2025 RAM 1500 vs 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz was a unique blend of a unibody crossover and a pickup truck, offering a distinctive design that set it apart from traditional trucks. Available in various trims, the Limited trim stood out with its intentional design elements, including a Tron-like grille and sharply raked C-pillar. The interior, while not overly luxurious, featured high-quality materials and a cohesive design, with a funky four-spoked steering wheel and a trim that spanned the driver and passenger space. The Santa Cruz was not for those looking to blend in, as its bold design made a statement on the road.

In contrast, the 2025 RAM 1500 underwent a subtle refresh, with a revised front fascia and a larger, more contoured grille. The Tungsten trim, the new top-of-the-line option, featured chrome trim and body-colored bumpers, giving it a premium look. The interior of the RAM 1500 reflected the individual character of each trim, with the Tungsten offering a two-tone Indigo and Sea Salt interior. The truck boasted new trim pieces and surface materials, including a suede headliner and diamond-quilted leather, creating a luxurious feel that could satisfy even the most discerning drivers.

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz offered a choice between front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive, with lower trims featuring a naturally aspirated 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine producing 191 horsepower and 181 pound-feet of torque. Our tester, however, was equipped with a turbocharged engine delivering 282 horsepower and 311 pound-feet of torque, paired with an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. This powertrain provided a peppy performance, with smooth shifts and excellent maneuverability, making it ideal for city driving. The Santa Cruz also demonstrated off-road capabilities, thanks to its AWD system with a center locking differential and hill-descent control, although its ground clearance and geometry limited its off-road prowess.

The 2025 RAM 1500, on the other hand, replaced the iconic HEMI V8 with a new 3.0-liter Hurricane twin-turbo inline-six engine, offering 420 horsepower and 468 pound-feet of torque in its base form, with a high-output version available. The truck's towing capacity reached 11,580 pounds with the standard-output engine, and it featured an eight-speed TorqueFlite automatic transmission. The RAM 1500 excelled in both on-road and off-road performance, with the Rebel trim impressing on various terrains. The available air suspension provided a comfortable ride and optimized height for different purposes, making the RAM 1500 a versatile choice for truck buyers.

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz, despite not being a traditional pickup truck, offered ample utility with a towing capacity of 5,000 pounds in AWD form. Its compact bed measured 52 inches long and nearly 54 inches wide, with lockable underfloor storage and multiple tie-down points. The interior featured rear seats that folded up for taller items, although rear legroom was limited to 36.5 inches. Heated front seats were available on all but the base model, with ventilated seats offered on the Limited trim.

The 2025 RAM 1500, in contrast, provided a more spacious interior with 24-way power adjustable front seats and a massage function. The Crew Cab Tungsten trim offered 44.8 inches of rear-seat legroom, while the Quad Cab provided 35.3 inches. The RAM 1500 retained hard controls for climate and audio, and the Tungsten trim featured the RamBox cargo management system and a power open/close tailgate. The truck's on-board power inverter could produce up to 2 kilowatts, although it did not run while Hurricane-equipped vehicles were in motion.

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz featured an 8-inch touchscreen with Hyundai’s BlueLink infotainment system on SE and SEL trims, supporting wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Upper trims received a larger 10.25-inch display, but only offered wired smartphone compatibility. The infotainment system was intuitive, although it lacked a physical volume knob, and charging options were limited to USB-A ports.

The 2025 RAM 1500 introduced a 10.25-inch passenger screen starting with the Laramie trim, allowing passengers to access navigation and entertainment. The truck offered a new 14.5-inch touchscreen running Stellantis’s Uconnect 5 system, with dual wireless charging pads and a digital rearview mirror. The Tungsten trim featured a 23-speaker Klipsch Reference Premiere audio system, replacing the previous Harmon Kardon system, and a highly configurable 12.3-inch digital driver-information display.

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz came equipped with a comprehensive set of advanced driver-assistance systems, including forward collision avoidance, blind-spot collision avoidance, and lane-keep assist. The Limited trim added Hyundai’s Highway Drive Assist, which combined adaptive cruise control and lane-centering. The Santa Cruz received a five-star front crash rating from the NHTSA, although it had not yet been rated by the IIHS for 2024.

The 2025 RAM 1500 introduced a Hands-Free Driving Assist system, a Level 2+ semi-autonomous driving system that worked on approved roadways. The system required the driver to activate the turn signal for lane changes and mirrored human behaviors for a more comfortable experience. The RAM 1500 also featured enhanced automatic emergency braking with evasive steering assist, although blind-spot monitoring and other features were not standard.