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[joshjunkert]

Greetings. First off, enjoy my Ranger and being part of this forum as my employer supplied me with a 2025 XL 4x4 model for work purposes. My personal vehicle is a 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz Limited. Therefore I will do my best to compare them without any bias nor compare any upgrade features regarding vastly different trim packages. Speed - the Santa Cruz is quicker / faster regarding acceleration due to a lighter curb weight (ex. unibody vs frame). The Ranger is of course better off-road due to increased ground clearance, more suspension travel, and a superior 4WD system vs AWD in the Santa Cruz. Both seats and cabins are well laid out, but the Santa Cruz does have slightly more comfortable seating in my opinion. The Ranger does have a slightly higher payload & towing capacity and a slightly larger bed size as well. Honestly, I have little faith in either transmission regarding longevity, which is evident talking to technicians (mechanics) at the local dealership. For this reason I chose the Hyundai as my personal vehicle due to a superior new car warranty offering. There are many, many other nuance comparisons as well, but want to avoid a long drawn-out posting, so I will leave you with the closing comments. As a daily street driver, I prefer the Santa Cruz. As a work & off-road vehicle, hands down prefer the Ranger. Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays everyone !

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[AzScorpion]

Welcome and a great comparison of both of these trucks. I've always said not every truck (or vehicle) will suite everyone's needs and that's why it's great to be able to drive a couple to see which one fits your lifestyle better. I think Hyundai is a great company and know many who have their vehicles and love them and a few who weren't so happy with them. But you can't beat there 10/100K warranty especially if you're planning on keeping the vehicle a while. Merry Christmas!

 

[NotBudule2]

Slightly bigger payload and towing ? Slightly? ... And you didn't mention "looks" , umm, that's a biggie...

 

[joshjunkert]

Slightly bigger payload and towing ? Slightly? ... And you didn't mention "looks" , umm, that's a biggie...

Being this was my former personal vehicle, I would say “slightly” higher payload and towing capacity is highly appropriate. (and looks are definitely in the eye of the beholder as the Chevy Colorado was voted better exterior styling & appeal than the Ranger by a fairly large margin). And my next personal vehicle will likely be a Ranger Raptor, but not until these asinine local Ford dealers quit believing they are worth more than MSRP (thankfully recently plummeting vehicle sales have caused some dealerships in my local area to finally begin honoring MSRP on Ranger Raptor’s in the last few months).

 

[Griswald]

The bed size is what turns my away from the Hyundai.

 

[joshjunkert]

The bed size is what turns my away from the Hyundai.

Won’t argue with that. One of the main reasons I prefer my Ranger for work is the extra bed space for tools and my mining safety gear.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Weird flex but okay, come to the 5g Ranger forum and tell us how you prefer your car over the 6g Ranger.

 

[Ohwell]

The Santa Cruz looks like it would be more comparable to a Maverick than a Ranger to me.

 

[joshjunkert]

Welcome and a great comparison of both of these trucks. I've always said not every truck (or vehicle) will suite everyone's needs and that's why it's great to be able to drive a couple to see which one fits your lifestyle better. I think Hyundai is a great company and know many who have their vehicles and love them and a few who weren't so happy with them. But you can't beat there 10/100K warranty especially if you're planning on keeping the vehicle a while. Merry Christmas!

Greetings. Appreciate the kind response & Merry Christmas wishes. (same to you). I agree, ”Different strokes for different strokes“ is what I always say. I put on ~40k miles per year for my employers and the seat / cab / ride comfort is an absolute must. I test drove every mid-size truck manufacturer‘s offering before purchasing the Santa Cruz. Was extremely surprised the Recaro seats in the Ranger Raptor were the only ones as comfortable as the Santa Cruz being a race-style seat, and I was actually going to purchase a 2025 Ranger Raptor until I realized they did not offer ventilated seats in any Ranger (important in Arizona), and the dealers also wanted $5k to $10k over MSRP (a poor financial investment decision already taking a significant depreciation hit driving a new vehicle off the lot). So if Ford can pull their head out of their butt and offer ventilated seats like most of their competitors, and the dealers quit insisting on selling Ranger Raptor’s for over MSRP, will surely be my next new truck purchased if still available a few years from now.

 

[NotBudule2]

Being this was my former personal vehicle, I would say “slightly” higher payload and towing capacity is highly appropriate. (and looks are definitely in the eye of the beholder as the Chevy Colorado was voted better exterior styling & appeal than the Ranger by a fairly large margin). And my next personal vehicle will likely be a Ranger Raptor, but not until these asinine local Ford dealers quit believing they are worth more than MSRP (thankfully recently plummeting vehicle sales have caused some dealerships in my local area to finally begin honoring MSRP on Ranger Raptor’s in the last few months).

Without looking up the specs, I think the Ranger is almost DOUBLE the Santa Fey, so you can see my issues with "sligjtly" ...

 

[joshjunkert]

Weird flex but okay, come to the 5g Ranger forum and tell us how you prefer your car over the 6g Ranger.

No need to flex, very comfortable with myself (self-confidence and humility) . Kindly re-read the posting. Said I personally prefer my Santa Cruz as a daily street driver and PREFER THE RANGER AS MY WORK AND OFF-ROAD VEHICLE. Common sense would find this unoffensive as a coil-over rear suspension rides much nicer than leaf springs designed for hauling heavier loads.

 

[joshjunkert]

Without looking up the specs, I think the Ranger is almost DOUBLE the Santa Fey, so you can see my issues with "sligjtly" ...

Always best to look up specs before responding.

Santa Cruz - Paylaod = 1,411 lbs. ; Towing = 5,000 lbs.

Ranger - Payload = 1,805 lbs. ; Towing = 7,500 lbs.

And that’s stating the 2WD specs for the Ranger, which is not an apples to apples comparison (they would be slightly lower for the 4x4 model, but maybe I shouldn’t use the word “slightly” to avoid confrontation )

 

[NotBudule2]

Always best to look up specs before responding.

Santa Cruz - Paylaod = 1,411 lbs. ; Towing = 5,000 lbs.

Ranger - Payload = 1,805 lbs. ; Towing = 7,500 lbs.

And that’s stating the 2WD specs for the Ranger, which is not an apples to apples comparison (they would be slightly lower for the 4x4 model, but maybe I shouldn’t use the word “slightly” to avoid upsetting confrontational individuals )

Well then "slightly" it is ! ...
As long as you think it looks ok , that's all that matters ...

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

No need to flex, very comfortable with myself. Kindly re-read the posting. Said I personally prefer my Santa Cruz as a daily street driver and PREFER THE RANGER AS MY WORK AND OFF-ROAD VEHICLE. Common sense would find this unoffensive as a coil-over rear suspension rides much nicer than leaf springs designed for hauling heavier loads.

Well, no one found anything offensive. It’s just weird that you’re on the 5g Ranger forum comparing a 6g Ranger to your car.

 

[joshjunkert]

Well then "slightly" it is ! ...
As long as you think it looks ok , that's all that matters ...

Now, you are technically correct that the new Ranger Super Duty (not offered in the USA) does have double the payload capacity of the Santa Cruz. But you probably need a kidney belt to ride in it. Hopefully this response will lighten up the mood & responses.

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