Compare the2023 Hyundai Santa CruzVS 2023 Ford Maverick

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 Maverick doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Santa Cruz’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the Maverick.

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 Maverick only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.

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. Rear cross-path warning costs extra on the Maverick.

Both the Santa Cruz and the Maverick have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, 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 164 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Maverick has not been fully tested, yet.

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 Maverick’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 Ford covers the Maverick. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Maverick ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Santa Cruz’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Maverick’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. Ford doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Maverick.

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 Ford vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in reliability, above the industry average. With 40 more problems per 100 vehicles, Ford is ranked 16th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Ford vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 16 places higher in reliability than Ford.

TThe Santa Cruz’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 31 more horsepower (281 vs. 250) and 34 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 277) than the Maverick’s optional 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

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

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Santa Cruz uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Maverick requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

The Santa Cruz has 3.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the Maverick Hybrid’s standard fuel tank (17.7 vs. 13.8 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Santa Cruz has 1.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the Maverick 2.0 EcoBoost’s standard fuel tank (17.7 vs. 16.5 gallons).

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 Maverick doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

The Santa Cruz stops much shorter than the Maverick:

For better traction, the Santa Cruz has larger tires than the Maverick (245/60R18 vs. 225/65R17). The Santa Cruz’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Maverick (245/60R18 vs. 235/65R17).

The Santa Cruz’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Maverick’s standard 65 series tires. The Santa Cruz’s optional tires have a lower 50 series profile than the Maverick’s optional 60 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Santa Cruz has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Maverick. The Santa Cruz’s optional 20-inch wheels are larger than the 18-inch wheels optional on the Maverick.

For superior ride and handling, the Hyundai Santa Cruz has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The Maverick has a rear torsion beam axle, with a semi-independent rear suspension.

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

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Cruz is 1.3 inches wider in the front and 2.1 inches wider in the rear than on the Maverick.

The Santa Cruz is 4 inches shorter than the Maverick, making the Santa Cruz easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Santa Cruz has .4 inches more front headroom, .3 inches more front shoulder room, .5 inches more rear headroom, .6 inches more rear legroom and .5 inches more rear shoulder room than the Maverick.

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 Ford Maverick 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 Ford Maverick doesn’t offer a rear cargo step.

The Santa Cruz’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Maverick’s (3500 vs. 2000 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Ford Maverick is only 4000 pounds. The Santa Cruz 4x4 offers up to a 5000 lbs. towing capacity.

The Santa Cruz has a much higher standard payload capacity than the Maverick (1753 vs. 1500 lbs.).

On a hot day the Santa Cruz’s driver can lower the front windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Maverick can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Proximity Key standard on the Santa Cruz SEL/SEL Premium/Night/Limited allows you to unlock the driver’s door, tailgate and start the engine all without removing a key from pocket or purse. This eliminates searching for keys before loading cargo, getting in the vehicle in bad weather or making a hurried start to your trip. The Ford Maverick’s available Intelligent Access doesn’t unlock the tailgate.

The Santa Cruz has a standard locking fuel door with a remote release located convenient to the driver. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank. A locking fuel door is only offered on the Maverick Hybrid.

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 Maverick’s intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

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

The Santa Cruz has standard power remote mirrors. The Maverick XL doesn’t offer either a remote driver side or passenger side mirror. The driver will have to roll down the windows and reach across the car to adjust the mirrors.

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 Maverick doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

Both the Santa Cruz and the Maverick offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Santa Cruz Limited has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Maverick doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

The Santa Cruz SEL Premium/Limited’s standard GPS navigation system has a real-time traffic update feature that plots alternative routes to automatically bypass traffic problems. (Service not available in all areas.) The Maverick’s available navigation system doesn’t offer real-time traffic updates.

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 Maverick was rated third.