2022 has been the year of the trucklet, and the Hyundai Santa Cruz — a vehicle Hyundai calls a “sport adventure vehicle” and not a truck — has, alongside the Ford Maverick, become one of the two vehicles helping define this trend. As such, it comes in a variety of six paint colors designed to evoke terrains from all around the world — all of which are available on every Santa Cruz trim. Here’s how they compare, according to our impeccable taste here at Jalopnik.
Wow, a black SUV-like vehicle! I can’t believe no one has thought of this one before! This Phantom Black shade is really going to show off your unique aesthetic and help you stand out from the crowd!
Hyundai aimed to evoke natural landscapes with each of its Santa Cruz shades, and I guess this Hampton Gray is supposed to remind us all of our favorite formations: Rocks.
I like white vehicles in theory, not in practice. If you never drive them, they’re guaranteed to look gorgeous, a sharp pinpoint of light against long stretches of highway asphalt. But get behind the wheel — literally, you don’t even have to drive it — and suddenly there’s an offensive spot ruining the whole vibe. At least white isn’t gray or black.
I’ve been torn on Hyundai’s Desert Sand shade since it was first introduced. On one hand, it’s not a hue you really see on the road, and that novelty is quite nice. On the other hand, you don’t see it on the road because we’re not driving desert-spec military Humvees to work. Then on the third hand, this is one of those colors that doesn’t look as nice in photos or renders as it does in real life, functioning as a certified eye catcher. Hence its mid-tier spot on this list.
Like Blue Stone, Sage Gray is Hyundai’s colorful answer to the automotive world’s grayscale. The shade manages to escape Desert Sand’s military flair with a much softer green blended into the gray, and I have to be honest: This one looks so good when contrasted with just about every natural landscape you can think of.
I feel like I need to admit something: Blue Stone might be my favorite color, like, ever. The cool gray-blue isn’t super in-your-face and retains a natural, down-to-earth vibe while still standing out from the crowd. That being said, it’s also one of those colors that just doesn’t translate as well in photographs as it does in real life — not that that has had any bearing on my ranking today.