Don’t be misled by the box on the back. This is far more than just a pickup

By Gary S. Vasilash

The Ford Maverick pickup and the Hyundai Santa Cruz both came out in 2022 and there was an immediate comparison made between the two vehicles because they both have boxes behind the cabin.

But this is a convenient but false comparison.

The Maverick is first and foremost a truck, a truck in more of the classic sense of being utility-first and everything else gravy.

The Santa Cruz is described by its marketers as a “Sport Adventure Vehicle.” And while no one outside of a Hyundai dealership is likely to describe the Santa Cruz as such, in one regard that is more accurate than calling it a compact pickup truck.

You may recall that when BMW launched its X3 SUV it didn’t want to merely call it an “SUV” because it is, after all, a BMW. So it coined the term “Sports Activity Vehicle.” Which, of course, hasn’t had a whole lot of resonance.

But the SAV that is the Santa Cruz is in someways closer to the SAV that is the X3 in that the Santa Cruz, certainly, is more like an SUV with a bed on the back than it is like the Maverick, which is like a “Honey, I Shrunk the F-150.”

The level of sophistication in the cabin of the Santa Cruz is simply in a completely different space than the DIY nature of the Maverick.

And while they both have beds, the Maverick’s is not only bigger (54.4 inches long vs. 52.1 inches; 20.3 inches deep versus 19.2 inches; 53.9 inches maximum width versus 53.3 inches; 33.3 cubic feet of volume versus 27 cubic feet), but it simply seems like the sort of thing you’d fill with landscaping material while the Santa Cruz would be more about mountain bikes.

It is a difference between utility and, well, weekend, low-impact adventure.

If there is any product in the Ford lineup that the Santa Cruz resembles, it is the Explorer Sport Trac, which had a run from 2000 to 2010: essentially a four-door Explorer with a box on the back. It was more Explorer than Ranger or F-150.

The Santa Cruz is like a Tucson with a box on the back.

When the refreshed Santa Cruz was revealed last year, José Muñoz, then-president and Global COO of Hyundai Motor Company and president and CEO of Hyundai Motor North America (he has since become president and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company), said, “The development goal for freshening Santa Cruz was to give it an even bolder, stronger design.”

While I agree with the “bolder,” I would quibble with the “stronger,” at least in the context of a vehicle with a box on the back. Usually when “stronger” is used in relation to truck-like vehicles, that means “boxier,” and the style of the front end of the Santa Cruz (or any Hyundai vehicle, for that matter, even the Class 8 Xcient tractor) doesn’t bring a T-square to mind. Rather, with it’s B-LED projector headlamps and LED daytime running lights it looks completely contemporary.

(There are also LED taillights, and LED cargo light on the rear edge of the roof, and LED bed lighting. This vehicle probably has more LEDs than most people have in their houses.)

The Limited is powered by a 281-hp 2.5L direct-injected turbocharged engine. There is an eight-speed wet dual-clutch automatic transmission (DCT). This vehicle can tow up to 5,000 pounds.

Inside there are such things as a powered 8-way driver seat and 6-way for the front passenger; both are heated and ventilated. There are leather surfaces on the seats. There is leather for the steering wheel and the shift knob.

There is a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster (i.e., what’s in front of the driver, with the speedometer, for example) and a 12.3-inch infotainment touch screen with the now-obligatory wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Bose premium audio. Plenty of USB-C ports. Wireless charging.

There is Hyundai Digital Key 2 Touch, which allows a phone to be used in lieu of the fob.

There is even a fingerprint authentication system that allows a fingerprint to unlock the vehicle, start it, and load driver profiles.

There is BlueLink+ a connected vehicle service (remote start; lock-unlock; emergency assistance; etc.) that is. . .subscription free.

The point is, yes, the Santa Cruz may be truck-like because of the bed on the back, but it has contemporaneous amenities and style such that it really might make someone refer to it as a “Sport Adventure Vehicle.”