You've done the Tanger Outlets Nashville run. The open-air center in Antioch sits right off I-24, spread across seven buildings and 32 acres of parking, and after a few stores you're carrying more than you planned. A standard SUV cargo area fills up fast and stacks shopping bags next to your passengers' heads. A full-size pickup fixes the cargo problem, but it turns a Saturday errand into a parking maneuver you'd rather skip. The 2026 Santa Cruz lands right in that gap. It gives you a real 52.1-inch open bed with a lockable under-bed compartment, it parks and turns like a compact crossover, and the base engine earns an EPA-estimated 30 mpg on the highway for the daily I-24 haul home.
That covers the core of it. Now let's see if it fits you.
See the 2026 Santa Cruz inventory at Hyundai of South Nashville
Why Does the Santa Cruz Fit the South Nashville and Antioch Corridor?
It fits because it does one thing no crossover SUV can manage, keeping your cargo outside the passenger cabin and locked down, though you trade away a bit of enclosed interior room to get there. The under-bed compartment measures approximately 8.9 cubic feet and includes a drain plug. Fragile or valuable items from the outlet go in there, locked and out of sight, while bulkier soft goods stack in the open bed above. No rearranged seats, no buried passengers, no bags showing through a rear window in an open lot.
At an open-air layout like Tanger Outlets Nashville, a smaller vehicle pays off. Parking spreads across the whole 32-acre site, and the Santa Cruz's crossover-based dimensions make those rows easy to work. The footprint just helps.
| South Nashville Condition or Use | Santa Cruz Feature That Handles It | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| I-24 daily commute with stop-and-go traffic | EPA-est. 22 city / 30 hwy mpg (2.5L FWD) | Real daily fuel advantage over a full-size truck |
| Open-air outlet lot rows, tight turns | Crossover-based wheelbase and turning radius | Parks and maneuvers like a car |
| Big outlet haul (furniture, clothing, gear) | 52.1-inch bed + 8.9 cu ft lockable under-bed trunk with drain plug | Cargo out of the cabin and out of sight |
| Flat-load items (shelving, frames, lumber) | Adjustable tailgate height to wheelwell level | 4x8 sheet goods rest flat with tailgate down |
| Fall and winter days on wet or icy I-24 | Available HTRAC AWD across the trim lineup | Traction confidence when Antioch gets an ice event |
| Towing a utility trailer or small camper | Up to 5,000 lbs tow rating on turbo AWD trims | Nearly double the 3,500-lb ceiling of the base engine |
The Trim Decision Comes Down to One Real Question
The trim decision really comes down to a single question about towing, and your answer sorts you cleanly into one of two camps, so start by asking whether you regularly pull anything heavier than a small utility trailer or a personal watercraft. If yes, look at the turbo. If not, the base engine is almost certainly the smarter buy for this market.
The 2.5-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder produces 191 horsepower and 181 lb-ft of torque. The EPA rates the front-wheel-drive version at 22 city and 30 highway. Add all-wheel drive and those numbers shift to 21 city and 29 highway. Towing capacity is up to 3,500 pounds when properly equipped with trailer brakes. For I-24 commuting, Tanger outlet runs, and the occasional Home Depot trip with a load, that engine handles the job while keeping fuel costs under the turbo. In practice, most everyday South Nashville driving asks for a lot less towing than the turbo was built to deliver.
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Stepping up to the XRT and Limited trims brings the 2.5-liter turbocharged engine, with 281 horsepower, 311 lb-ft of torque, and towing up to 5,000 pounds on the HTRAC AWD configuration when equipped with trailer brakes. The EPA rates those trims at 18 city and 25 highway. You're trading roughly four to five miles per gallon at highway speeds for a towing ceiling that nearly doubles. If you pull a loaded camper or a heavier equipment trailer with any regularity, the turbo earns its keep. Otherwise, the SE or SEL with AWD covers almost everything South Nashville daily driving throws at it.
The base engine won't thrill anyone. It gets the daily work done and keeps the fuel bill reasonable.
One limitation is plain, and it isn't subtle. The bed measures 52.1 inches, and that's not a full-size truck bed. It handles bags, boxes, bikes, and most home-goods runs without complaint. It isn't the tool for a renovation project that needs 4x8 sheets stacked four deep. If your primary need is maximum cargo area inside a vehicle, a Hyundai Tucson is worth a side-by-side look. If your need is an open bed plus easy daily driving around South Nashville, the Santa Cruz is the narrower category where it wins.
The Commute Math Adds Up for the I-24 Corridor
Hyundai of South Nashville is on Bell Rd, and Tanger Outlets Nashville is on Cane Ridge Pkwy in Antioch, both sitting inside the I-24 southeast corridor. The base Santa Cruz earns that EPA-estimated 30 mpg highway, which holds up well against compact crossovers in its class. A Hyundai Kona gives you strong city efficiency and easy parking, but it gives up the bed and the towing ceiling entirely. The Santa Cruz asks you to pay a little more upfront and accept a slightly larger footprint, and in return you get genuine hauling capability no SUV can match.
The trade here is clear, and it won't suit everyone. But for the South Nashville or Antioch household that runs Tanger Outlets, tows now and then, commutes on I-24, and wants a vehicle that doesn't force a second trip to the store, the Santa Cruz is a genuinely well-matched choice. Come by and we'll show you what's on the lot.
