2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz Interior and Cargo

SE and SEL models come as standard with cloth seats in black or gray. From SEL Premium specification, Hyundai adds leather trim on the steering wheel and shifter. The top-spec Limited model ships as standard with black leather upholstery.

The Santa Cruz has a 4.3-foot bed, which is smaller than we're used to. It's 52.1 inches long, 53.9 inches wide (42.7 inches between the wheel wells), and 19.2 inches tall.

The available cargo capacity is ideally suited to the application of the car. The bed is big enough for everything you need for a camping trip with the family and when the tailgate is open, you have 74.8 inches of length so you can load dirt bikes standing up in the back. We're also big fans of the hidden storage compartment underneath the bed floor. It's big enough for two backpacks and it's lockable. It's an additional layer of security over and above the $195 tailgate cover. It also takes care of that silly problem all small pickups like the Ford Ranger suffer from. If you want to stop quickly at the shops on the way home from the school run, where do you put the groceries? Do you inconvenience the kids, put it by their feet, or chuck it in the bed and hope the eggs are still in one piece when you get home? In the Santa Cruz, you simply use this nifty storage space.

Interior storage is not that ample. Front passengers get dual cupholders and storage space underneath the center armrest. Rear passengers get door pockets and cupholders on the door panel. The Santa Cruz does have additional storage space underneath the rear seats, perfect for hiding valuables, but it's otherwise pretty limited.

As per usual, Hyundai was feeling particularly generous the day it specced the Santa Cruz. Base models already boast most of the comfort and convenience items you need, with higher-spec models unlocking mostly cosmetic upgrades and a few additional nice-to-have features.

As standard, the SE gets remote keyless entry, automatic halogen headlights, a multifunction steering wheel, air-conditioning, a six-way manually adjustable driver's seat, dual front USB charge ports, and a 4.2-inch information screen in the instrument cluster. From the next step up, you get remote engine start, a power driver's seat, and heated front seats. The Night trim is essentially an SEL with the Activity package - adventure-focused items such as roof rails, a tonneau cover, LED bed lights, and a 115-volt socket - in addition to a dark appearance package and 20-inch alloys. The SEL Premium adds LED headlights, a digital key, dual-zone climate control, wireless charging, the much nicer 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, and an infotainment screen of the same size with navigation that was the reserve of the Limited trim last year. The top-spec Limited trim unlocks ambient lighting, ventilated front seats, leather upholstery, a heated steering wheel, and rear USB ports.

From the base upward, you get a decent set of driver-assistance features. Base models boast forward-collision warning with pedestrian detection and automatic emergency braking, driver attention warning, lane-keeping assist, lane-follow assist, blind-spot collision avoidance, rear cross-traffic avoidance, vehicle-exit alert, and auto high beams. SEL Premium trim adds adaptive cruise control with stop & go, a highway driving assistant, a surround-view camera, and navigation-assisted cruise control with Curve Control.

Hyundai is among best in class when it comes to infotainment systems, and it's only presentation that can fool people into thinking the German brands are making slicker systems. You don't need flashy graphics to appreciate the slick interface in the Santa Cruz, though. The 10.25-inch screen is bright, crisp, and responsive, with an intuitive user interface. Standard is an eight-inch screen along with wired and wireless Apple Carplay and Android Auto, which sets a high bar before even considering that Bluetooth connectivity, HD Radio, and four USB ports are standard. Six speakers come standard for the audio system, while the top-level Limited trim gets a Bose setup with eight speakers. SEL trims and above gets SiriusXM satellite radio with a three-month trial included as well.

Optional on SEL and standard on Night, SEL Premium, and Limited trims is Hyundai's excellent 10.25-inch digital gauge cluster that is bright and crisp enough that it doesn't require a hood to be perfectly usable even on the brightest of California summer days. The SEL Premium gains the Limited's 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen with navigation this year.