2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz XRT AWD – Review by David Colman +VIDEO

The Ultimate Utilitarian Vehicle

David Colman

Photos and Story by David Colman
Special Correspondent
THE AUTO CHANNEL

Did you ever climb into the cab of a pickup truck and think, “Wow! I can hardly wait to drive this baby!” Probably not. Unless you happen to be climbing aboard the updated 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe XRT. The startlingly colored Canyon Red ($500 optional) example I spent a week evaluating proved that driving gratification can co-exist with cargo carrying practicality. Once you're ensconced in the sports bucket front seats, enjoying the kick from the XRT's powerful (281hp), torquey (315lb.-ft.) turbo motor, this all wheel drive Hyundai will have you thinking you're piloting a sports sedan. In fact, the only visual clue that you're driving a truck is the vertical plane of the cab's back window. You can hardly even see the truck's bed in the rear view mirror. So until you load the Santa Fe's four-foot-long bed with a brace of mountain bikes, you'll barely notice you're driving a pickup. Hyundai has performed a neat sleight of hand trick here, proving you can have it both ways. To enjoy the conundrum, be prepared to shell out $42,425 for your XRT AWD.

That invoice price places the XRT one step below the top grade Santa Cruz available, the Limited, which carries a sticker of $44,245. A pair of lesser models, the SE ($30,245) and the SEL ($31,945) are also available, but both make do with a 191hp non-turbo engine without AWD. As the top sports model in the Santa Cruz line, the XRT we drove has been upgraded with a number of stylistic and performance upgrades added this year. For 2025, the following changes are XRT-exclusive: new front and rear bumper fascia design, new front grill design, twin front tow hooks, 245/60 R18 all-terrain tires mounted on "wrench-inspired" 18 x 7.5J alloy wheels, increased front approach angle, and XRT logo de-bossing on both front upper seatbacks. Also a surround view monitor and blind spot monitor are now standard on the XRT. The blacked-out frontal modifications give the XRT a more purposeful appearance, as do the inventive crescent wrench spokes of the alloy rims. Our truck was fitted with Continental TerrainContact rubber with "Traction+ Technology" and carrying a durable TW 680 rating.

The healthy torque output of the turbo motor endows the XRT with a tow rating of 5000 pounds, a figure equivalent to the top tow ratings of Honda's Ridgeline and Ford's best Maverick. The XRT's overall height of 66.7 inches means you won't have to deal with running boards to hoist yourself into or out of the cab. This truck provides a comfortable and civilized interior layout, with many fabric and detail improvements for 2025. In addition to the heated, H-Tex trimmed front seats, the XRT provides a spacious rear bench seat equipped with a folding center console. For 2025, Hyundai has amalgamated the formerly separate 12.3-inch driver information cluster with the 12.3 inch audio/video navigation screen to present you with one elongated, newly conjoined technical extravaganza. In practice, the continuous but visually separated concept works well. While we would prefer to see some of the HVAC housekeeping controls remain separate from screen digitization, the new layout works remarkably well in practice.

This little pickup (curb weight just 4,132 lbs) has real good pickup thanks to its lively power-to-weight ratio of 14.70lb/hp. The XRT scats from 0-60mph in 6 seconds flat, covers the quarter mile in 14.5 seconds at 98mph, and canters to a fairly incredible top speed of 133mph (governor limited). The first time I laid into full throttle when performing a sweeping three lane freeway merge, I have to admit I was blown away by the sheer unexpected grunt the XRT exhibited. With its improved frontal breakover angle and newly upgraded all-terrain tires, this Hyundai is not only off-road compatible but a stellar road runner. Add in the convenience of transporting up to 5 adults and 27 cubic feet of their belongings in the 19-inch deep bed, and you have a very sporting proposition for a family getaway vehicle. It also proves useful for trips to your local Home Center because the width of the bed floor between the rear wheel wells is 42.7 inches, and the overall interior length is 48.4 inches. Note that the bed incorporates a hidden locking sub-floor storage bin, as well as a slick built-in metal tonneau cover which slides open and closed through T-slot accessory tracks.

All in all, the updated XRT Santa Fe provides its potential buyer with a staggering surfeit of options: reputable off-road chops; sports sedan on-road composure; utilitarian pickup attributes. In the case of my test truck, all three came in the same handsome package, nicely gift-wrapped in Canyon Red paint.

2025 HYUNDAI SANTA CRUZ XRT AWD

• Engine: 2.5 liter inline-4, aluminum block and head, turbocharged and intercooled, direct and port fuel injection
• HORSEPOWER: 281hp@5800rpm
• TORQUE: 311lb.-ft.@1700rpm
• FUEL CONSUMPTION: 18MPG City/26MPG Highway
• PRICE AS TESTED: $42,425

HYPES: Korean Army Knife

GRIPES: Sliding Cab Rear Window Limits Rear Visibility

STAR RATING: 10 Stars out of 10

©2025 David E Colman