Hyundai Santa Cruz Gets N Line Upgrade In Unofficial Rendering

A new fascia and other tweaks transform the truck.

08:31

Anthony Alaniz

By: Anthony Alaniz

Nov 2, 2021 at 3:54pm ET

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The Hyundai Santa Cruz is a fun addition to the company’s lineup, aimed at enticing young adventurous buyers. The truck went on sale this summer, so it’s a bit too early to determine if it’s a sales success, but Hyundai could offer new variants offered down the road if it is. Hyundai’s N Line trim would be perfect for the pickup, and a new – unofficial – rendering video from SRK Designs on YouTube imagines what that truck could look like.

The rendering gives the truck a mild makeover, but it truly transforms its design, giving it a much sportier appearance. The soft blue Hyundai puts on its N cars really help sell the final product, which has several tweaks to various parts of the vehicle, like the front fascia. Portions of the black plastic have been replaced with body-colored pieces, subtracting from the truck’s rugged aesthetic.

Gallery: 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz First Drive Review

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The black cladding around the wheels and the side skirts also disappears for more colored pieces. This makes the pickup appear lower over its wheels than the stock one, giving it a street truck look. The rendering also receives the N Line’s red accents on the front splitter and side skirts, an N badge in the grille, and N Line wheels. A full-blown N variant would likely get a more extensive makeover, but the chances of either happening anytime soon feel slim.

The Santa Cruz isn’t a truck in Hyundai’s eyes, but it sure looks like it to ours, though maybe the company’s view of it will see it get the same N Line treatment as other Hyundai models have. Trucks of all sizes remain more popular than ever, and their success, along with the Santa Cruz, could see a new era of small performance-oriented pickups. A lowered Santa Cruz truck with a smidge over 300 horsepower (223 kilowatts) – the optional turbo 2.5-liter engine already produces 281 hp (209 kW) – sounds like a fun combination.

Source: SRK Designs / YouTube