Photo: Hyundai
As you’re well aware, the Maverick has one rival in the crossover-based compact pickup segment. The Santa Cruz is a fine alternative, sure, but Hyundai appears to be living on a different planet based on this ad.
Here’s the marketing gibberish that shouldn’t be taken for granted by prospective customers: “The Ford Maverick doesn’t stand a chance. Hyundai Santa Cruz wins every time.” As for the video ad per se, we’re told the Santa Cruz is better because it offers a blind-spot view monitor, America’s best warranty, and a towing capacity of 5,000 pounds (2,268 kilograms) if properly equipped. Hyundai, however, misses two of these three points.
For starters, you can get a Maverick with BLIS and cross-traffic alert. Secondly, towing isn’t exactly the best metric to compare a unibody truck because customers in the market for a unibody truck are likely to choose this vehicle over the oh-so-boring sea of compact crossovers on sale today.
But Hyundai does have a point in regard to the warranty. Ten years or 100,000 miles (160,934 kilometers) for the powertrain is pretty swell compared to five years or 60,000 miles (96,561 kilometers) in the Maverick's case. Ford has the upper hand in terms of bed length (54.4 inches compared to 52.1 inches), and Ford also wins in the off-road department thanks to the FX4 Package that can be optioned with the 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder turbo engine and the disconnecting all-wheel-drive system.
Although I am the happy owner of a Hyundai, I can’t deny that the Ford Motor Company understands this segment better than the South Korean automaker thanks to a $19,995 starting price for the Maverick. The Escape-based pickup truck also comes with a fuel-sipping hybrid powertrain as standard, which makes it far more efficient than the Santa Cruz. Last, but certainly not least, I believe that we can all agree the Maverick looks tougher, more like a proper truck, while the Santa Cruz is way too similar to the Tucson.
Sorry, Hyundai, but you're trying too hard.
For starters, you can get a Maverick with BLIS and cross-traffic alert. Secondly, towing isn’t exactly the best metric to compare a unibody truck because customers in the market for a unibody truck are likely to choose this vehicle over the oh-so-boring sea of compact crossovers on sale today.
But Hyundai does have a point in regard to the warranty. Ten years or 100,000 miles (160,934 kilometers) for the powertrain is pretty swell compared to five years or 60,000 miles (96,561 kilometers) in the Maverick's case. Ford has the upper hand in terms of bed length (54.4 inches compared to 52.1 inches), and Ford also wins in the off-road department thanks to the FX4 Package that can be optioned with the 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder turbo engine and the disconnecting all-wheel-drive system.
Although I am the happy owner of a Hyundai, I can’t deny that the Ford Motor Company understands this segment better than the South Korean automaker thanks to a $19,995 starting price for the Maverick. The Escape-based pickup truck also comes with a fuel-sipping hybrid powertrain as standard, which makes it far more efficient than the Santa Cruz. Last, but certainly not least, I believe that we can all agree the Maverick looks tougher, more like a proper truck, while the Santa Cruz is way too similar to the Tucson.
Sorry, Hyundai, but you're trying too hard.
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