The term “pickup truck” is often misused. Technically speaking.

Just as all copy machines are not Xerox machines, not all pickups are trucks.

The traditional definition of a truck is a vehicle that uses body-on-frame construction, where a ladder chassis carries the drivetrain and can function independently of the cab on top of it.

Some automakers, like Ford, even sell stripped chassis with which companies can build motorhomes and other custom vehicles.

Many cars used to be built this way, but the unibody ultimately won out. It combines everything into one structure and is lighter and more refined, if not as strong.

The last body-on-frame sedans were the Ford Crown Victoria and Lincoln Town Car, which went out of production in 2011, but can still be seen putting in a hard day’s work at police stations and taxi stands across the country.

But one of the big reveals at the New York International Auto Show this week was the redesigned 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz pickup, which is definitely not a truck.

The compact pickup is based on the same unibody platform as the Tucson crossover SUV. It comes standard with front-wheel-drive, rides on a fully independent suspension and has a trunk under the bed floor. All-wheel-drive is available and there’s a new XRT model that’s designed for light-off roading.

Hyundai’s senior exterior design manager, Brad Arnold, told me that it is “constructed by contrast,” combining attributes of an SUV with a pickup.

The updated Santa Cruz won’t be on the streets until this summer, but I have driven the outgoing model and it feels very much like a crossover SUV. It has a smooth, quiet ride and the interior is identical to the Tucson’s, just with a little less rear legroom.

It can even be outfitted to tow up to 5,000 pounds, which puts it in the same league with some midsize pickups. That is enough to pull a small camper.

The Santa Cruz been popular for the brand since it launched in 2022, but isn’t the only model in its class.

The Ford Maverick is slightly bigger, but still a compact. It shares its underpinnings with the Ford Bronco Sport crossover SUV, which sets it apart from the rest of the brand’s vaunted truck lineup.

Its claim to fame is that it is available in a front-wheel-drive hybrid model that gets 37 mpg combined, which is far more than the Santa Cruz’s top 23 mpg rating or that of any other internal combustion engine pickup. Ford literally can’t build enough of them to meet demand.

It is also offered with a Tremor package, however, that combines a powerful turbocharged engine with all-wheel-drive, a special suspension and all-terrain tires to turn the Maverick into a sandbox toy. 

With prices starting in the mid-$20,000 range, the Santa Cruz and Maverick make fine alternatives to larger pickups for customers who don’t want to overbuy just because they shop for mulch and drive into the woods now and then. And if they need a little more room, there’s one more choice.

The Honda Ridgeline falls into the midsize category, but is also designed around a unibody that’s common to the Honda Pilot crossover SUV and Honda Odyssey minivan.

It has a trunk in the bed like the Santa Cruz and a roomy interior that is a twin to the last-generation Pilot’s.

Ridgeline sales are up more than 50 percent since the current generation launched in 2017, in part for one particular reason.

While it remains mechanically the same, there was a change in 2021 that helped boost its appeal. Honda redesigned its originally sloping front end with a bigger, more upright grill and a tall hood to make it look more like a truck.

Just because you don’t need one, doesn’t mean you can’t pretend you have one.