The Maverick rides on Ford’s C2 architecture, shared with the Escape and Bronco Sport, while the Santa Cruz is based on the Hyundai Tucson. That means unibody construction, transverse-mounted ...

The Maverick can dash from 0 to 60 mph in 6.6 seconds with its 250-horsepower four-cylinder, while the Santa Cruz is nearly as swift (6.8 seconds) with its 281-horsepower engine.

Hyundai lists the refreshed 2025 model at $28,500 excluding taxes, while Ford 's 2024 model year Maverick is $23,920 for the XL EcoBoost with front-wheel drive.

The Maverick can dash from 0 to 60 mph in 6.6 seconds with its 250-horsepower four-cylinder, while the Santa Cruz is nearly as swift (6.8 seconds) with its 281-horsepower engine.

The turbo Maverick gets an EPA-estimated 23-25 mpg combined, which we confirmed in our real-world testing, while the Santa Cruz actually outperformed its 21-22 mpg combined EPA rating with 29 mpg ...