2022 promises to be a banner year for small trucks. But as exciting as the debuts of the Hyundai Santa Cruz and Ford Maverick might be, the idea of the compact, unibody pickup is hardly a new one.
The Honda Ridgeline, just to name the most recent example, has proven out the crossover-based “truck lite” concept in the midsize segment over the last 15 years. By prioritizing on-road comfort and car-like driving dynamics over the rawboned capability traditionally prized in trucks, the Ridgeline offers an approach to the pickup format that’s unique in its segment, and that really seems to work for many buyers.
As we said in our 2021 review, the Ridgeline does 85% of the things that most truck buyers will ever do with their vehicles. But Honda purposefully restyled it last year to make it look more like a traditional truck.
Hyundai takes a different tack with its first-ever pickup. The new-for-2022 Santa Cruz is also a unibody, front-drive-based rig, but it’s smaller than the Ridgeline and consciously makes no overtures to traditional truck owners. Calling the Santa Cruz a “sport activity vehicle” and overtly avoiding the term “truck,” Hyundai sets its sights on active weekend-warrior types who might occasionally need a small bed for hauling gear or project materials.
It’s only natural to wonder how this newcomer stacks up against its closest predecessor, and luckily, we happened to have both a Santa Cruz and a Ridgeline on hand at Mudfest, an annual truck-and-SUV faceoff event hosted by the Northwest Automotive Press Association. Driving both trucks in quick succession on the track and on the offroad course was an eye-opening experience—here’s how they compared on a series of crucial truck measures.
Santa Cruz Versus Ridgeline: On the Pavement
Although the Honda Ridgeline has traditionally been known as the most carlike of trucks, the Santa Cruz makes it feel like a tractor in back-to-back testing. The Santa Cruz’s wide, low stance, modest size, and quick steering make it nimble and responsive on the track.
The taller Ridgeline by contrast feels a bit soggy when pushed—despite the slight increase in track width it received for 2021, it body-rolls its way through turns and its loose steering does it no favors. The Ridgeline’s taller tires on 18-inch wheels were a handicap here (the Santa Cruz was running 20s), but even so, the Santa Cruz’s handling advantages were unmistakable.
While the Ridgeline gets a single-option 3.5-liter V6 with 280 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque, top-trim Santa Cruzes are powered by a 2.5-liter turbocharged four with 277 horsepower and 311 pound-feet, paired with a snappy dual-clutch automatic. This combination specifically (the base Santa Cruz gets a less powerful non-turbo 2.5 and conventional automatic), makes it feel far quicker and more spirited than the Honda.
The only off note was the Hyundai’s shift logic, which occasionally seemed unprepared for quick transitions on the track, prompting the tires to chirp at odd moments. Other than this, Hyundai’s new pickup felt surprisingly composed through the turns.
Our on-pavement verdict: Santa Cruz hands down.
Santa Cruz Versus Ridgeline: In the Dirt
In the dirt, where you’d most expect the more seasoned Ridgeline to dominate, the Santa Cruz winnows out a surprising advantage. The Ridgeline did just fine on Mudfest’s off-road course, but sometimes hesitated a bit while negotiating steep obstacles and needed some throttle-goosing to get going. Hyundai’s new truck felt more confident, clearing the log pile and even deep moguls without drama.
While both trucks get all-wheel drive (AWD) with active torque-vectoring to help manage grip, the different AWD controls of each contribute to the difference in feel. The Ridgeline gets a set of terrain modes, including Mud and Sand, but leaves power-distribution decisions to a computer that doesn’t always seem to know what to do on slow, steep terrain.
The Santa Cruz, by contrast, gets a driver-controllable electronic “AWD lock” that simply splits power evenly between front and rear. This may well have been key to the Santa Cruz’s loose-surface surefootedness, even on street tires.
However, the Santa Cruz suffers a ground clearance disadvantage. On paper it has nearly an inch more than the Ridgeline, but that big front overhang means a reduced approach angle (17.5 degrees versus the Honda’s 20.1) and a tendency to scrape its chin on steep obstacles and even modest ruts. Clearly, neither truck is meant for grueling off-roading, but both should handle a dirt road or light trails so long as there isn’t any drastically uneven terrain.
Our off-road verdict: Santa Cruz, but not by much.
Santa Cruz Versus Ridgeline: Utility
In terms of its ability to do truck stuff, the smaller Santa Cruz does an admirable job of punching above its weight. Its maximum towing capacity matches the Ridgeline’s 5,000 lbs (though the base-engine Santa Cruz maxes out at 3,500), and it actually edges the Ridgeline out on payload, lugging up to 1,753 lbs against the Ridgeline’s standard 1,583. The Hyundai also comes standard with self-leveling rear shocks sourced from Hyundai’s flagship Palisade SUV, to eliminate rear sag under load.
Both pickups’ beds are similarly well-equipped, with cargo tie-downs, LED lighting, and a 115v outlet on offer. The Ridgeline’s tri-fold tonneau cover is a $1,065 option, while the Santa Cruz’s rollaway unit is standard at higher trims.
The Santa Cruz even has a slightly smaller version of the Ridgeline’s favorite party trick, a concealed under-bed “trunk” that doubles as an ice chest. However, only the Ridgeline offers an exterior sound system with bed-integrated speakers, plus a standard dual-action tailgate—it can both open conventionally and swing away to the side.
At the end of the day the truck with the biggest bed wins, and it’s here that the Ridgeline has an edge in practicality. At just 4.3 feet long (barely 4 feet at the top), the Santa Cruz’s bed is just impossibly shrimpy—the Ridgeline’s 5.3-foot expanse is more in line with those of other midsize truck offerings. Moreover, with its wheel wells recessed down into the floor, the Ridgeline can flat-carry a 4-foot-wide sheet of plywood—the Hyundai requires you to prop it up on the tops of the wheel wells and tailgate.
Our utility verdict: Leans Ridgeline.
Santa Cruz Versus Ridgeline: Cabin Experience
If passenger space is a priority, the Ridgeline has the advantage. On paper, the two trucks are surprisingly evenly matched in head- and legroom, but only the wider Ridgeline will comfortably seat five, and it feels scads bigger on the inside. It’s got better storage options too, including the capacious rear-underseat box and the seemingly bottomless well of the center console.
Looking at interior features and content, however, the picture becomes more complicated. The Santa Cruz’s new interior is comfortable and slickly-executed, but its convoluted infotainment represents a step backwards from Hyundai’s historically user-friendly interface. Honda’s infotainment isn’t the most straightforward either, but at least the Ridgeline got its physical volume knob back in 2021. Hyundai is only just embarking on its no-volume-knob phase, to drivers’ dismay.
Then again, the Santa Cruz offers some really neat Hyundai-specific features, like a blindspot camera that throws a view down the side of the vehicle into the gauge cluster when you activate a turn signal. Other goodies that aren’t available on the Ridgeline include an overhead 360 cam, a remote-open tailgate, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Finally, the Santa Cruz still has a proper mechanical gearshift, while the Ridgeline has moved to a laggy and irritating pushbutton electronic shifter that feels out of place in a truck. Customers with frequent people-hauling needs are likely to overlook these misgivings and opt for the spacious Ridgeline; but the Santa Cruz’s available feature set presents myriad temptations to the tech enthusiast.
Verdict: In the cabin, the winner depends on the buyer’s preferences.
Santa Cruz Versus Ridgeline: Value
So which option offers the most truck for your buck? At $25,215 with destination fee, the Santa Cruz starts at nearly $13,000 below the cheapest Ridgeline—but the Ridgeline includes standard AWD and a V6, versus the base Hyundai’s front-wheel drive and wimpy non-turbo four-cylinder. However, even at the top of the lineup, a Ridgeline Black Edition rings in at a hefty $45,545, with the top-spec Santa Cruz Limited trailing well behind at $40,945.
That said, with the Santa Cruz’s relative scarcity and today’s insane markups, it’s not uncommon to see ambitious dealerships offering the new truck for well beyond the Ridgeline’s maximum price.
While the Santa Cruz cedes some practicality points to the Ridgeline with its less spacious interior and shrimpier bed, what’s impressive is that the diminutive new trucklet matches and even surpasses the larger Ridgeline in key truck areas like towing and payload capacities, available power output, and offroad prowess.
There are two more areas where the Santa Cruz wins hands down, and that’s on warranty and service coverage. Like all other Hyundais, the Santa Cruz offers five years and 60,000 miles of bumper-to-bumper coverage, and a decade or 100,000 miles of powertrain coverage. Honda only offers three years and 36,000 miles of full coverage and five years or 60,000 miles powertrain. Hyundai also includes three years of complimentary maintenance (versus none for the Ridgeline). Those factors make the Santa Cruz the clear winner on value, even if its upper trims seem pricey for a so small a truck.
Our value verdict: Santa Cruz.
