A CLOSER LOOK: 2022 HYUNDAI SANTA CRUZ ULTIMATE

LOCKABLE COVER

“Normally, on a pickup truck you’d have to buy a box cover as an add-on accessory. Those box covers usually just fold. This one recoils right in, so I can release it and it recoils into its holding area and then you just pull it back when you’re ready to close it. It’s built right into the vehicle,” Controneo said.

“They’ve also designed the vehicle to give you some storage underneath the bed liner. You get more out of the car that way: You can store things that you have to carry everyday in there and leave the box open for some bigger things you need to carry.”

BLIND VIEW MONITOR

Controneo is a big fan of Hyundai’s SmartSense camera, radar and motion detection technologies, pointing out the truck’s ability to stream a live visual of the blind spot directly in the gauge cluster as a highlight.

“This one is also on the dash, so when I signal right, it shows a low view of the right as if there’s somebody directly there. And the same for the left side. It doesn’t distract you from the driving. It’s very subtle, but your peripheral vision will catch it, so if you do see something — like someone on a bike, standing, or walking — that you may say, oh, maybe I shouldn’t turn, you know? There’s a lot of good safety features on there.”

BLUELINK

Bluelink is a smartphone app that connects the user with their vehicle, and offers a variety of services, from keeping track of the vehicle’s health via smart diagnostic tools to climate control adjustment.

“It can start your car, make sure the heated seats are on, or lock or unlock the car,” said Controneo. “So say, for example, I’m at the office and my daughter forgot her keys in the car, I could unlock the car without having to come home with my phone, or maybe even give her that pass and she could also access my car.”