Compare the2023 Hyundai Santa CruzVS 2023 Honda Ridgeline

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Santa Cruz are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Ridgeline doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Santa Cruz SEL/SEL Premium/Limited has standard Parking Collision Avoidance Assist that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Ridgeline doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Santa Cruz Limited has a standard Surround View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Ridgeline only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

The Santa Cruz has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. Only the Ridgeline RTL/RTL-E/Black Edition offers a blind spot warning system.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Santa Cruz has a standard rear cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Only the Ridgeline RTL/RTL-E/Black Edition has a rear cross-path warning system.

The Santa Cruz’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Ridgeline doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

The Santa Cruz SEL/SEL Premium/Night/Limited has standard Blue Link, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to remotely unlock your doors if you lock your keys in, help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Ridgeline doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.

Both the Santa Cruz and the Ridgeline have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and available all wheel drive.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its available headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Santa Cruz the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2022, a rating granted to only 158 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Ridgeline last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2019.

The Santa Cruz comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Ridgeline’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Santa Cruz 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Honda covers the Ridgeline. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Ridgeline ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Santa Cruz’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Ridgeline’s (7 vs. 5 years).

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Santa Cruz for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Hyundai will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Honda doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Ridgeline.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in reliability, above the industry average. With 82 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is ranked 24th.

The Santa Cruz’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 1 more horsepower (281 vs. 280) and 49 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 262) than the Ridgeline’s 3.5 SOHC V6.

As tested in Motor Trend the Hyundai Santa Cruz turbo 4 cyl. is faster than the Honda Ridgeline:

On the EPA test cycle the Santa Cruz gets better mileage than the Ridgeline:

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Hyundai Santa Cruz higher (5 out of 10) than the Honda Ridgeline (3). This means the Santa Cruz produces up to 16.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Ridgeline every 15,000 miles.

The Santa Cruz offers an available sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The Ridgeline doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

For better stopping power the Santa Cruz’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Ridgeline:

The Santa Cruz stops shorter than the Ridgeline:

The Santa Cruz’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Ridgeline’s 60 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Santa Cruz offers optional 20-inch wheels. The Ridgeline’s largest wheels are only 18-inches.

The Santa Cruz has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Ridgeline’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

The Santa Cruz has a standard automatic rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The Ridgeline doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

For better maneuverability, the Santa Cruz’s turning circle is 3.8 feet tighter than the Ridgeline’s (39.6 feet vs. 43.4 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Santa Cruz has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Ridgeline (8.6 vs. 7.64 inches), allowing the Santa Cruz to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Hyundai Santa Cruz may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 400 to 750 pounds less than the Honda Ridgeline.

The Santa Cruz is 1 foot, 2.5 inches shorter than the Ridgeline, making the Santa Cruz easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Santa Cruz has .6 inches more front headroom, .5 inches more front legroom and 1.3 inches more rear headroom than the Ridgeline.

The Hyundai Santa Cruz has a standard tailgate assist feature, which prevents the heavy tailgate from falling with a crash and causing injury. It allows adults and children to easily open and close the tailgate with one hand to better facilitate loading and unloading. The Honda Ridgeline doesn’t offer a tailgate assist.

The Hyundai Santa Cruz has a standard rear cargo step, which allows for much easier access to the cargo area. The Honda Ridgeline doesn’t offer a rear cargo step.

The Santa Cruz has bed indentations that accommodate 2x4’s for two-tiered loading to help accommodate diverse loads; the Ridgeline doesn’t offer two-tiered loading.

The Santa Cruz has a higher standard payload capacity than the Ridgeline (1753 vs. 1583 lbs.).

The Santa Cruz’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Ridgeline’s parking brake has to be released manually.

The power windows standard on both the Santa Cruz and the Ridgeline have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Santa Cruz is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Ridgeline prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Santa Cruz Limited’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Ridgeline’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Consumer Reports rated the Santa Cruz’s headlight performance “Good,” a higher rating than the Ridgeline’s headlights, which were rated “Fair.”

The Santa Cruz’s power mirror controls are mounted on the armrest for easy access. The Ridgeline’s power mirror controls are on the dash where they are possibly hidden by the steering wheel and are awkward to manipulate.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Santa Cruz Limited keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Ridgeline doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The Santa Cruz is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Ridgeline doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Hyundai Santa Cruz will be $3386 to $10631 less than for the Honda Ridgeline.

Motor Trend performed a comparison test in its February 2022 issue and they ranked the Hyundai Santa Cruz Limited 4x4 higher than the Honda Ridgeline RTL.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Santa Cruz first among midsize pickups in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Ridgeline isn’t in the top three.