Ford Maverick Doubles Hyundai Santa Cruz Sales, Outsells Ranger in Q1

[KenJ45]

Only the Limited. The SE, SEL, SEL Activity, and SEL Premium all have 18" instead of 20" wheels, same as on the Maverick Limited but wider.

I can personally testify that the sun shade is a non-issue. I drove a '22 Tucson, one of the first delivered in Houston that had that, and this was at noon in TX w/o a cloud in the sky, and no problem with reflections. Not sure what kind of LCD it is, but its like my Garmin vs the screen built into my Ram. The Ram screen is easily washed out and has reflections but the Garmin is somehow immune. Whatever they do, it works really well.

I do agree on the touch controls, I prefer knobs, but some trims do have physical volume and HVAC controls and physical infotainment buttons on the left and right of the screen:

There is a lot of gloss black though unfortunately, which is fingerprint city.

I'm sure if the LED is bright enough you'll still be able to see it, but I'd still much rather there be a shade so it can be something easier on the eyes and still be visible. Having the display super bright isn't exactly the best thing for eye strain. Like I've said, I drive a lot, and sometimes for long distances. I've rented many cars for some of these drives and have had all kinds, and a simple analog display with a sunshade is the best in my opinion.

But more than the actual display itself, my point is that Hyundai has a very different philosophy when designing the Santa Cruz than what I desire from a car. It's obvious they put more importance on style and trying to show off as much "tech" as possible while designing the vehicle. So when a car manufacturer favors that in one area, they are probably doing that in others as well, and just for my own preferences I'd much rather that every aspect of the vehicle be designed mostly with function over form.

Like I've said, that may be important for some people to have as much style as possible, and for them, great, go for the Santa Cruz. But that's simply not what *I* want out of any vehicle...

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[Yardtruck]

That dampened tailgate is an easy add-on, and one I have absolutely zero interest in adding. I'm not worried about breaking my nails or anything while dropping the tailgate. I'm fine with fewer moving parts and simpler/faster operation, thanks. I feel the same way with other features other people find important, like power liftgates on SUVs. Absolutely hate them, WAY too slow, I don't have time to stand there for 30 seconds waiting for it to open and close, I'm not THAT lazy for crying out loud. And again, just more moving parts to go wrong.

And I don't fully buy that about the weight limit on the bed. Where would that 650lb figure magically come from? And why would one of their PR guys just decide to say that to people? It sounds more like it was real but when they realized it's a major ding on the utility of their vehicle, they decided to just take the chances that not many people will load more than that in their beds anyway, especially people who would buy the Santa Cruz in the first place, and pretend that it's not a thing. Which I think is smart, makes sense anyway. I feel with the decorative buttress that makes loading things into the bed from the side less practical, and a highly praised feature being a retractable tonneau that has the mechanism non-removable making the tiny bed even tinier, people who actually want to buy the Santa Cruz won't be loading anything more than maybe a bicycle or groceries into that bed anyhow. I highly doubt I'll be seeing anyone looking to do more than that actually buying one of them...

But please, try to use your imagination and tell me in what circumstance could a "misunderstanding" happen to where someone at Hyundai would "mistakenly" invent a weight limit with a specific number for the bed of the vehicle. I'm trying to work out a scenario in my head where that could happen and I seriously can't think of how that would come to be...

You're right about the bed step though, the 2023 MY Ford Ranger will finally have it. They didn't straight up copy the GMs though with theirs, it'll be on the fender and not on the bumper. Either way works fine though.

My. So angry. And ignorant.
The false load floor limit was from a PR flack trying to work out allowable bed load assuming 4 passengers. Do some reading rather than venting.
I notice you skated over Ford’s inexcusable omission of stake pockets.
Wise of you: the omission was indefensible. Having owned 10 pickup trucks in the past 40+ years I can tell you they are very useful.

And omitting a dampened tailgate on your highest trim-in 2022-is simply absurd.

The Maverick is a great design and represents a courageous (and expensive) effort to make vehicles with truck capabilities available to more people.

But when they got to the load bed-they made some dumb mistakes.

 

[dalola]

My. So angry. And ignorant.
The false load floor limit was from a PR flack trying to work out allowable bed load assuming 4 passengers. Do some reading rather than venting.
I notice you skated over Ford’s inexcusable omission of stake pockets.
Wise of you: the omission was indefensible. Having owned 10 pickup trucks in the past 40+ years I can tell you they are very useful.

And omitting a dampened tailgate on your highest trim-in 2022-is simply absurd.

The Maverick is a great design and represents a courageous (and expensive) effort to make vehicles with truck capabilities available to more people.

But when they got to the load bed-they made some dumb mistakes.

But what if we don't want dampened tailgates or stake pockets?

 

[JASmith]

I'm sure if the LED is bright enough you'll still be able to see it, but I'd still much rather there be a shade so it can be something easier on the eyes and still be visible.

Its not just super bright, its just a different type of LCD technology. I think Mercedes was the first to market with it, as I first saw the hoodless LCD in the Mercedes GLB we were thinking about picking up. I had the same concern it would just wash out, but it was fine in bright sunlight. Here's a POV shot for example with really strong sun aimed so its lighting up the whole dash a ton, with his white hand almost blinding the camera from all the light, and yet the hoodless LCD still works fine:

 

[KenJ45]

My. So angry. And ignorant.
The false load floor limit was from a PR flack trying to work out allowable bed load assuming 4 passengers. Do some reading rather than venting.
I notice you skated over Ford’s inexcusable omission of stake pockets.
Wise of you: the omission was indefensible. Having owned 10 pickup trucks in the past 40+ years I can tell you they are very useful.

And omitting a dampened tailgate on your highest trim-in 2022-is simply absurd.

The Maverick is a great design and represents a courageous (and expensive) effort to make vehicles with truck capabilities available to more people.

But when they got to the load bed-they made some dumb mistakes.

LOL, who's angry? Do we all have to feel the same way about things? I'm telling you what I think and why I don't prefer something. Sorry you disagree man, lol.

 

[KenJ45]

Its not just super bright, its just a different type of LCD technology. I think Mercedes was the first to market with it, as I first saw the hoodless LCD in the Mercedes GLB we were thinking about picking up. I had the same concern it would just wash out, but it was fine in bright sunlight. Here's a POV shot for example with really strong sun aimed so its lighting up the whole dash a ton, with his white hand almost blinding the camera from all the light, and yet the hoodless LCD still works fine:

Remember that cameras automatically compensates for brightness so it's not exactly the same as when you see it. But either way, I'm not a fan of the all digital cluster. Yes not a fan of the Bronco's higher trim having a mostly digital cluster and a digital only speedometer, so not just limited to Hyundai. Still would prefer just a hooded cluster with analog dials that don't need lighting during the day. And also, like I've already said, it's less about the actual visibility of it and more about it speaking to Hyundai's philosophy when they were designing the vehicle. It tells me they favor style over everything else, which isn't a "bad" thing, since you can make something stylish and still functional, but I just prefer that the function is the backbone and not an afterthought. And also again, I'm not really sure why you're trying so hard, I've continuously said that these are *MY* preferences, they don't need to be your preferences or anyone else's preferences. I'm not trying to change your mind or anyone's mind, I'm merely explaining my stance and why *I* wouldn't consider the Santa Cruz. I mean, I personally think that's pretty reasonable isn't it? lol.

 

[KenJ45]

But what if we don't want dampened tailgates or stake pockets?

Then you're ANGRY!!!

 

[KenJ45]

But what if we don't want dampened tailgates or stake pockets?

Yah, I don't personally care about stake pockets. I've made it pretty clear I don't like anything blocking the sides of the truck bed, so putting those racks that go into the stake pockets are kind of useless for me. They are handy if you're planning on using the truck for work and you need to carry long things like ladders, they would go over the top of the truck. But they already make some that attach to the Maverick's bed without stake pockets so... I don't know, it doesn't seem like a huge deal to me...

https://accessories.ford.com/products/ranger-2019-2021-yakima-medium-profile-bed-rack-1
These are more for putting bike or kayak racks on them, but I'm sure you can do something similar to hold up ladders and other stuff for more work-related stuff...

 

[cavemold]

Its not just super bright, its just a different type of LCD technology. I think Mercedes was the first to market with it, as I first saw the hoodless LCD in the Mercedes GLB we were thinking about picking up. I had the same concern it would just wash out, but it was fine in bright sunlight. Here's a POV shot for example with really strong sun aimed so its lighting up the whole dash a ton, with his white hand almost blinding the camera from all the light, and yet the hoodless LCD still works fine:

personally i don't like that digital cluster at all., It trying be extra fancy and it just doesnt come off well. If its going be digital cluster just give me one that shows then numbers 12 mph . etc than what they did here with digital cluster. . Like this

 

[JASmith]

If its going be digital cluster just give me one that shows then numbers 12 mph .

I do really like numbers over dials too.

Its digital though, so you can change quite a bit of what is displayed including just numbers in the "cubed" theme or your speed as a number big in the middle on any of the themes, and on the limited when you put your blinker on it also shows a blind spot camera in place of a gauge. Can also show your adaptive cruise control distance or GPS next-turn instructions and so on. Its pretty configurable.

And lower trims do get a simple hooded traditional gauge cluster:

Although I prefer the minimalist style like Kia did on their new digital dash:

 

[cavemold]

I do really like numbers over dials too.

Its digital though, so you can change quite a bit of what is displayed including just numbers in the "cubed" theme or your speed as a number big in the middle on any of the themes, and on the limited when you put your blinker on it also shows a blind spot camera in place of a gauge. Can also show your adaptive cruise control distance or GPS next-turn instructions and so on. Its pretty configurable.

View attachment 46977

And lower trims do get a simple hooded traditional gauge cluster:

Although I prefer the minimalist style like Kia did on their new digital dash:

Yea I like the Kia one easier to read the cube is kinda weird but works better the other ones.

 

[cavemold]

The lower trims ones on the cruz is probably the best one out of them

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