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The cool-looking Hyundai Santa Cruz gets cooler for 2023 with the blacked-out Night Edition.
More and more automakers seem to get into the groove of making "dark edition" cars. We recently saw Bentley also chime into this trend for the Flying Spur Mulliner too. Now we have another entrance, with the 2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz Night Model. This is purely an aesthetic mod, which is confined to the exterior.
Hyundai has blacked out all the Santa Cruz's exterior bits and has also included exclusive parts on the outside. It is based on the SEL Activity trim and doesn't get any mechanical tweaks. The interior also remains unchanged but gets all the new goodies added for the 2023 Santa Cruz line-up.
The Santa Cruz is already a cool-looking pick-up, and the all-black look elevates its visual appeal even further. The distinctive fused headlight layout is now more camouflaged with the grille also getting the blacked-out treatment. This Dark model is the most major upgrade from Hyundai for the 2023 Santa Fe.
All other model-wide updates are minor as compared to the 2022 Santa Cruz, and are confined to more standard safety and technology features. The blacked-out 2023 Santa Cruz will continue to lock horns with its sole competition - the Ford Maverick. Thankfully, the Night model is not limited-run, and you will be able to get a look at it at your nearest dealerships by the end of this year.
The cool-looking Hyundai Santa Cruz gets cooler for 2023 with the blacked-out Night Edition.
The Night model of Santa Cruz gets all of its body panels blacked-out and some more. The front grille gets a dark chrome treatment which added to its cool looks, especially at night with the headlights shining bright.
The front and rear bumper also gets refreshed with a subtle redesign and, of course, an all-black layout. The rear bumper section also follows a similar treatment. The mirror covers and door handles are painted in gloss black for extra pop.
Hyundai has also given the 2023 Santa Cruz Night Edition an exclusive set of black 20-inch wheels. The whole exterior is a soothing play of gloss black body panels and black plastic parts, including the side cladding all around, that put out a contrasting matte-black vibe.
Another exclusive exterior bit for this blacked-out Hyundai pickup is darkened dual-step steps that add a layer of ruggedness to this futuristic-looking truck. Apart from these bits, the dimensions and LED lighting setup remain unchanged.
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Hyundai has played it cleverly by basing the Night model on the SEL Activity that takes up middle ground in Santa Cruz's line-up. It slots in between the SEL Activity and SEL Premium trims. The Santa Cruz Dark Edition continues to be powered by the turbocharged 2.5-Liter inline-4 motor that churns out 281 hp and 311 lb-ft of torque.
Power is sent to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission. Yup, it gets standard AWD which adds to its driving appeal. The laudable handling characteristics including the nimble nature have been carried over unchanged from 2022, and into the Night model. The decision to choose the mid-tier trim for the all-black treatment is calculated and most likely is because it was not getting enough traction in the sales report, last year. Smart move, Hyundai!
The hauling capabilities of the Night Edition Santa Cruz remains unchanged. It has a maximum towing capacity of 5000 pounds and has a maximum payload capacity of 1,906 pounds. The trunk gets a durable Sheet Moulded Composite bed which also gets a lockable compartment that can convert it into a huge cargo space.
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There are no major changes for the Santa Cruz Night model interior. The cabin is loaded with fine materials and good build quality, a feat that Hyundai is recurringly being lauded for. The dashboard is all-black and gets an eight-inch touchscreen infotainment screen. The instrument cluster is fully digital, and the Santa Cruz is one of the few compact pickups with this feature.
The Night model also gets steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. Safety features are plentiful with the Santa Cruz Night Edition getting a wholesome set of assistance features like Lane Keeping Assist, Lane Following Assist, Blind-Sport Collision-Avoidance Assist, and Forward and Rear Collision-Avoidance system.
Related: 10 Things We Love About The 2022 Hyundai Elantra N
Hyundai has bumped-up the prices of the 2023 Santa Cruz line-up, with the base model getting a bump of $1,010 with an MSRP of $25,450. The SEL Premium gets bumped-up the most with a price difference of $1,220. The new 2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz Night model has an MSRP of $35,810.
For reference, the SEL Activity trim on which the Night Edition is based on has an MSRP of $32,560. That sure is a steep bump for dark appeal. The blacked-out Santa Cruz will be available at Hyundai dealerships by the third quarter of 2022.
Tijo is an engineer, mechanic, and an avid content creator. He is a grease-monkey who loves tinkering with automobiles every now and then, when not busy penning down his passion for them. He has always had a soft spot for JDM and is keen on diving deep in for anything that involves wheels and engines.