Went looking for a Santa Cruz

[Scott Asheville]

The Santa Cruz isn’t real competition, at least not to the hybrid. One is marketed as a truck, the other isn’t.

I think you nailed it, at least in 2023. I like the SC, and I drive an EcoBoost, and I'm not a fan of hybrids in general. But I respect the hybrid Maverick as a unicorn. It really shouldn't exist, and Ford's internal reasoning for offering it at such a low price is a riddle wrapped in a mystery wrapped in an enigma. But there it is. And it has no competition at this point in time.

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[mmahathy]

...normally this is where I point out that any cross shopped vehicle is "competition," but saying the Santa Cruz (a small unibody truck) isn't a direct competitor to the Maverick is about the most buck wild take I've ever seen.

Many vehicles are built on a unibody frame. Being built on a unibody frame doesn’t make a vehicle a truck anymore than me putting a horse in my garage and calling the horse a car.

I get it that some people like the SC, that it has some attractive feathers to them and most of us don’t like to wait months for maybe no Maverick.

 

[Traegorn]

Many vehicles are built on a unibody frame. Being built on a unibody frame doesn’t make a vehicle a truck anymore than me putting a horse in my garage and calling the horse a car.

I get it that some people like the SC, that it has some attractive feathers to them and most of us don’t like to wait months for maybe no Maverick.

What makes it a truck... is the truck bed. The being a truck is what makes it a truck.

I mentioned it being unibody just because it's something it had in common with the Maverick. There are only three unibody trucks in the US market right now. Yikes on bikes, my guy.

 

[Old Hickory Trojan]

What makes it a truck... is the truck bed. The being a truck is what makes it a truck.

I mentioned it being unibody just because it's something it had in common with the Maverick. There are only three unibody trucks in the US market right now. Yikes on bikes, my guy.

Old but interesting article....maybe it's changed but if it hasn't there are a lot more unibody trucks out there..
Why Your Car Is A Truck, Under Federal Law, And What Makes It One (greencarreports.com)

 

[Raymundo76]

Why are people posting about the Santa Cruz? I get it that people do not like to wait but this is the Maverick Truck Club, not the Santa Cruz Car club.

No one is forcing you to read this post; so chill!! I was trying to do an anti SC post(or at least that was my goal). If you have seen any of my other posts you would realize that I do not want or like the SC; and that most of my posts are about Mavs anyway. LOL.

 

[Steve Urquell]

Why would any sane person consider a Hyundai?

/s... kinda.

I had a 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe that was awesome. One warranty issue and it was a pain to deal with taking me 7 trips to the dealer to finally resolve.

As it aged I bought the wife a 2014 Tuscon. Total piece of junk putting on CELs weekly to monthly for the gas cap code.

The dealer could not fix it and we had a throw down when they accused my wife of topping it off when filling the tank which she was not doing.

We filled it to half tank for months while it was still kicking CELs for the same thing, replaced 2 dozen gas caps, dealer replaced carbon cannisters multiple times.

I finally gave up after 50+ dealer visits and bought an OBD2 reader and turned the CEL off weekly.

At 60K miles it started burning oil and finally got a warrantied engine at 80,000 miles after a knock sensor update found it was knocking.

Garbage engine design and a class action lawsuit due to people being injured in traffic when their engines locked up.

For the last year and a half--18 months we owned the piece of junk we got monthly letters from Hyundai saying that there was a problem with the ABS system that could cause the car to catch fire but with no fix available.

Please park your vehicle away from your house so it won't burn it down.

Just before we got our Maverick it was finally fixed? under recall. Man, that thing was the worst vehicle I've ever owned and dealer support was almost non-existant. Hyundai is dead to me.

 

[Bob The Builder]

I be thinking the only competition Ford has with selling Mavericks is themselves.

 

[Montana]

I had a 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe that was awesome. One warranty issue and it was a pain to deal with taking me 7 trips to the dealer to finally resolve.

As it aged I bought the wife a 2014 Tuscon. Total piece of junk putting on CELs weekly to monthly for the gas cap code.

The dealer could not fix it and we had a throw down when they accused my wife of topping it off when filling the tank which she was not doing.

We filled it to half tank for months while it was still kicking CELs for the same thing, replaced 2 dozen gas caps, dealer replaced carbon cannisters multiple times.

I finally gave up after 50+ dealer visits and bought an OBD2 reader and turned the CEL off weekly.

At 60K miles it started burning oil and finally got a warrantied engine at 80,000 miles after a knock sensor update found it was knocking.

Garbage engine design and a class action lawsuit due to people being injured in traffic when their engines locked up.

For the last year and a half--18 months we owned the piece of junk we got monthly letters from Hyundai saying that there was a problem with the ABS system that could cause the car to catch fire but with no fix available.

Please park your vehicle away from your house so it won't burn it down.

Just before we got our Maverick it was finally fixed? under recall. Man, that thing was the worst vehicle I've ever owned and dealer support was almost non-existant. Hyundai is dead to me.

Yup, and with less than 850 dealers across the entire country, good luck shopping around especially for maintenance. If you think FORD is bad with all it's recalls and such, try taking a Hyundai to a private shop. Enjoy your long wait and your high quotes. Plus, most people who buy them are not working on them and likely overspend on a dealer warranty for extra thousands. Not to mention the poor resale value for them - even now. By all means, spend $40k on that SC. In two years you'll be lucky to see $25k. Even used '22's are thousands below CARFAX values. TBH, I never even heard of them before I came to this forum lol. Hyundai is a brand I would NEVER invest in, and I have absolutely ZERO brand loyalty.

Anyways, sorry about your experience. Hopefully your MAV treats you better. At this point, who knows. Nothing is built with longevity and quality in mind.

 

[Scott Asheville]

I had a 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe that was awesome. One warranty issue and it was a pain to deal with taking me 7 trips to the dealer to finally resolve.

As it aged I bought the wife a 2014 Tuscon. Total piece of junk putting on CELs weekly to monthly for the gas cap code.

The dealer could not fix it and we had a throw down when they accused my wife of topping it off when filling the tank which she was not doing.

We filled it to half tank for months while it was still kicking CELs for the same thing, replaced 2 dozen gas caps, dealer replaced carbon cannisters multiple times.

I finally gave up after 50+ dealer visits and bought an OBD2 reader and turned the CEL off weekly.

At 60K miles it started burning oil and finally got a warrantied engine at 80,000 miles after a knock sensor update found it was knocking.

Garbage engine design and a class action lawsuit due to people being injured in traffic when their engines locked up.

For the last year and a half--18 months we owned the piece of junk we got monthly letters from Hyundai saying that there was a problem with the ABS system that could cause the car to catch fire but with no fix available.

Please park your vehicle away from your house so it won't burn it down.

Just before we got our Maverick it was finally fixed? under recall. Man, that thing was the worst vehicle I've ever owned and dealer support was almost non-existant. Hyundai is dead to me.

This got my attention because the same thing happened to me years ago with Toyota. Had a nightmare RAV4 problem. Multiple dealers. Thousands of dollars. Never fixed. So I swore off what is objectively the most reliable car brand on the planet and I've never stepped foot in a Toyota dealer since. Oh yea, then there was the Boston area Toyota salesman who wouldn't give back my keys (my car was being appraised) until I literally walked through the dealership screaming at full voice "Give me back my keys AHOLES!".

One truly horrible experience and an OEM loses a customer for life. Doesn't matter if 99.999% of their cars are perfect. They lost that customer forever.

 

[Montana]

This got my attention because the same thing happened to me years ago with Toyota. Had a nightmare RAV4 problem. Multiple dealers. Thousands of dollars. Never fixed. So I swore off what is objectively the most reliable car brand on the planet and I've never stepped foot in a Toyota dealer since. Oh yea, then there was the Boston area Toyota salesman who wouldn't give back my keys (my car was being appraised) until I literally walked through the dealership screaming at full voice "Give me back my keys AHOLES!".

One truly horrible experience and an OEM loses a customer for life. Doesn't matter if 99.999% of their cars are perfect. They lost that customer forever.

That's a myth anyways... a dying cult. And trust me, they are cultists. You can sample for yourself at TacomaWorld.com if you are ever curious.

 

[Farmer_John]

Only found one at a large dealer (a black, AWD, top of the line). was told by a sales man (after an computer search) that there were only 2 SEL's in the state of AZ. One stock and one with $3k of options. So I concluded that a SEL SC was not likely available for less than MSRP. So, my brothers, if you are thinking about an SC it ain't going to be cheap. LOL

So, my history with Hyundai. In 2018, I was tripping around, looking for a just released Kona, just to see it...liked it, but was drawn to the Elantra GT, so in a moment of weakness (and they nearly gave the damn thing to me) bought it. Great little car, decent performance, good handling, the sport mode was fun, the radio was above average. I liked it.

My wife really like the Kona, bought one soon after I bought the Elantra.

Fast forward to late 2022. Both of those cars use the same 2 liter I4 powertrain. Both cars, within weeks of each other began having really nasty knockety knock sounds from within the engine bay. My car imploded at around 38000 mile. My wife's lasted a bit longer, but fell to the same sad fate.

I'm going to ad the disclaimer that both cars were serviced at their proper intervals AT the dealer of purchase.

There was absolutely no questions about fixing these cars. I discovered that a co worker's wife had a Kia with the same 2 liter engine fell to the same fate.

All three were REPLACED not repaired at no cost. But it took for freaking ever and none of us were even hinted to about a loaner for our troubles.

Hyundai/Kia have the worlds best warranty for a reason. They need it! I wouldn't touch another.

 

[Old Hickory Trojan]

The Santa Cruz is competition just not MUCH. Look at sales numbers to prove this. Saying a SC is cheaper is a joke. I looked found many at 42K msrp. I don't think the Mav can go that high?? If you option out a Mav lariat maybe 36K. Is the BASE SC at 30K the same? I am not sure. BUT if it is there about the same initial price. BUT the SC rated MPG is lower 21 city 25 on AWD version I think FWD gets better. . Please no telling me how you get way better. I go by epa rating. So in the long run gas cost you more . So NO way is the SC EVER cheaper. BUT yes it is better equipped.

Then you have hyundai. I have friends who had blown engines but yes there were repaired under warranty but still. I cant think of any friends with just about any other make that had new cars that the engine blew up. Old ones sure, new ones NO. Youtube ifs full of engine failures from Hyundai. if not failure burning oil that hyundai refused to repair under warranty videos. There dual clutch trans is another story YES not on SC but tells about hyundai itself.

Now you can HIGHLY disagree with me about the SC but the sales numbers tell the REAL story of what the public at large thinks.

I don't know where you shopped but if you really did a comparison for feature for feature you might find that your evaluation is incorrect. First as a fact my Santa Cruz SEL AWD was cheaper than a close match Maverick. To get close the XLT would need the 4k Tow package to tow and get the tranny cooler that is standard on the SC AWD, AWD, Ecoboost, heated seats, power driver seat, split rear seat, Co Pilot 360 and the enhanced 360, Lux Pkg, bedliner, solar glass, acoustic windshield, power tailgate with power lock, load levelling rear springs, better radio and speakers, nicer interior that doesn't scratch, bigger tires, improved ride and handling, better insulation for noise. With that said with the Ecoboost you would get more HP than in my SEL but still without the 4k tow package wouldn't be able to tow by a wide margin. When I added those items up I paid $30.5K for my SC while the Maverick came up to $31.5k...a fully priced Maverick Lariat 4WD optioned out can get over $40k and still not have the features on a fully loaded SC. If you go by EPA my combined is 23MPG (4.3gallons per 100 miles)and the Maverick 24MPG. (4.2 gallons per 100 miles)...I just don't see the huge difference you speak of. I can't speak to the EPA but in my area which is rural with some city driving I'm averaging over 28.6 MPG....and I'v read where Maverick do way better than the EPA rates them as well on this site.

As far as blown engines you had better start looking deeper at Ford...I've seen reports of blown engines, in fact we still don't know why Ford is dealing with potential fires on the Maverick when the engines stop working...and drilling more holes in the skid pan and removing grill flaps apparently didn't fix this problem from last year. If you want history and not speak specifically about the SC but rather at Ford I suspect you will find a huge history of engine issues ( I can speak to the fact since they dumped Cummin's their Diesel's have been shet for years)

As far as sales numbers a lot of that is due to folks that have fermented in their brains that Hyundai sucks ...just like many on this board don't want to recognize the issues that the Maverick has had with quality but the recalls and TSB's don't lie. I posted that comparison on the two vehicles yesterday.and between the two over their two model years the Maverick leads by a fairly far amount in both categorys.......and the fact Jim Farley admits that the Ford qulity is not good and will take years to correct should speak for itself. The fact that buyers avoid those details when they are overwhelming and sit in line for months to get one is kind of depressing...I waited over 19 months to get my Hybrid. The fact Santa Cruz owners avoid researching the DCT transmissions is almost as amazing. But than again Hyundai will cover those issues for 10 years and Ford is only good for 5 years...anyone who wants to be a long term owner should thnk about that when they read about issues with either brand. I've seen two SC's bought back from Hyundai for the DCT tranny on the Santa Cruz forum which was enough to convince me to stay away from it. I've seen so many issues with the Hybrid I sold mine. Good mileage or not just too many issues both small and large to convince me to keep it...and then of course we have "it doesn't look like a truck" crowd....

 

[Old Hickory Trojan]

So, my history with Hyundai. In 2018, I was tripping around, looking for a just released Kona, just to see it...liked it, but was drawn to the Elantra GT, so in a moment of weakness (and they nearly gave the damn thing to me) bought it. Great little car, decent performance, good handling, the sport mode was fun, the radio was above average. I liked it.

My wife really like the Kona, bought one soon after I bought the Elantra.

Fast forward to late 2022. Both of those cars use the same 2 liter I4 powertrain. Both cars, within weeks of each other began having really nasty knockety knock sounds from within the engine bay. My car imploded at around 38000 mile. My wife's lasted a bit longer, but fell to the same sad fate.

I'm going to ad the disclaimer that both cars were serviced at their proper intervals AT the dealer of purchase.

There was absolutely no questions about fixing these cars. I discovered that a co worker's wife had a Kia with the same 2 liter engine fell to the same fate.

All three were REPLACED not repaired at no cost. But it took for freaking ever and none of us were even hinted to about a loaner for our troubles.

Hyundai/Kia have the worlds best warranty for a reason. They need it! I wouldn't touch another.

Did you ever own a Ford Diesel....garbage and a much shorter warranty... how many times have you had to take your Hybrid in so far? Only a few haven't had one issue or another. Two recalls for fires from the engines, battery issues, brake issues, front seat issues, windshield issues, paint issues, bseat belt restrainer issues, holes in the gas tank issues, body panel alignment issues, air bag issues, brake light issues, towing issues, do I really need to go on? I was one of the lucky ones with my Hybrid with none of those issues ..but for how long?

 

[Old Hickory Trojan]

I had a 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe that was awesome. One warranty issue and it was a pain to deal with taking me 7 trips to the dealer to finally resolve.

As it aged I bought the wife a 2014 Tuscon. Total piece of junk putting on CELs weekly to monthly for the gas cap code.

The dealer could not fix it and we had a throw down when they accused my wife of topping it off when filling the tank which she was not doing.

We filled it to half tank for months while it was still kicking CELs for the same thing, replaced 2 dozen gas caps, dealer replaced carbon cannisters multiple times.

I finally gave up after 50+ dealer visits and bought an OBD2 reader and turned the CEL off weekly.

At 60K miles it started burning oil and finally got a warrantied engine at 80,000 miles after a knock sensor update found it was knocking.

Garbage engine design and a class action lawsuit due to people being injured in traffic when their engines locked up.

For the last year and a half--18 months we owned the piece of junk we got monthly letters from Hyundai saying that there was a problem with the ABS system that could cause the car to catch fire but with no fix available.

Please park your vehicle away from your house so it won't burn it down.

Just before we got our Maverick it was finally fixed? under recall. Man, that thing was the worst vehicle I've ever owned and dealer support was almost non-existant. Hyundai is dead to me.

Good thing you didn't buy a Hybrid or you would have had to park it outside to not burn down your house as well...and at one time you could worry about everytime you drove it the engine cutting off. Maybe even when you hit the brakes you were scared it wouldn't stop. There are a lot of horror stories to go around. Heck the Ecoboost engines have known problems over various models for the following:

• Coolant leaks
• Carbon buildup
• Cracked exhaust manifold
• Failed boost control solenoid
• Low-pressure fuel pump failure
• Timing chain problems
• Cam phasers
• Ignition system issues

If you need more info on the Ecoboost...check this:
Ford EcoBoost Problems: Are Ford EcoBoost Engines Reliable? - CoPilot (copilotsearch.com)

 

[Farmer_John]

Did you ever own a Ford Diesel....garbage and a much shorter warranty... how many times have you had to take your Hybrid in so far? Only a few haven't had one issue or another. Two recalls for fires from the engines, battery issues, brake issues, front seat issues, windshield issues, paint issues, bseat belt restrainer issues, holes in the gas tank issues, body panel alignment issues, air bag issues, brake light issues, towing issues, do I really need to go on? I was one of the lucky ones with my Hybrid with none of those issues ..but for how long?

Not a diesel guy. Loved my hybrid, right up to the day I got road raged for doing the speed limit. In my eyes, it was the perfect vehicle. The 2.0 that replaced it satisfies my needs, even if it doesn’t meet the same MPG.

I will maintain that I will never own another Hyundai/Kia Product. Not even a dry Van.

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