These two bite-sized unibody pickups are all the rage among truck-loving consumers. Both automakers and dealers can't seem to keep them for more than a few days on their lots. So, they're smoldering hot. Yet few dare to venture into the perils of comparing them.
No worries, because the wildly entertaining hosts of the Throttle House channel on YouTube are far enough up there in Canada to escape the mischievous comments. Or so they think. Besides, only one of them is actually from Canada, the other one is from Britain. Oh, well, they’re both under the “spiritual” guidance of a Queen (either the rock band or Her Majesty, we don’t know).
In the end, their location really doesn’t matter so much – only their funny way of making these comparisons. This is like Top Gear with only two presenters and a smaller budget, but that’s another story anyway. So, they dared to venture into the dangerous territory of comparing a Santa Cruz and a Maverick, both in top-notch form (aka the Limited and Lariat trims).
That means neither of them costs $19,995 or $23,990. It’s more like a starting U.S. MSRP of $26,575 for a 2.0-liter EcoBoost Maverick Lariat and no less than $39,720 for the 2022 Santa Cruz Limited. Of course, in terms of pricing, there’s a clear winner – even when James and Thomas compare the local Canadian market quotations. But of course, they have many more witty things to say about these Tucson and Escape SUVs with a bed cargo compartment.
And that’s what makes these comparisons great. Even if you’ve already selected your favorite, they can always humorously persuade you otherwise and then allow you to go back to the original opinion with a clear conscience. Everything is always ripe for making fun of it, especially when you’re dealing with vehicles that break certain barriers, such as these two.
In the end, you’re not going to be enlightened if these are just SUVs posing as trucks or actually “carry air” as well as real, body-on-frame full-size trucks (best “Ford, built rough,” not tough joke is at the 10:40 mark). But one clear winner is still going to emerge: the audience.
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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