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--XL 2L/awd. Wanted hybrid, but, can't wait. Very pleased so far, everything I expected. Did a long test drive in the Santa Cruz, briefly checked out the Tacoma/Ranger/Colorado. And, I've owned 3 Ridgelines.
--I'm in construction sub-trade. Do 25K miles/45K km. year. So yeah, MPG is very important to me. Reliability is critical. I always buy new and maintain religiously. Downtime costs me a lot of money. Will not consider a full size truck. With the height those monstrosities have grown to, I refuse to accept climbing into a truck bed as normal or acceptable. I'm 5' 11, retrieving items from the bed should not require an acrobatics performance.
--Tacoma/Ranger/Colorado. Did not even test drive. Bed height/access as bad as a full size truck. Getting into the cab also requires step bars. Not my cup of tea.
--Santa Cruz. Actually really liked the drive. In Canada, we only get the turbo model so cheapest one was almost $46K. (vehicle price plus tax) Drove really nice, interior was great but lacked storage space. Problem was the high sides combined with a high floor in the bed. If they had given it a side swing tailgate like the Ridgeline, and, the Maverick had been more Ranger/F150 like in height, I would have gotten the Hyundai. Cost difference between the Santa Cruz and a Maverick XLT optioned similarly is only about $3000 and the MPG is close enough. So, patiently waited for an actual Maverick to check out, and really hoped they didn't create another ''king of the road'', "super duper high rider", "look at me ma, eye level with the semi's" special.
--Ridgelines I know inside out. Had an 07, 12, and a 2017. The original intelligent truck, in my opinion. First generation sucked fuel like a full size domestic (17 MPG). The 2017 was much better, lifetime was 21 MPG. Does everything well, side swing tailgate means you can reach almost the entire bed, spacious interior. What's the problem, you ask? It would have cost me an extra $2000/yr in fuel. Can live with that. Deal breaker, purchase price (base model, similarly equipped as Santa Fe) is $54K. Pass. It's a great truck which will lose a ton of sales to the Maverick. I have absolutely no doubt on this. Honda's strategy of picking up customers who were turned off by the full sizers size/pricing may have worked before the Maverick. It won't now.
-Maverick. Finally saw in person. Almost cried when I saw the bed height and how accessible it was. Purchased incoming dealer stock without test driving. Truck came in, signed papers, been smiling since. Ride is similar to Ridgeline, fuel economy waaaay better, interior space a bit smaller, bed space a bit smaller, load handling much better (ridgeline would squat noticeably with 4-500 lbs in the bed), quality/fit and finish pretty much the same. It's a 9/10th's Ridgeline, but $$thousands less. Easy to get in. Easy to get out. Quiet. Plenty of power. Good space inside, very comfortable. 28MPG. $34k. XLT/luxury would have been $39K, I think. Sure, would have been nicer, but I'm still ecstatic with my baby truck. My next vehicle in 4-5 years will most likely be a Maverick hybrid. (if they're out by then, LOL, kidding)
--I'm in construction sub-trade. Do 25K miles/45K km. year. So yeah, MPG is very important to me. Reliability is critical. I always buy new and maintain religiously. Downtime costs me a lot of money. Will not consider a full size truck. With the height those monstrosities have grown to, I refuse to accept climbing into a truck bed as normal or acceptable. I'm 5' 11, retrieving items from the bed should not require an acrobatics performance.
--Tacoma/Ranger/Colorado. Did not even test drive. Bed height/access as bad as a full size truck. Getting into the cab also requires step bars. Not my cup of tea.
--Santa Cruz. Actually really liked the drive. In Canada, we only get the turbo model so cheapest one was almost $46K. (vehicle price plus tax) Drove really nice, interior was great but lacked storage space. Problem was the high sides combined with a high floor in the bed. If they had given it a side swing tailgate like the Ridgeline, and, the Maverick had been more Ranger/F150 like in height, I would have gotten the Hyundai. Cost difference between the Santa Cruz and a Maverick XLT optioned similarly is only about $3000 and the MPG is close enough. So, patiently waited for an actual Maverick to check out, and really hoped they didn't create another ''king of the road'', "super duper high rider", "look at me ma, eye level with the semi's" special.
--Ridgelines I know inside out. Had an 07, 12, and a 2017. The original intelligent truck, in my opinion. First generation sucked fuel like a full size domestic (17 MPG). The 2017 was much better, lifetime was 21 MPG. Does everything well, side swing tailgate means you can reach almost the entire bed, spacious interior. What's the problem, you ask? It would have cost me an extra $2000/yr in fuel. Can live with that. Deal breaker, purchase price (base model, similarly equipped as Santa Fe) is $54K. Pass. It's a great truck which will lose a ton of sales to the Maverick. I have absolutely no doubt on this. Honda's strategy of picking up customers who were turned off by the full sizers size/pricing may have worked before the Maverick. It won't now.
-Maverick. Finally saw in person. Almost cried when I saw the bed height and how accessible it was. Purchased incoming dealer stock without test driving. Truck came in, signed papers, been smiling since. Ride is similar to Ridgeline, fuel economy waaaay better, interior space a bit smaller, bed space a bit smaller, load handling much better (ridgeline would squat noticeably with 4-500 lbs in the bed), quality/fit and finish pretty much the same. It's a 9/10th's Ridgeline, but $$thousands less. Easy to get in. Easy to get out. Quiet. Plenty of power. Good space inside, very comfortable. 28MPG. $34k. XLT/luxury would have been $39K, I think. Sure, would have been nicer, but I'm still ecstatic with my baby truck. My next vehicle in 4-5 years will most likely be a Maverick hybrid. (if they're out by then, LOL, kidding)
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