this model year: Rockwood Green and Canyon Red.
The 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz XRT goes a bit farther, in pursuit of adding some tangible off-road capability, and not just existing as an appearance package. It gets 245-60/R18 all-terrain tires, an increased approach angle, a standard surround-view monitor and front recovery hooks. It does also get some styling bits to differentiate it from the rest of the lineup as well, though, including a trim-exclusive grille aesthetic, “wrench-inspired” 18-inch alloy wheels, special XRT badging and logos debossed into the front upper seatbacks.
Under the hood, the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz lineup is exactly the same as before. A 191-horsepower 2.5-liter engine kicks off the range, while a 2.5-liter turbo kicks the output up to 281 horsepower and 311 lb-ft of torque. The turbo models do get a tow mode on the XRT and Limited, though those models can still tow 5,000 pounds.
There is one big interior change from previous Santa Cruz models
Broadly, interior changes to the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz mirror the exterior. You get an updated three-spoke steering wheel with four dots in the center in place of a Hyundai badge. However, you can probably spot the biggest change right off the bat: The addition of two 12.3-inch infotainment screens. These run the latest version of the automaker’s infotainment system, and are quickly becoming the standard setup across its entire model range, so these updates just bring the Santa Cruz into line with other updated models like the Santa Fe, Kona, and the Tucson, naturally.
Wireless Android Auto and Spple CarPlay now come standard across the lineup. Rather than relying on haptic touch controls, the updated Santa Cruz also adds physical buttons into the center stack to make things easier. Hyundai also redesigned the rest of the instrument panel to accommodate the new screens, including moving the HVAC vents lower down and offering a small shelf in front of the passenger, above the glovebox.
Other noteworthy updates include Hyundai’s Digital Key 2 to use your smartphone in place of your standard key fob.You also get new USB-C ports, over-the-air update capability for the infotainment system and a driver attention monitoring system.
Pricing for the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz is not available just yet. We should know those numbers closer to the actual launch this summer, though pricing shouldn’t move too much from the 2024 models, which range between $28,745 and $43,165.
