Santa Cruz

[MXGOLF]

I was leaving Home Depot and saw a Santa Cruz and had to take a couple of pictures. Wow pretty trippy looking. I see they copied the bumper steps of the Chevys. I would like to sit in both just to compare but I like the Maverick much better. I still am not fond of 4 full doors. I still would not buy either as I am so happy with my Ranger.

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[Gsxrdoug]

Looks like the old Subaru truck thing.

 

[Hickesy]

It's truly nightmarish eh.

 

[AzScorpion]

In the first picture it looks like a Matchbox toy truck next to your Ranger. ?

 

[bRaptor]

Soo tiny.... I feel like I'd rather have a Ridgeline

 

[KJRR]

No comments on parking?
Mark @MXGOLF, you take lessons from Paul @OrangeStreak? Apparently parking crooked isn't limited to those with Saber Rangers.

Yeah, the looks of the Santa Cruz don't appeal to me.

 

[Samsquanch]

That thing is real ugly…. reeeaal ugly.

That settles it folks. Ford wins the trucklet war!

In all seriousness I actually do like the Maverick. I don’t think it has enough off-road chops for me personally but it really has a wide audience and Ford nailed the pricing. They are going to sell a lot of Mavericks I do believe.

 

[Toytec]

Took my s/cab to HD today also. Beautiful day like yours OP. Purposely went to the furthest one in town just to give it a good run. Always spend too much though.

 

[olyeller]

I ordered a new loaded, Lariat Maverick back in July. I also looked at the Santa Cruz but felt the Maverick was a better buy for my needs. There are some things the Santa Cruz offers that are better than the Maverick but overall the Maverick seemed to me to be the better buy. I wound up cancelling my order when I found my Ranger at a nearby dealership and it came fully loaded. It was a way better truck than the Maverick and Santa Cruz and I have not looked back.

 

[Dr. Zaius]

I have driven several of the Santa Cruz and Maverick variants.

I like the Maverick WAY better than the Santa Cruz.

I was hoping that the Santa Cruz would be the reincarnation of my old Subaru Baja Turbo, which was a terrific trucklet. The Santa Cruz is not.

 

[taildraggerpilot]

How do you spell “brat” in Korean?

 

[dtech]

you all better be careful at the stoplight, C&D has the turbo version 0 to 60 at 6 secs so you'll get a good view of the Santa Cruz's rear end.

 

[onemanlan]

I've driven both the Mav XLT 2.0T AWD and the Santa Cruz SEL 2.5T for testing driving purposes. Both handle really well and have decent power. They're very 'same same but different.'

The Santa Cruz only puts the 2.5T on their highest level trim(SEL Premium and SEL). Definitely feels like it has more umph to it. It comes with way more bells and whistles on the inside, due to trim level, which made it feel apart from the Mav. It does feel more like a car on the inside. The tech/infotainment was a lot better in the SC, however it has black glossy touch controls which were less than desirable. One feature I found envious of was the mirror cameras that come into play when you signal to change lanes. Very neat feature more vehicles should have. My dislike was the bed felt really small in a way the Mav managed to overcome through design choices. The roll up tonneau cover took up more space than necessary in the already small bed & the extra space under the bed was extremely shallow. All in all you pay more for it too. I think that trim level it starts at ~$35 and $39 with SEL Premium and Limited respectively. Hyundai does offer a better factory warranty than Ford does which is another consideration.

The Mav drove well enough. From the review videos I've seen the Mav AWD is pretty capable with offroad & somewhat harsh conditions. I felt like the 2.0T Ecoboost had decent power. The interior of the XLT was decent at the time, but I've seen some horror stories on the Mav forums about issues of longevity. Some claim the plastic scratches really easily in addition to the seat fabric coming loose from the cushions. Heard mixed things about paint chipping on the Mavs as well. If they can hammer out those problems it still a great truck. The truck bed a place where the Mav shines above and beyond the SC. Its just so dang well though out for the size. Plus you can have the 2.0T AWD on any of the trims which means you can get it at the starting prices of $20-25k range which is significantly less than the SC allows(lowest ~$25k).

In a way that higher trim 2.5T AWD SC puts it in the range of a XL or XLT 5G Ranger depending on how you outfit the Ranger.

Honestly if the SC were cheaper or you could outfit a lower trim level with the 2.5T I would have considered it. They're built in Alabama, where I live, and therefore are probably easier for me to get than the Ranger or the Mav. I'd recommend checking one out if any of you have the chance.

Hope that helps

 

[OrangeStreak]

I was leaving Home Depot and saw a Santa Cruz and had to take a couple of pictures. Wow pretty trippy looking. I see they copied the bumper steps of the Chevys. I would like to sit in both just to compare but I like the Maverick much better. I still am not fond of 4 full doors. I still would not buy either as I am so happy with my Ranger.

Mark,
I like your parking style!

 

[dtech]

How do you spell “brat” in Korean?

The Brat with the jump seats, I recall being on i-70 in the CO mtns and seeing 2 people in those seats in 10 degree weather, I think eventually they were outlawed - the jumps seats that is, the people I saw were likely totally frozen to death and taken to the morgue

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