Yahoo Autos Ford Maverick vs Hyundai Santa Cruz: 2024 Comparison
The 2024 Ford Maverick and 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz are each other’s most obvious competitors. They’re also each other’s only competitors. This pair of compact pickup trucks, both of which are based on car-like “crossover” platforms, hit the market several months apart and gave rise to an entirely new vehicle segment.
Because the Maverick and Santa Cruz were developed concurrently, they both went about the idea of a compact pickup in very different ways. The Maverick went with more of a traditional, boxy, American truck concept, albeit with a very untraditional available powertrain: a hybrid. The Santa Cruz is more like a compact SUV with a truck bed, a sort of alternative to all those outdoor adventuring trim levels popping up throughout the SUV world.
In other words, the Santa Cruz and Maverick are similar in their most basic description (compact truck), but ultimately very different. Let’s take a look at various areas where they might outshine the other.
Read our 2024 Ford Maverick Review
Read our 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz Review
Which has a nicer interior?
Winner: Santa Cruz
If you’re wondering why the Santa Cruz costs more, this is a big reason why. The Santa Cruz has basically the same cabin design and quality as the Hyundai Tucson; it has a premium look and materials quality is high. The top trim can even be described as luxurious. The Maverick definitely gets points for interesting design and a bold color palette, but the quality of materials would be indicative of an entire segment below the Santa Cruz if we were talking about crossover SUVs. Everything is hard plastic, which is probably OK given the price tag, but the question did literally ask which has a nicer interior. The Hyundai.
Which has better infotainment technology?
Winner: Santa Cruz
Hyundai has one of the best infotainment systems in the industry, so this is an easy one. It looks great and is easy to use. We don’t love the touch-sensitive second controls, but they do at least contribute to that premium look described above. There are two screen sizes available, 8-inch standard and a 10.25-inch upper trim upgrade, both running basically the same interface. The Maverick only offers an 8-inch screen, but it’s actually quite user friendly in its own right. It’s just outdone by Hyundai.
Which is safer?
Winner: Santa Cruz
The Santa Cruz comes standard with more driver assistance technology features, and we generally prefer their performance to those of Ford’s. The Hyundai also has better safety ratings.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety awarded the Santa Cruz its highest score of "Good" across all crashworthiness tests but its lowest score of "Poor" for its headlights. It's very likely that this will change for 2024 since all Santa Cruz models now come standard with upgraded LED lighting. NHTSA's partial evaluations awarded the Santa Cruz five-out-of-five stars for frontal crash protection and four stars in rollover tests.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) hasn’t updated its ratings for the 2024 Maverick, but we expect them to remain unchanged from 2023. The 2023 Maverick earned a second-best rating of “Acceptable” for the updated moderate overlap front crash test (many new cars have not been subjected to this test yet), and the best “Good” rating for side impact. It earned the best “Superior” rating for vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention, a second-best “Advanced” rating for daytime vehicle-to-pedestrian prevention, and a “Basic” rating for nighttime vehicle-to-pedestrian prevention.
Which has the bigger back seat?
Winner: Maverick
The specs say differently, but after testing them both, the Maverick has the better back seat. Legroom might effectively be a wash, but the seatback in the Santa Cruz is more noticeably upright than what you'll find in the Maverick. Then there's the matter of accommodating a rear-facing child seat. In short, there was more space remaining for the front seat passenger in the Maverick. Even a 6-foot-3 passenger was perfectly comfortable up there with a natural seatback angle and space between my knees and the dashboard. In the Santa Cruz, the seat was pushed far forward and his knees were jammed up against the dash. Admittedly, this could be as much to do with the Santa Cruz's dash design, which juts further out into the cabin.
Read out in-depth Santa Cruz vs Maverick Back Seat Review
