Maverick or Santa Cruz

[Pickles]

Mav makes it cheap and factory ordered to get a 4PIN or 7PIN WITH a trailer brake controller though depending on your preference, I mean only $100 for the standard tow, and because its integrated into the design of the Maverick you don't lose departure angle.

On the Santa Cruz it was never really designed for a hitch which is weird, can't be added from the factory (dealer installed option), and it hangs under the vehicle reducing clearance, and will cost you quite a bit.

Didn’t know that second bit. Thanks!

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[Yardtruck]

How did you squeeze that ZZ632 big block in your Sienna?

Sorry. I had computed two different things on my iPhone and then absent mindedly used the number from the other calculation.
It’s $.23 per mile.
But I bet that other engine would be fast.

 

[cavemold]

I

can't unsee this LOL

 

[MLowe05]

I've never owned a Ford - or any domestic vehicle - and never planned to. I have owned several Hyundai and Kia products, all of which were great. I had much rather hand my money to Hyundai than Ford, but unfortunately as others have noted these two aren't exactly competitors if you're a Maverick Hybrid shopper (as I am).

The Maverick Hybrid has no real competition. So I am buying the Maverick. It's not more or less a truck than the Santa Cruz, that's an odd flex to try to make.. it has different styling, but neither vehicle is a "truck" in the sense of what one normally associates with that word. Both are fine, though.

As for using the "Elantra" as a put down for how the SC may drive, . Having owned a 2018 Elantra Sport and a 2017 Elantra Limited, these things drive as well as anything else these days in their competitive price ranges. The Elantra Sport in particular is a hoot. The Limited drives fine. Both drive far better than my friends 2020 Escape SEL with the EB 3-cylinder. If the Maverick drives like the Escape, it will not be in my garage for long.

 

[Mike]

If they do a 2dr before Ford and make it less swoopy I'll get one. Right now its just too damn ugly

 

[jtpc2021]

My neighbors just bought his and her White Santa Cruz's. One has tow package one does not. Why they wanted two, who knows. They paid 2.5K ADM for for each of them. Back in the summer when I looked at one they were asking 10K ADM. To me Santa Cruz is not really a truck, just a car with a bed like the old El Caminos. It's okay but to me, my Maverick is a truck. Two things I do like with the Santa Cruz, hard roll-n-lock style bed cover and the little hidden storage area in the bed. But, I think I'll keep my Mav thank you very much. What do you think, Mav or Santa Cruz.

They are both trucks based off of unibody suv platforms.
I don’t see where the Maverick is a truck and the Sant Cruz isn’t (regardless of how Hyundai markets it).
Either they both are or neither are. They are the same class of vehicle with similar capabilities, dimensions, and stats.

Having said that, I went with Maverick, because of price being lower and the hybrid option.
I’m just not one of those who feels I need to drop-kick the Santa Cruz into a different vehicle classification just to make myself feel better about my choice though.

 

[Mike]

I don’t think people are drop kicking it into a different vehicle classification; just noting how ugly it looks, especially to traditional truck buyers.

Hyundai is going for a different crowd with the look; they even call it a Sports Adventure Vehicle.

no thanks.

 

[Brucepda]

I couldn't wait any longer to replace my 'money pit' '97 GMC Sonoma so I found a Santa Cruz SEL with the Activity package for MSRP at a local dealer. I've had it for a week now and am enjoying it.

Don't know if I will take the Maverick I ordered when/if it ever gets built and shipped.

As for the Santa Cruz being a foreign vehicle it's built in Alabama and has more US parts in it than the Maverick built in Mexico.

 

[cavemold]

I couldn't wait any longer to replace my 'money pit' '97 GMC Sonoma so I found a Santa Cruz SEL with the Activity package for MSRP at a local dealer. I've had it for a week now and am enjoying it.

Don't know if I will take the Maverick I ordered when/if it ever gets built and shipped.

As for the Santa Cruz being a foreign vehicle it's built in Alabama and has more US parts in it than the Maverick built in Mexico.

As long if it gets the job done and you like that all it matters!

 

[F1PRB22GA]

Saw my first "in person" Santa Cruz today and didn't hate it as much as I thought I would.

Still, the bed looked short and I don't believe it would have easily carried 4 AT tires and new rims home like my Mav did the other day.

 

[DustyDude]

My neighbors just bought his and her White Santa Cruz's. One has tow package one does not. Why they wanted two, who knows. They paid 2.5K ADM for for each of them. Back in the summer when I looked at one they were asking 10K ADM. To me Santa Cruz is not really a truck, just a car with a bed like the old El Caminos. It's okay but to me, my Maverick is a truck. Two things I do like with the Santa Cruz, hard roll-n-lock style bed cover and the little hidden storage area in the bed. But, I think I'll keep my Mav thank you very much. What do you think, Mav or Santa Cruz.

I got my Hyundai Santa Cruz at msrp and I love it!

 

[cavemold]

I got my Hyundai Santa Cruz at msrp and I love it!

thats cool graphic if the santa cruz came in dark army green that would be perfect but thats really cool graphic you got. It flows well with santa cruz

 

[PebbleMav]

Yesterday I happened to park my XL next to a Santa Cruz in downtown Monterey CA.
I don't know... the SC just doesn't look like a truck.
Lucky I had already installed the new stubby antenna.

 

[Angry Hippo]

Yesterday I happened to park my XL next to a Santa Cruz in downtown Monterey CA.
I don't know... the SC just doesn't look like a truck.
Lucky I had already installed the new stubby antenna.

Thank you for this post. I've never been more certain in my decision to go with the Maverick than after seeing this side by side.

 

[pxpaulx]

Yesterday I happened to park my XL next to a Santa Cruz in downtown Monterey CA.
I don't know... the SC just doesn't look like a truck.
Lucky I had already installed the new stubby antenna.

You really do need to see the SC in person to appreciate the differences between them. On its own, it isn't bad looking, and I can see the appeal...except when it is next to my truck!

Honestly, it just looks a lot less functional as a truck. The side buttresses, the sliding cover box that takes up almost a foot of bed length, not to mention close to 4 square feet of full functional space. It is much more a trunk than a truck bed. It also looks a lot bigger in person (the photo above does hint at that size appearance difference)

Conversely, having come from a 2019 Ranger to my Maverick, I find the bed in particular to be much more practical - low enough to touch the bottom of (I'm 5'10, fairly average height), I can reach almost anywhere in the bed over the side. It is deep, and only 6 inches short of any other mid-size truck; it is a true truck bed for everything outside of regularly hauling lumber (which it can still do, just not as practically as a full 8 foot truck bed would - the same can be said for any mid-size).

Things I couldn't do with the ranger bed? easily climb in - Maverick bumper or tailgate is a high step, Ranger bumper/tailgate had my knees to my chest. Ranger couldn't reach over the side into the bed at all (unless you count arm raised, elbow length and not being able to see what you're doing as a functional reach). Maverick wins here hands down.

Also, the ride is so much nicer in the Maverick vs my Ranger. I would expect similar comfort from the SC as well.

I would only want a larger truck if I specifically needed to haul long things every day, or tow more than 4k.

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