Rival Santa Cruz to be cancelled

[Wahjahbvious]

It was a weird car and I think the world needs more weird cars, so I will mourn its passing.

But I never for a moment considered buying one. Lack of a hybrid option + my own inability to shake the stigma of the brand meant that it was never really an option for me.

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[Glen Baker LLC]

It was a weird car and I think the world needs more weird cars, so I will mourn its passing.

But I never for a moment considered buying one. Lack of a hybrid option + my own inability to shake the stigma of the brand meant that it was never really an option for me.

The the original Nissan leaf and puke (juke) fill that niche for me.

 

[710-oil-614]

Honestly this is probably good news for Hyundai as they've committed to a future truck model which will likely address the shortcomings of the Santa Cruz that made it fairly undesirable.

I look forward to the introduction of the next model.

 

[huunvubu]

If you can find one. That's been the biggest issue. People are holding on to Mavericks for the most part.

Carvana has 189 Mavericks in my area. 85 of which are Hybrids:

Carvana Mavericks

Seems to be plenty available.

 

[Scott Asheville]

>> It was a weird car and I think the world needs more weird cars

Nissan Cube comes to mind. I didn't buy one, but I adored it. Maybe because a half century ago I had a Renault Le Car in college.

 

[icegradner]

Not surprised at all. To high a price for what you get, of course that's true for most new vehicles now...

 

[Cherokee]

This is something I can certainly speak to. I’m sitting in my 2024 Santa Cruz company vehicle right now that I’ve driven probably 25,000 miles.

I was looking for a new backup vehicle, the last few weeks and from a couple friends having them and also specifically being pleased with fuel efficiency I bought a 2025 maverick hybrid last Friday

My cumulative fuel efficiency for the last 5000 miles, in this non-turbo Santa Cruz which includes mainly highway driving is 24.8 miles per gallon

I do really like the locking bed floor storage that the Santa Cruz has but that’s all it’s got over the Maverick and I’ve literally only driven the Maverick now maybe 50 miles

I was getting 25 mpg back in 2017 In my 2016 Ford Transit Connect Long Wheelbase XLT
It had the larger 4 banger. A 2.4 Liter.
And 5 speed automatic.
In city traffic all day I’d get 19 mpg with an average of 800 pounds of medical equipment on the deck.!

BTW, that 2.4 was the same engine, only bored out a bit that we ALL had if we owned a 4 cylinder Ford Ranger of the 80’s. 90’s, 2,000’s

I’d respectfully say IMO the Santa Cruz Is a bit overdue for a better more efficient engine.
In both engine options.

 

[commadorebob]

>> It was a weird car and I think the world needs more weird cars

That's a great point. The problem with the Escape is it literally looks like every other small hatchback. While I don't like how the Hyundai Santa Fe or Santa Cruz looked, that at least had some character!

 

[Blue_Max]

Why all this fuss about the Maverick not having competition?

When Ford introduced the Maverick, it had no competition, and it was dirt cheap. Regardless of what anyone wants to claim, it's obvious they priced it to make a splash, and it was underpriced for how the original models were equipped (hence the decontenting since then).

So why do people think that a continued lack of competition means Ford will jack up the price? It's still their entry-level vehicle. And now the Escape is gone. No matter how much Ford wants to sell $100K F-150s, they still need something affordable for young buyers.

 

[zen_]

It was a weird car and I think the world needs more weird cars, so I will mourn its passing.

But I never for a moment considered buying one. Lack of a hybrid option + my own inability to shake the stigma of the brand meant that it was never really an option for me.

That's exactly how I feel (or felt) about the Sante Fe, and Hyundai / Kia as well. The quality has come up, and they have some interesting designs that are better than most generic jelly bean cars, but I think most of their vehicles are still deeply flawed for long term (past the 100K warranty) reliability.

Also interesting to see that the Maverick outsells the Santa Fe 5:1. Probably proves a point that as much as Americans love pickups, not all all pickups are loved.

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

Why all this fuss about the Maverick not having competition?

When Ford introduced the Maverick, it had no competition, and it was dirt cheap. Regardless of what anyone wants to claim, it's obvious they priced it to make a splash, and it was underpriced for how the original models were equipped (hence the decontenting since then).

So why do people think that a continued lack of competition means Ford will jack up the price? It's still their entry-level vehicle. And now the Escape is gone. No matter how much Ford wants to sell $100K F-150s, they still need something affordable for young buyers.

And OLD Wise BUYERS .

 

[DaddyDan]

I do think that more than price Hyundai's issue was that they weren't willing to allow poverty spec trucks with the turbo 4 and they weren't willing to allow luxury buyers to pick the natural aspirated option if they didn't trust turbos (also the turbo only came with the DCT that had a terrible reputation, Hyundai did remedy that at the end by replacing it with a planetary 8 speed auto) Combine that with no hybrid option and Ford ran away with the segment.

The other factor as some reviewers said was (paraphrasing): "If you asked a truck company to make a car they'd build the Maverick and if you asked a car company to build a truck they'd make the Santa Cruz."

 

[BostonFordFan]

Kind of saddened this morning to read Hyundai is discontinuing the Santa Cruz next year. I was kind of hoping, in the sense that competition is good for the breed, that they would bring out a vastly improved small truck. Now it looks like their next truck will be Ranger sized.


https://www.autonews.com/hyundai/an-hyundai-sunsets-santa-cruz-pickup-early-0129/

Kind of saddened this morning to read Hyundai is discontinuing the Santa Cruz next year. I was kind of hoping, in the sense that competition is good for the breed, that they would bring out a vastly improved small truck. Now it looks like their next truck will be Ranger sized.


https://www.autonews.com/hyundai/an-hyundai-sunsets-santa-cruz-pickup-early-0129/

Get ready! It has been confirmed that Toyota is launching a Maverick rival in early 2027. They will do what Hyundais didn't. There is a teaser photo out there already. Ford needs some competition to keep them on their toes. Plus they need us asking for what we need. Apparently they are putting the hard wired key pad back on the 26's due to customer request. I can't believe they heard us, but they did. Now if they could only fix that front bumper fascia on the '25 and '26. and bring back Eruption Green!!!

 

[Cherokee]

Why all this fuss about the Maverick not having competition?

When Ford introduced the Maverick, it had no competition, and it was dirt cheap. Regardless of what anyone wants to claim, it's obvious they priced it to make a splash, and it was underpriced for how the original models were equipped (hence the decontenting since then).

So why do people think that a continued lack of competition means Ford will jack up the price? It's still their entry-level vehicle. And now the Escape is gone. No matter how much Ford wants to sell $100K F-150s, they still need something affordable for young buyers.

And us old farts !

 

[Bob The Builder]

When it comes to the Santa Cruz I will never forget the day, shortly after finally getting my Maverick, I pull up to the gas pumps and on the other side of the pumps is a guy filling up his SC. I asked him how he likes it. He stutters a bit and quickly makes it clear this was his wife's truck not his. "My Taco is in the shop so I am stuck driving this". Ahhh, sorry to hear bout your Tacoma I reply while laughing my ass off to myself.

Fast forward to today. A buddy stopped by today. After some time quizzing me about the Maverick and doing tons of online research he decided to buy a SC. The basic non turbo one.

Should I call him and let him know that Hyundai is ceasing production? Nah, can't do it.

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