I took a look at a Santa Cruz today - I was very impressed

[dalola]

The SC is very nice for sure, but the styling is just trying too hard for me, and it's overall not as "trucky" as the Maverick. And yes, this is based on an actual physical examination of the SC.

Those are both subjective opinions, so really just comes down to personal preference, and I prefer the Maverick. Feels & looks more like a truck, IMO.

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[MLowe05]

I've owned a Maverick XL EB FWD for 1 month and have driven it 1800 miles. I have also owned many Hyundai/Kia cars and currently have a Genesis G70.

I don't hate the Santa Cruz or any Hyundai. But in my daily usage, I must disagree with the "cheap" assessment you've made of the Maverick. It is not a luxury car for sure, but it seems well built and durable. The doors don't sound cheap to me. Driving the Maverick puts a stupid smile on my face for some reason - there is something so very cheerful about it.

I'm sure the SC is a great truck. But having experienced the Maverick now for a month, there's no doubt I've made the right choice with the hybrid (I never wanted an EB).

I say if you can hold out and wait, hold out. You can always sell the Maverick after delivery if it is not what you wanted it to be. I just sold our XL to Carvana for over $10,000 more than we paid.

 

[BobC]

This posting is for those of you on the forum who, like me, are still not quite sure about the Maverick (and like me, you might have one on order). But maybe you haven't looked at the Santa Cruz in person because you don't like the styling or think it's too expensive.

This is NOT intended as some kind of antagonistic posting to troll Maverick owners. Folks, I have a Maverick on order and a Ford Ranger in my driveway. I'm a lifelong Ford truck guy (well, I'm wavering).

I placed my order 3 Sep of last year. I ordered a Maverick because I preferred the conventional styling, the slightly longer bed, and the really powerful Ecoboost engine with a conventional automatic. I like my little luxuries, so the bottom line for the XLT ECO 360 LUX SIBL, including delivery, is $30,500. But I've been kind of wincing at how cheap Ford went on everything. I've seen the truck in person, and it definitely does not impress. And the postings here just reinforce that constantly.

So I decided that darn it, I was gonna go check out the competition. I went to look at a similarly equipped Santa Cruz SEL that costs about $2,000 LESS than the Maverick I have on order. Long story short, it impressed.

• The Santa Cruz is way more appealing in person than in pictures. I liked it a lot. It has presence. A neighbor has one and loves it. It looks good going down the street.
• I was impressed by little things, like a composite bed and sound insulation under the hood. And a waterproof storage compartment in the bed.
• Closing the doors, hood, or tailgate on the Maverick vs the Santa Cruz just screams "CHEAP". I'm not being a troll here, the quality difference just jumped out at me in a big way. I don't necessarily hate cheap. My crude 2010 Ranger is cheap, and I've loved that cheap hunk of junk for 102,000 safe and reliable miles.
• The CP360 safety features I want, like blind spot, etc - they're all standard on the Santa Cruz.
• All the rotary shift haters will roll their eyes, but I wish the Santa Cruz didn't have a conventional shift lever. It looks like an antique.
• The interior just blew the Maverick out of the water. Except for the stupid piano black. I mean there was no comparison - these vehicles are not in the same league. The higher quality of the rear view camera really stood out. The software just blows the Ford out of the water.
• The bed had higher sides and was a half foot shorter. I don't care about the length, but I prefer the Maverick sides. Easier for a boomer to reach into the bed.
• The paint quality really impressed. Again, quality of materials jumped out at me everywhere I looked.
• I loved the little foot step indents in the bumper
• Same bed cubbies and lighting as the Maverick
• A bit smaller in the rear seat. Which is a non-issue for me as I really want a two door trucket in the first place.
• Mileage wasn't all that different from the Eco I ordered. And again, you give up a lot of horsepower on the lower trim Santa Cruz trucklets. So not for those who thirst after horsepower.

Bottom line is that I walked away seriously impressed with the lower trim Santa Cruz SEL. I have no build date for my constrained Maverick order and I need a Hobbit Truck sooner than later. And I walked away from the in-person review thinking "I can save $2,000 and get the same functionality sooner and with a ten year warranty". On the other hand, I'm thinking "Or I could stick with the Maverick and have all that horsepower and no piano black (but cheap hard plastics)". I'm thinking it over.

Bottom line. If you're wavering like me, I'd say go test drive a Santa Cruz in one of the lower trims (SE or SEL). You might find yourself pleasantly surprised. I'd love to hear the impressions of others who actually physically compared the two cars (sorry, trucks).

 

[BobC]

They need that warranty after the latest safety recall with their engines starting to flame up on specific models including the Santa Cruz and it's not the first time.

I also looked at an SC 1st B4 getting a Mav. The lower-level SC headlights are a joke. The only way to get a good LED is with the top of the line trim

 

[Scott Asheville]

Interesting point on the headlights. I hadn't noticed that. The headlights on the SEL are halogen. I don't instantly rate LED lights as better, but generally they are. I was just watching a MotorMouth trends video where they observed that you have to be careful with LED headlights because some are awesome and some are cheap and worse than conventional.

Our Volvo XC40 has high end LED lights that move with the steering wheel. Those headlights set the standard for me. The only thing better would be what the Europeans have - adaptive LED headlights that electronically steer the beam and darken segments so you don't blind oncoming drivers.

My thanks to everyone who'd contributed to the thread so far, because you're all really helping me (and probably others) think through the pros and cons of Maverick vs Santa Cruz. I don't care what you say about either, as long as you voice your opinion. Us wafflers want to hear from you.

 

[Old Hickory Trojan]

That's a very good point about the fires!

https://www.consumerreports.org/car...ehicles-outside-due-to-fire-risk-a1002120529/

There are 200,000+ vehicle fires in the USA every year. I'll look into that recall and see if it applies the 2.5 non-turbo in the Santa Cruz SEL. But generally Hyundai has the highest quality ratings in the industry (Ford is well down the list). I'm usually not worried about things like this where there's already been a recall. Because that problem has been identified and solved. It's always the problem that hasn't been recalled that worries me.

All manufacturers have problems like that. For example, Ford was exposed for deliberately selling dangerous vehicles by the Detroit Free Press just a few years back.

https://www.freep.com/in-depth/mone...-focus-fiesta-transmission-defect/1671198001/

And then there's Chevrolet telling Bolt owners to park outside until the battery is replaced! That cost Chevy a pretty penny. Guest the Bolt program didn't make any money.

I guess caveat emptor always applies.

Hyundai and Kia had that recently where the owners were told to keep their vehicles outside because of fire concerns in the winter. As far as Consumer

 

[Scott Asheville]

>> I must disagree with the "cheap" assessment you've made of the Maverick

I should clarify that comment. I should have said "cheap feeling relative to the Santa Cruz". I'll stand by that statement, because it really jumped out at me. But I 100% respect other opinions. Some specifics that just reinforced my impression: poorer paint quality, steel bed vs composite bed, damped tailgate standard, sound deading material everywhere, improved interior materials quality, superior infotainment - and a bunch of intangibles from just touching the car and opening and closing doors and test driving.

I'll all also restate that I'm no elitist. My 2010 Ranger is the ultimate expression of cheap - my Ranger makes the Maverick look like an Audi. And I've loved that cheap ride going on 12 years now.

 

[MLowe05]

Hyundai and Kia had that recently where the owners were told to keep their vehicles outside because of fire concerns in the winter. As far as Consumer

Our G70 was a part of this recall - related to the ABS module. Repaired relatively easily.

Engine fires are a running joke with Hyundai/Kia, but there is no point in a recall pissing contest among brands. All brands have recalls. Hyundai and Kia have recalled nearly 6 MILLION vehicles over 5,000 fires. This is less than 1/10th of 1 percent. The overwhelming odds are that your Hyundai/Kia is not going to catch fire.

 

[MLowe05]

I should clarify that comment. I should have said "cheap feeling relative to the Santa Cruz".

Noted, and I don't doubt that. Materials wise the Maverick is well behind even our 2015 Kia Soul (we owned it until 2018). It was $23k new. But the Maverick somehow seems to still feel quite special. I really did not expect to love it as much as I did. Our G70 has spent most of the past month sitting.

 

[Scott Asheville]

I need to correct my original post. I said the equivalent Santa Cruz build for my AWD ECO 360 LUX was $2,000 cheaper. I lied! I was looking at FWD. The are almost exactly the same cost. After delivery charges, the equivalent AWD Santa Cruz SEL build is $30,785. So it's about $400 more than my Maverick order.

 

[Scott Asheville]

Noted, and I don't doubt that. Materials wise the Maverick is well behind even our 2015 Kia Soul (we owned it until 2018). It was $23k new. But the Maverick somehow seems to still feel quite special. I really did not expect to love it as much as I did. Our G70 has spent most of the past month sitting.

We had three Kia Souls and loved them. They got better with each generation. But alas, they never offered the Soul in AWD. Our original 2010 Soul was really cheap. But when we bought our 3rd generation 2019 you almost couldn't recognize you were in the same car.

It's a sin against car lovers everywhere to let that G70 sit in the driveway. That's a sweet ride.

 

[cannon]

my Ranger makes the Maverick look like an Audi.

This can be taken both ways...I'm not sure if "look like an Audi" is supposed to be a positive or negative.

 

[KeinoDoggy]

I saw the SC in person up close and I still hate the styling. It looks like a Tucson that they chopped the back top off and called it a ute. No thanks. BTW, I don't get the feeling that my Mav Hybrid is cheaply made when I close the doors. I have no idea where you are getting that.

 

[MLowe05]

We had three Kia Souls and loved them. They got better with each generation. But alas, they never offered the Soul in AWD. Our original 2010 Soul was really cheap. But when we bought our 3rd generation 2019 you almost couldn't recognize you were in the same car.

It's a sin against car lovers everywhere to let that G70 sit in the driveway. That's a sweet ride.

Oh man, we had 2 Gen2 Souls. A 2015 ! and a 2017 ! with the turbo. Loved them both.

The Maverick is going away soon, so the G70 will be back on duty. It only has 23,500 miles now and you're right, it is awesome.

 

[psuarmy]

This posting is for those of you on the forum who, like me, are still not quite sure about the Maverick (and like me, you might have one on order). But maybe you haven't looked at the Santa Cruz in person because you don't like the styling or think it's too expensive.

This is NOT intended as some kind of antagonistic posting to troll Maverick owners. Folks, I have a Maverick on order and a Ford Ranger in my driveway. I'm a lifelong Ford truck guy (well, I'm wavering).

I placed my order 3 Sep of last year. I ordered a Maverick because I preferred the conventional styling, the slightly longer bed, and the really powerful Ecoboost engine with a conventional automatic. I like my little luxuries, so the bottom line for the XLT ECO 360 LUX SIBL, including delivery, is $30,500. But I've been kind of wincing at how cheap Ford went on everything. I've seen the truck in person, and it definitely does not impress. And the postings here just reinforce that constantly.

So I decided that darn it, I was gonna go check out the competition. I went to look at a similarly equipped Santa Cruz SEL that costs about $2,000 LESS than the Maverick I have on order. Long story short, it impressed.

• The Santa Cruz is way more appealing in person than in pictures. I liked it a lot. It has presence. A neighbor has one and loves it. It looks good going down the street.
• I was impressed by little things, like a composite bed and sound insulation under the hood. And a waterproof storage compartment in the bed.
• Closing the doors, hood, or tailgate on the Maverick vs the Santa Cruz just screams "CHEAP". I'm not being a troll here, the quality difference just jumped out at me in a big way. I don't necessarily hate cheap. My crude 2010 Ranger is cheap, and I've loved that cheap hunk of junk for 102,000 safe and reliable miles.
• The CP360 safety features I want, like blind spot, etc - they're all standard on the Santa Cruz.
• All the rotary shift haters will roll their eyes, but I wish the Santa Cruz didn't have a conventional shift lever. It looks like an antique.
• The interior just blew the Maverick out of the water. Except for the stupid piano black. I mean there was no comparison - these vehicles are not in the same league. The higher quality of the rear view camera really stood out. The software just blows the Ford out of the water.
• The bed had higher sides and was a half foot shorter. I don't care about the length, but I prefer the Maverick sides. Easier for a boomer to reach into the bed.
• The paint quality really impressed. Again, quality of materials jumped out at me everywhere I looked.
• I loved the little foot step indents in the bumper
• Same bed cubbies and lighting as the Maverick
• A bit smaller in the rear seat. Which is a non-issue for me as I really want a two door trucket in the first place.
• Mileage wasn't all that different from the Eco I ordered. And again, you give up a lot of horsepower on the lower trim Santa Cruz trucklets. So not for those who thirst after horsepower.

Bottom line is that I walked away seriously impressed with the lower trim Santa Cruz SEL. I have no build date for my constrained Maverick order and I need a Hobbit Truck sooner than later. And I walked away from the in-person review thinking "I can save $2,000 and get the same functionality sooner and with a ten year warranty". On the other hand, I'm thinking "Or I could stick with the Maverick and have all that horsepower and no piano black (but cheap hard plastics)". I'm thinking it over.

Bottom line. If you're wavering like me, I'd say go test drive a Santa Cruz in one of the lower trims (SE or SEL). You might find yourself pleasantly surprised. I'd love to hear the impressions of others who actually physically compared the two cars (sorry, trucks).

I looked at the Santa Cruz as well. I am in agreement with you that it seems the be a better quality vehicle though my equivalent but was $3,000 more. The biggest difference to me seemed to be what you were looking for. If you want an SUV and the comforts that go with it along with the benefit of a bed the the Santa Cruz should be your choice. If you want a small truck that looks and feels like a truck just smaller and more economical the the maverick is your choice. If money is no option maybe look at a Honda. All three seem to be great options based on desired look function and price point.

I chose the maverick because I like the styling better(more truck like) and the composite bed won’t hold up to my abuse.

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