I test drove the Santa Cruz and wanted to share my thoughts.

[STARCOMMTREY1]

First of all, the looks of the truck. This will fall into one of three categories;
1. Love it
2. Hate it
3. Could care less
I fall into #2 because of the flying buttress design. At least Ford designed this unibody without the NEED for that.

The interior was nice. Room abundant. I am 5'10 and when I set the front seat to me, the back still fit me well. No complaints there. It was a comfortable 'SAV' with a decent ride. This was the last good thing about driving it. Hyundai seemed to care more about the 'features' than the drivability, a notion made abundantly clear by the salesperson's repeated use of the words safety system and features. It has features abundant. This was the SEL AWD version by the way. Now, although I could drive and see well enough, my wife could not. The flying buttress design created serious blind spots for her. This was something I had not considered and made me glad to take her along. She hated the way is sat. She is 5'4, so it makes a difference. After that ride, she was adamant that she does NOT want it. The dealer happened to have an used Lariat Ranger there. She sat in it and claimed night and day. She made me pull up a picture of the Mav and noticed the windows were all 'square' with each other. Other than, it was not lack on power and drove the way you expect. Not a bad machine except for the complaints my wife made which I feel are valid.

Technical: What turned me off was the bed size and fuel ratings. The bed is 6 inches shorter than the Mav and it felt on the small size. Not sure how the Mav will feel in that regard, but my wife assures me that 6 inches IS a lot. The tonneau cover was nice, even though the nice sales lady did not know how to operate it. Everything else seem copied to all Mav things I have seen. I mean almost down to a tee. Then there was the fuel mileage. It was on par with the Ranger. The Mav in all forms takes the cake in this area. That for me was the deciding factor. Nothing impressed me enough to buy a 27 mpg highway. Realistically I know it will be 23-25. My 350 gets near and at 20 when I mind my Ps and Qs.

All in all it was a nice Sport Adventure Vehicle as Hyundai calls it. But nothing on it convinced me of dropping my Mav unseen for it.


P.S., just to pour salt in the wound for some of you, I received a build date for a Mav from another dealership that will remain nameless that I never ordered from.....So I can tell you that TOWN AND COUNTRY FORD in Bessemer, AL will PROBABLY have an extra xlt hybrid in October!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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[dldsm7]

First of all, the looks of the truck. This will fall into one of three categories;
1. Love it
2. Hate it
3. Could care less
I fall into #2 because of the flying buttress design. At least Ford designed this unibody without the NEED for that.

The interior was nice. Room abundant. I am 5'10 and when I set the front seat to me, the back still fit me well. No complaints there. It was a comfortable 'SAV' with a decent ride. This was the last good thing about driving it. Hyundai seemed to care more about the 'features' than the drivability, a notion made abundantly clear by the salesperson's repeated use of the words safety system and features. It has features abundant. This was the SEL AWD version by the way. Now, although I could drive and see well enough, my wife could not. The flying buttress design created serious blind spots for her. This was something I had not considered and made me glad to take her along. She hated the way is sat. She is 5'4, so it makes a difference. After that ride, she was adamant that she does NOT want it. The dealer happened to have an used Lariat Ranger there. She sat in it and claimed night and day. She made me pull up a picture of the Mav and noticed the windows were all 'square' with each other. Other than, it was not lack on power and drove the way you expect. Not a bad machine except for the complaints my wife made which I feel are valid.

Technical: What turned me off was the bed size and fuel ratings. The bed is 6 inches shorter than the Mav and it felt on the small size. Not sure how the Mav will feel in that regard, but my wife assures me that 6 inches IS a lot. The tonneau cover was nice, even though the nice sales lady did not know how to operate it. Everything else seem copied to all Mav things I have seen. I mean almost down to a tee. Then there was the fuel mileage. It was on par with the Ranger. The Mav in all forms takes the cake in this area. That for me was the deciding factor. Nothing impressed me enough to buy a 27 mpg highway. Realistically I know it will be 23-25. My 350 gets near and at 20 when I mind my Ps and Qs.

All in all it was a nice Sport Adventure Vehicle as Hyundai calls it. But nothing on it convinced me of dropping my Mav unseen for it.


P.S., just to pour salt in the wound for some of you, I received a build date for a Mav from another dealership that will remain nameless that I never ordered from.....So I can tell you that TOWN AND COUNTRY FORD in Bessemer, AL will PROBABLY have an extra xlt hybrid in October!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

how did you get a build from a different dealership? Did your dealer move your order to a different place

 

[STARCOMMTREY1]

No, I shopped around for the best deal. One of those I shopped at(Never even stepped foot on the lot) actually took my info and ordered one. I got the email and hit the fan. I was told they cancelled it. Got the build conformation yesterday and called raising hell....Their response was, we gave you a good deal like you asked, why not just buy it?

 

[Dan_E26]

but my wife assures me that 6 inches IS a lot.

I bet she does

Thanks for leaving your thoughts on the SC. I personally think it's gonna be a massive flop for Hyundai, for the reasons you listed: more attention was paid to features and goodies than making a practical, capable truck.

 

[FirstFord]

Technical: What turned me off was the bed size and fuel ratings. The bed is 6 inches shorter than the Mav and it felt on the small size. Not sure how the Mav will feel in that regard, but my wife assures me that 6 inches IS a lot./QUOTE]

 

[CASD57]

I bet she does

Thanks for leaving your thoughts on the SC. I personally think it's gonna be a massive flop for Hyundai, for the reasons you listed: more attention was paid to features and goodies than making a practical, capable truck.

It’s not a truck....

 

[JASmith]

Poor rear visibility seems to be a common complaint, but that will probably be true on the Maverick as well. I also agree between the base engines the hybrid makes a lot more sense IMO. They are both the same weight, and yet the hybrid is 37 combined vs 23 combined, a huge difference. That said, the upgrade engine the 2.5T 8DCT from my research I believe to just be in every way superior to the 2.0 Ecoboost and the GM-9speed that Ford just cheapened by lopping a gear off to try and rescue what most in the industry are calling one of the worst recent FWD transmissions on the market. The 2.5T is port injected most of the time meaning its going to run quieter and cleaner, and only engages the high pressure fuel pump for direct injection at high boost levels for the best of both worlds. The new wet 8-speed DCT has also gotten a lot of praise for being very responsive, with paddle shifters paired with it that make quick passing or sporty driving a breeze.

The problem is, the SC is as you say loaded up on features, and that really balloons the price to where the cheapest trim you can get the turbo engine starts at $37K. To overcome some of the visibility concerns you have you have to step up to the LImited which is pretty cool in that the dash turns into very high resolution blindspot cameras when you put the blinker on which I think is just fantastic, and when parking gives a back and 360o high resolution screen to make parking braindead easy.

So for those on a $30K budget, the hybrid Mav has huge advantages, and to really make the most out of the SC you have to go Limited and now we're talking over $40K, whereas a FWD ecoboost 4K tow package Maverick XL can be had for $23K and for that cheap I'm willing to put up with quite a lot of compromises.

This can help put side-by-side to compare window shapes and size and what not and the interiors:

Ford is much more "pow" in your face (XL trim aside) whereas SC is what I'd call "mature":

 

[STARCOMMTREY1]

Poor rear visibility seems to be a common complaint, but that will probably be true on the Maverick as well. I also agree between the base engines the hybrid makes a lot more sense IMO. They are both the same weight, and yet the hybrid is 37 combined vs 23 combined, a huge difference. That said, the upgrade engine the 2.5T 8DCT from my research I believe to just be in every way superior to the 2.0 Ecoboost and the GM-9speed that Ford just cheapened by lopping a gear off to try and rescue what most in the industry are calling one of the worst recent FWD transmissions on the market. The 2.5T is port injected most of the time meaning its going to run quieter and cleaner, and only engages the high pressure fuel pump for direct injection at high boost levels for the best of both worlds. The new wet 8-speed DCT has also gotten a lot of praise for being very responsive, with paddle shifters paired with it that make quick passing or sporty driving a breeze.

The problem is, the SC is as you say loaded up on features, and that really balloons the price to where the cheapest trim you can get the turbo engine starts at $37K. To overcome some of the visibility concerns you have you have to step up to the LImited which is pretty cool in that the dash turns into very high resolution blindspot cameras when you put the blinker on which I think is just fantastic, and when parking gives a back and 360o high resolution screen to make parking braindead easy.

So for those on a $30K budget, the hybrid Mav has huge advantages, and to really make the most out of the SC you have to go Limited and now we're talking over $40K, whereas a FWD ecoboost 4K tow package Maverick XL can be had for $23K and for that cheap I'm willing to put up with quite a lot of compromises.

This can help put side-by-side to compare window shapes and size and what not and the interiors:

Ford is much more "pow" in your face (XL trim aside) whereas SC is what I'd call "mature":

I think the Ford appealed to nostalgia. It is colored and somewhat built similar to those in the late 80s and early 90s

 

[STARCOMMTREY1]

 

[jcsan18]

I think the Ford appealed to nostalgia. It is colored and somewhat built similar to those in the late 80s and early 90s

There is very much a retro vibe going on, at least in my opinion, and its styling is one of the main reasons I stopped shopping anything else.

 

[FirstFord]

I've never been a fan of the El Camino, Ranchero idea and the Santa Cruz hews closer to that than to the honest truck aesthetic.

I'm not a Car, I'm not a Truck. So I must be a Cuck

er, no. How about a Trar?

 

[JASmith]

I've never been a fan of the El Camino, Ranchero idea and the Santa Cruz hews closer to that than to the honest truck aesthetic.

OMG, I would love if they made the Dodge Challenger into a modern El Camino!

Keep the trusty 5.7 Hemi, the vehicle is already big enough, but make it a true 2-door with a longer bed, and make it a convertible bench seat where you can raise the armrest and fit a third person in a pinch, like they used to do on the 2-door Rams!

I rarely haul 4 people, but 3 people now and then would be perfect.

 

[hsinking1932]

Ford is much more "pow" in your face (XL trim aside) whereas SC is what I'd call "mature":

In my dictionary, "SC mature" means "office cubicle decoration style with a special drawer for antidepressants."

 

[Xtreme Thunder]

I prefer the traditional pick-up profile design of of the Maverick. I see where its exterior styling could come across as bland to some though.

I do prefer the dual fuel injection of the Hyundai 2.5T, as well as the power numbers. They did well there.

Here's to hoping Ford will provide the 2.3T in the future for a more street/ performance oriented option. If I am in the 22-25 MPG, combined, on my drive cycle that is fine for me, I don't need to get Hybrid MPG at this time. I still want some playful power, plus I don't want the twist-beam rear suspension of the current FWD Hybrid Maverick.

 

[es7129]

OMG, I would love if they made the Dodge Challenger into a modern El Camino!

Keep the trusty 5.7 Hemi, the vehicle is already big enough, but make it a true 2-door with a longer bed, and make it a convertible bench seat where you can raise the armrest and fit a third person in a pinch, like they used to do on the 2-door Rams!

I rarely haul 4 people, but 3 people now and then would be perfect.

El Challino!!!

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