Small wars are in full swing, and one competitor is coming from the most unlikely place. Hyundai isn’t a brand associated with building pickup trucks, but Santa Cruz disavows the company’s commitment to making cars and SUVs. Unfortunately for Hyundai, the Blue Oval has also targeted the segment with the Ford Maverick. Maverick sales in 2022 nearly doubled.
Which is better: Santa Cruz or Maverick?
The Santa Cruz and Ford Maverick are both competent pickups. Obviously, consumers took notice because they were selling at a very fast pace. Although directed, it appears to target different buyers.
Maverick. But when you look at the Santa Cruz, it doesn’t look like a traditional truck.
On the one hand, it builds on what Blue Oval has learned from decades of producing popular trucks. Now offering an off-road Tremor package, it has the looks of a pickup, even if it’s smaller than something like the Ford Ranger.
The Ford Maverick beats the Hyundai Santa Cruz
Now that 2022 is over, we can take a look at the total sales of these two trucks. According to Ford, it was able to haul approximately 75,000 Maverick pickups throughout 2022. Meanwhile, Hyundai has sold nearly 36,000 Santa Cruz pickups.
This meant that he was able to outpace Santa Cruz by almost twice as much. Now, it’s worth noting that sales numbers don’t necessarily prove which car is better. With a slight increase in price compared to the Ford pickup, Hyundai’s compact pickup truck appears to have a nicer interior.
With a starting base price of around $20,000, Ford had to make cuts somewhere. And the Maverick feels kind of like an economy car. It’s pretty quirky though, something we were sure to mention in our review of this truck.
Want a maverick? Good luck buying one
If you are looking to buy or order a Ford Maverick, you have probably noticed that these pickups are not so easy to buy. Once Blue Oval opened orders, it looked like they had to close them almost immediately.
This supply shortage was a major pain point for Ford. And it doesn’t look like the supply issues will be completely resolved anytime soon.
A quick look at Hyundai dealerships near me seems to show plenty of models available. Which makes sense, given the fact that Hyundai’s pickup truck wasn’t as popular as its direct competitor from Ford.
At the end of the day, it’s nice to see the brands actually offering pickup trucks again. Seeing Hyundai take some design risks brings more variety to the segment. For now, it looks like Maverick will still be the winner in terms of sales.
