Compare the2023 Hyundai Santa CruzVS 2023 Ford Ranger

© 1999 - 2024Advanta-STAR Automotive Research, all rights reserved. This vehicle comparison and all of the content in it are provided only by license from Advanta-STAR Automotive Research Corporation of America (“Advanta-STAR”). If you are not a legally licensed user of this vehicle comparison, it is against federal law to access it, copy it, forward it, or use it in any manner whatsoever. Any unauthorized use of this vehicle comparison is a violation of U.S. and international law and is punishable criminally and civilly. Removal of this watermark/notification without prior written license and approval received from Advanta-STAR is an agreement, understanding, and/or stipulation by the person(s), entities, agents, attorneys, and any other persons involved in the removal of this watermark/notification (including but not limited to Search Optics, LLC and any and all parent entities, sister entities, and subsidiary entities of Search Optics, LLC and/or any other entity, agent, attorney, and persons related in any manner to Search Optics, LLC) to: 1) an agreed upon amount of liquidated monetary damages of a minimum of $1,250,000.00 US Dollars in favor of Advanta-STAR; 2) the jurisdiction and enforcement of any legal claims associated with this matter asserted by Advanta-STAR in the United States Federal District Court in Portand, Oregon; and 3) service of process of any legal claims asserted by Advanta-STAR associated with this matter may be accomplished by First-Class Postage by the United States Postal Service or comparable service. XPYNN-M34HG 2a06:98c0:3600::103 2024/12/21

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 Ranger 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 Ranger doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

Full-time four-wheel drive is optional on the Santa Cruz. Full-time four-wheel drive gives added traction for safety in all conditions, not just off-road, like the only system available on the Ranger.

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 Ranger.

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 Ranger 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.

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 Ranger.

For better protection of the passenger compartment, the Santa Cruz uses safety cell construction with a three-dimensional high-strength frame that surrounds the passenger compartment. It provides extra impact protection and a sturdy mounting location for door hardware and side impact beams. The Ranger uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Santa Cruz and the Ranger 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 and rearview cameras.

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 Ranger last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2017.

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

The Santa Cruz’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Ranger’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 Ranger.

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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.

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The Santa Cruz’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 11 more horsepower (281 vs. 270) and 1 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 310) than the Ranger’s 2.3 turbo 4-cylinder.

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

	Santa Cruz	Ranger
Zero to 60 MPH	6.2 sec	7 sec
Quarter Mile	14.7 sec	15.3 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	97.4 MPH	91 MPH

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

			MPG
Santa Cruz
	FWD	2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	22 city/26 hwy
	AWD	2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	21 city/25 hwy
		2.5 turbo 4-cyl.	19 city/27 hwy
Ranger
	RWD	2.3 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/26 hwy
	AWD	2.3 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/24 hwy
		Tremor 2.3 turbo 4-cyl.	19 city/19 hwy

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

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

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

	Santa Cruz	Ranger
Front Rotors	12.8 inches	12.2 inches
Rear Rotors	12.8 inches	12.1 inches

In an emergency stopping situation, many drivers don’t press the brakes with enough force to stop the vehicle in the shortest distance. The Santa Cruz has a standard brake assist system to detect emergency braking situations (by how hard and how quickly the brake pedal is pressed) and then automatically apply maximum braking immediately in order to help prevent a collision. The Ranger doesn’t offer a brake assist feature.

The Santa Cruz stops much shorter than the Ranger:

	Santa Cruz	Ranger
60 to 0 MPH	122 feet	140 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	149 feet	150 feet	Consumer Reports

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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 Ranger’s standard 70 series tires. The Santa Cruz’s optional tires have a lower 50 series profile than the Ranger’s optional 60 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Santa Cruz has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 16-inch wheels are standard on the Ranger. The Santa Cruz’s optional 20-inch wheels are larger than the 18-inch wheels optional on the Ranger.

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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 Ford Ranger has a solid rear axle, with a non-independent rear suspension.

The front and rear suspension of the Santa Cruz uses coil springs for better ride, handling and control than the Ranger, which uses leaf springs in the rear. Coil springs compress more progressively and offer more suspension travel for a smoother ride with less bottoming out.

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

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Cruz is 2.8 inches wider in the front and 3 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Ranger.

For better maneuverability, the Santa Cruz’s turning circle is 2.9 feet tighter than the Ranger’s (39.6 feet vs. 42.5 feet). The Santa Cruz’s turning circle is 3.5 feet tighter than the Ranger Tremor’s (39.6 feet vs. 43.1 feet).

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The Hyundai Santa Cruz may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 450 pounds less than the Ford Ranger.

The Santa Cruz is 1 foot, 3 inches shorter than the Ranger SuperCrew, making the Santa Cruz easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Unibody construction makes the Santa Cruz’s chassis much stiffer, which contributes to better handling, and enables softer springs to be used for a better ride. Unibody construction’s stiffness also contributes to better durability and less body squeaks and rattles. The Ranger doesn’t use unibody construction, but a body-on-frame design.

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The Santa Cruz has 4.2 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Ranger SuperCrew (101.8 vs. 97.6).

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A low lift-over bed design makes loading and unloading the Santa Cruz easier. The Santa Cruz’s bed lift-over height is 31.6 inches, while the Ranger’s liftover is 35 inches.

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 Ranger 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 Ranger 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 Ranger doesn’t offer two-tiered loading.

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The Santa Cruz has a higher standard payload capacity than the Ranger SuperCrew 4x4 (1753 vs. 1609 lbs.).

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The Santa Cruz’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Ranger has a lever-type parking brake that has to be strenuously raised to engage properly. It has to be lifted up more and a button depressed to release it.

The power windows standard on both the Santa Cruz and the Ranger 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 Ranger prevents the driver from operating the rear windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Santa Cruz SEL/SEL Premium/Night/Limited’s front power windows open fully with one touch of the switches, and the driver’s window also automatically closes, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Ranger’s passenger windows don’t open or close automatically.

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 Ranger 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 Ranger’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. The Ranger doesn’t offer a locking fuel door.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Santa Cruz’s available headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Ranger’s headlights are rated “Marginal.”

The Santa Cruz has standard power remote mirrors. The Ranger only comes with remote mirrors at extra cost. Without them the driver will have to roll down the windows and reach across the car to adjust the mirrors.

The Santa Cruz’s power mirror controls are mounted on the armrest for easy access. The Ranger’s optional 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 Ranger doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

On extremely cold winter days, the Santa Cruz Limited’s standard heated steering wheel provides comfort, allowing the driver to steer safely and comfortably before the vehicle heater warms up. The Ranger doesn’t offer a heated steering wheel.

Both the Santa Cruz and the Ranger 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 Ranger doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

Bluetooth wireless connectivity is standard on the Santa Cruz, connecting the driver and passenger’s cell phones to the vehicle systems. This allows them to use the vehicle’s stereo and hand controls to place calls safely and easily. Bluetooth costs extra on the Ranger.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Hyundai Santa Cruz (except SE) offers an optional wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Ranger doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

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

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 Ranger isn’t in the top three.