Compact Truck Showdown: Ford Maverick vs. Hyundai Santa Cruz

Drivability

When you buy a small pickup truck, you don’t have to sacrifice drivability for capability. Compact trucks give you all the power you need without being challenging to drive. Built with a unibody design, both of these trucks are smoother on pavement and are less prone to rollover than body-on-frame trucks. 

Both also come in AWD, which you’ll want to consider to improve grip, especially if you live in a rainy area. The Ford Maverick offers a smooth driving experience, with many drivers finding it easy to park and drive, even in crowded places. Some drivers have also reported issues with unresponsive brakes.

Other sources, like Edmunds, note that riding in a Ford Maverick can sometimes feel a bit bumpy. The same source indicates that the Santa Cruz is agile and driver-friendly, suggesting it’s easier to handle, especially for new pickup drivers. Other drivers have praised how nimble the Santa Cruz feels.

Based on consumer experiences, the Hyundai Santa Cruz may provide a less stressful driving experience.

Engine

The Maverick comes with a hybrid engine that produces 191 horsepower. The Hyundai Santa Cruz is available with two different 2.5-liter four-cylinder engines: a standard engine that delivers 191 horsepower and 181 lb-ft of torque, or a turbocharged engine that produces 281 horsepower and 311 lb-ft of torque. 

Just because a vehicle promises more horsepower (as the Santa Cruz turbo version does), that doesn’t always mean it delivers superior daily driving. Driver preference, transmission, chassis tuning, and experience matter a lot.

It’s also important to remember that Ford has been building trucks for nearly a century (since 1917, to be exact). That means the Maverick benefits from years of solid experience that the Santa Cruz can’t yet compete with as Hyundai’s first four-door pickup truck on the American market.

Hyundai is new to this pickup segment, so the Santa Cruz is something of a disruptor. This is exciting, but it also means a much shorter track record in the truck world. This lack of experience can become glaringly obvious at times, such as when users reported blowing the Santa Cruz’s engine with only 15,000 miles on it.

The Hyundai Santa Cruz may look like a truck, but some drivers report that it feels more like an SUV or crossover when you actually drive it. If you want a truck-like feel in a compact package, you’ll probably be happier with a Ford Maverick. If you prefer an engine that gives you an SUV-style drive, a Hyundai Santa Cruz might be a better match.

Fuel economy

Fuel economy is where the Maverick really pulls ahead. Compared to full-size and mid-size pickup trucks, both the Maverick and the Santa Cruz are much more fuel-efficient. 

Since it has a hybrid engine, it’s no surprise that the Ford Maverick has better fuel economy than the Hyundai Santa Cruz. The Ford Maverick gets an impressive 42 MPG in the city and 35 MPG on the highway. 

Try as it might to live up to the Maverick’s solid fuel economy, the Hyundai Santa Cruz gets a meager 22 MPG in the city and 26 MPG on the highway. 

There’s no denying that Ford set the bar in the truck world, making it difficult for new competitors like Hyundai to break into the market. Hyundai is learning to balance power and fuel economy in real time, but Ford’s had decades to find a sweet spot between the two.

Truck bed

Pickup truck beds are handy because they provide an ample, open space for carrying everything from furniture and tools to camping gear and building materials. The Ford Maverick is built with a FLEXBED™, a product specially designed by Ford for maximum flexibility to suit its customers' lives. 

Versatility is the FLEXBED’s primary purpose, and it features many adaptable components that make it easy to perform tasks such as lowering the bed sidewalls and creating convenient bike racks. This 4.5-foot bed also consists of 10 tie-downs and built-in power. 

The Hyundai Santa Cruz’s bed is a little smaller, measuring 4.3 feet in length, and it also includes underfloor storage and a retractable tonneau cover. 

Maverick’s flexible bed makes it the superior choice for weekend adventurers, DIY enthusiasts, and anyone who values easy customization.

Safety 

Whether you’re eyeing a sedan, an SUV, or a compact pickup truck, safety is always a top priority. 

The Maverick comes standard with pre-collision assist, automatic emergency braking, and a rear-view camera. With the LARIAT trim, you benefit from the Ford Co-Pilot360™ system and get features like lane-keeping assist, hill descent control, rear parking sensors, and evasive steering assist.

The Santa Cruz comes standard with the Hyundai SmartSense system, providing helpful features such as cruise control, lane keeping assist, forward collision-avoidance assist, high beam assist, and blind-spot collision-Avoidance assist. 

Further supporting the claim that the Santa Cruz is somewhat safer, it received a five-star safety rating from the NHTSA in 2024, and the Ford Maverick earned four stars.

The Santa Cruz has an edge in terms of safety, as it includes more standard safety features, whereas the Maverick requires you to purchase higher trim levels to get them.

Price

There’s no denying that cost is a major factor when evaluating potential new vehicles.
While the Ford Maverick ranges from about $29,840 to $42,340 and the Hyundai Santa Cruz from $30,995 to $44,495, there’s a bit more nuance here related to each model’s trims.

The Maverick’s base XL trim comes with fewer amenities than the Santa Cruz’s base SE, which helps explain its slightly lower starting price. 

Moving up the ladder, the Maverick XLT or Lariat trims introduce more comfort and tech, putting them in closer competition with the Santa Cruz SEL and Night trims.

The Hyundai Santa Cruz Limited offers a sleek interior and more advanced safety technology than the Maverick Lariat, but it comes at a higher price.

While the Maverick may appear cheaper on paper, the Santa Cruz delivers more standard features at each price point.

Reliability

The best kind of pickup truck is the kind you can count on for years. It's a good thing that both the Ford Maverick and the Santa Cruz are solid rides!

J.D. Power ranked the 2026 Ford Maverick an 85 out of 100 for quality and reliability. The Hyundai Santa Cruz won this battle by a hair, earning an 88 out of 100 on the same scale, but these two compact trucks are practically neck and neck in the reliability department.

However, it’s important to remember that both of these models first came out in 2021. With so little time on the market, it’s hard to honestly say which will prove to be more reliable in the long run.

Interior

A vehicle’s exterior can capture your attention, but the interior matters just as much. 

Both the Maverick and the Santa Cruz are comfortable and spacious, accommodating up to five people and featuring 60/40 split seats that allow for flexible space allocation, making it easy to accommodate camping gear or groceries when needed. 

The Maverick and the Santa Cruz are both well-suited for modern drivers, too, featuring numerous tech features that enhance the driving experience. 

Inside the Hyundai Santa Cruz, you’ll find a ​​panoramic curved display boasting a 12.3-inch touchscreen. When you want some much-needed entertainment on the way to work, connect Apple CarPlay® or Android Auto™ and listen to your favorite playlists. Ford’s touchscreen is 13.2 inches, and it’s also compatible with Apple CarPlay® or Android Auto™. 

The Maverick’s Lariat and Tremor trims come with heated seats, so your cold winter mornings can be more comfortable. If you get a Hyundai Santa Cruz in the SEL or SEL activity trims, you’ll get cozy heated seats, too. 

The Santa Cruz has a 6-way adjustable driver’s seat in its lower trim level, which upgrades to an 8-way power driver seat on the upper two trims. The Maverick’s lower two trims have a 6-way adjustable driver’s seat, and its two more expensive trims come with an 8-way adjustable driver’s seat and a 6-way adjustable passenger seat.

The Maverick and Santa Cruz are pretty much tied in this category, so it’s up to you to decide which matches your personal preferences better.

Towing

The Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz both have surprising strength for their size.

With its turbocharged engine, the Hyundai Santa Cruz can tow up to 5,000 pounds. It’s perfect for hauling kayaks, small trailers, or camping gear. However, it’s worth noting that this engine upgrade is more expensive than the Maverick’s base model.

The Ford Maverick, on the other hand, offers up to 4,000 pounds of towing capacity with its available 4K Tow Package. 

The Santa Cruz ultimately wins in the towing category, but the Maverick also delivers impressive capability at a more accessible price, depending on which trim level you choose.

So, which compact truck should I buy?

To pick between these two candidates, you have to consider which categories are more important to you: 

The Maverick’s fuel economy, flexible bed design, and lower starting price make it an excellent choice for budget-conscious drivers looking for a Ford truck reputation. 

The Santa Cruz, on the other hand, will wow you with its towing capacity, reliability rating, safety features, and Hyundai’s ever-expanding innovation. 

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