New Details About the Hyundai Santa Cruz Could Make It Hard To Match the Ford Maverick
Ru Chen
· 3 min read
Does the steeper cost of the Santa Cruz make it the worse pickup truck to pick up? It depends what exactly you’re looking for.
The Hyundai Santa Cruz starting price
CNET
reported that Hyundai’s new compact pickup truck will be priced starting from $25,175, which includes a destination fee of $1,185. The Santa Cruz comes in four trims: SE, SEL, SEL Premium, and Limited.
The base cost of $25,175 will get you a front-wheel drive Santa Cruz SE, powered by a 2.5-liter l4 engine, which has fantastic fuel economy.
Standard equipment for a Santa Cruz includes:
- 18-inch wheels
- LED tail lights
- A driver attention monitor
- Lane-keeping and lane-following assist
- An 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system, ft. wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto
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Can it compete with the Ford Maverick?
Both vehicles are in the class of compact pickup trucks. This means they’re competing for the same type of customers.
The 2022
Ford Maverick
was recently named the 2021 Chicago Auto Show ‘Best in Show’ winner by Cars.com
. It is a compact pickup truck, just like the Santa Cruz, and has a fuel economy comparable to a small SUV or compact sedan. Quite a bit cheaper than the Santa Cruz, the Maverick has a starting price of $21,490 (including destination).
The Maverick will be available this fall in XL, XLT, and Lariat trims. It will come with a front-wheel drive (FWD) with an optional all-wheel drive (AWD).
MORE: How to Get Cheap Truck Insurance for Your Pickup Truck
In-depth comparison of Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz
The Maverick and the Santa Cruz are great for outdoor activities and can carry a good amount of weight in their storage systems.
It’s up to you to decide if the extra cost of the Santa Cruz is worth it.
Hyundai Santa Cruz | Ford Maverick | |
|---|---|---|
Base $ with Destination | $25,175 (the SE) | $21,490 (the XL) |
Base towing capacity | 3,500 lbs | 2,000 lbs |
Upgraded towing capacity | 5,000 lbs | 4,000 lbs |
Base engine | 2.5-liter I4 engine | 2.5-liter hybrid |
Top-shelf trim price | $40,905 (the Limited) | $36,985 (the Lariat) |
Optional AWD upgrade | +$1,500 | +$3,305 |
Appeal | Plenty of optional tech & assist upgrades | Comfortable seating areas & cheaper starting cost |
With a combined cost of $40,905, a fully loaded Santa Cruz Limited comes with 20-inch wheels, powerful LED headlights, a 10.3-inch infotainment display, a 10-inch digital gauge cluster, blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control. It also has Hyundai's Highway Driving Assist, which combines ACC and lane-centering tech.
That is not to say the Maverick doesn’t have good upgrades, including cruise control, a power lock for the tailgate and power exterior mirrors, and safety features include standard automated emergency braking and lane-keeping assist.
It looks like the Santa Cruz is potentially the better option here, depending on how much you value the perks it can offer.
Notably, if you want more than the basics, such as AWD instead of FWD, it seems like the Santa Cruz might be the way to go since the cost of upgrades escalates the Maverick in price quite quickly.
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