Maverick is pretty impressive. One the best Fords to come out in a long time imo. Really taps into an underserved market for small pickups. Did surprisingly good off-road. All you’d need is to spec out the FX4 package and it would be even more capable for light off road use
@@poweredbyrice5708 looks like a pickup truck, acts like a pickup truck, called a pickup truck... I think it's a pickup truck despite what stubborn people may want to say about it.
@@ALMX5DP It doesn't act like one or look like one....for a man anyway. Good for a female. No solid axle at least on the rear and a uni-body is weak for hauling and towing.
@@poweredbyrice5708 lol didnt know vehicles were associated so directly with gender or sex, or whatever you appear to be confused about. Sorry if you've been given the wrong impression. The Mav's unibody has a similar payload capacity to the last generation (- 2011) Ranger, and towing is fairly decent as well.
@@knivesinedc "A/T" really is a stretch with those particular Pirelli tires. I'd suggest springing the extra tiny sum of money for the optional Falken tires
@@Ichibuns Exactly, hence why I said they're basically useless haha. The Falkens are definitely an upgrade. Both the AT Trail and the AT3W'S are awesome. I just went from the Trails to the AT3W'S on my 2017 Escape.
Tires definitely do make a huge difference. If the Maverick and Santa Cruz were to get at the very minimum a 2" lift and wheel spacers to accommodate clearance for some larger all terrain tires I guarantee they would both perform much better.
Nathan and Tommy for Off Road Andre and Mr Truck for towing Roman rambles non stop and Andre is too timid to properly test off road vehicles. I don’t watch any car or on-road reviews so pair up Roman in those and send him to SEMA.
@@jabroni6199 why do you guys keep saying Nathan... He is the worst ... Always condescending and thinks hes cooler and funnier than he really is... One clue that he is the worst is that he is wearing finger gloves 🤣 come one now
Great video series. The more I see and read of the Maverick the more I think that Ford has really nailed this category. Hyundai is offering a good first attempt at a pickup but Ford has been doing pickups for a little while and they are showing that they know what they are doing.
Very stupid this test, really i wanna see that GMC with lower profile highway tires like Santa Cruz or Maverick and then we will see how good it will be up-there again.. At least they should air-down air pressure when doing 4x4 (for Santa cruz & Maverick specially since didn't have off-road tires). Any respectable adventurer should know even more to an auto tester journalist..
@@poplaurentiu4148 I would rather see what they did here. It's comparing a stock midsize truck vs stock compact trucks. Its good to see the limits of the compacts and what it looks like when a midsize takes on the same terrain. If I was considering a compact truck, I want to know what I am trading for the lower price point and MPG. It makes no sense to put lower profile tires on a midsize truck. You would have to purchase much larger rims.
@@darylcopp9013 So listen, i'm not saying the comparison of these pick-ups is not good, but since right from the dealers they got the vehicles as they are, all i'm say 'n above if they intend to compare them off-road which is TFL decision BTW not even sure if they told the dealers they will go up-in that trail-pass to test these pick-ups so at least then get those highway wheels & tires off & put some basic off-road tires if not same BF-Goodrich k2 on both Maverick & Santa-Cruz and then redo this test up-there because then we will see the correct way to compare them off the pavement traction, slippery..etc.. Nobody will do this going up on mountain trails with highway tires and don't care attitude accelerate hard until the tires get smoked shredded on rocks ! that is just stupid Because no-one in the right mind regarding safety will do off-road with highway tires in off-road ! i'm sorry youtube allow such content millions people will watch it and some unn-experienced might try it out following this wrong example resulting in damages, injuries or deaths, ( just imagine if suddenly would snow up-there on those trails during filming having a snowy muddy slush down a rocky trails, how bad could they struggle or in worst case how bad would be if they bump, roll or crush and be forced to tell the dealers the whole stupidity & pay for fixing the damages ).. just like you say is not good to put low-profile tires on big-off-road rig unless the big-rig will be only used just for city, paved streets & highways mostly for better MPG not off-road.. but these journalists are so lazy & crazy they didn't even bother to air-down tires (basic safety standard procedure before going off-road) that is why this test is not just plain stupid but is also ridiculous & dangerous..
Sta. Cruz was advertised for city driving and weekend adventure like biking and beach sunset. Hyundai is clear that this is not a truck for offroad that is why it has dual clutch.
Once again, you guys pull off the perfect comparison video. There hasn't ever been a channel that does these Real-Gear-Head-Tech perfect for so many different perspective buyers.
DCTs outside of performance applications never seem to work well at all. I hope Ford sells tons of Mavericks. Not sure if I'd get the AWD one, but the base model 2.5L hybrid with the steelies and a hitch would be a strong contender for a new DD !
@@Jv19979 We want to order one, but I can't find any of the goddamn things at dealerships to test drive haha. Call my family old fashion, but we prefer to do test drives before purchasing a vehicle. I know a lot of people don't do that anymore, but that's a massive mistake imo. A bit like getting married to someone before you even have a conversation with them.
They're selling them like crazy, hybrids are sold out and Ford closed orders for them till sometime next year due to backlog... Maverick's are already outselling the Santa Fe by a lot.
The wife and I ordered a new Maverick Lariat/FX4 same color as the one driven in the video, Red Hot Pepper. This was back in oct. and we were #89 on the list. Hoping for a Jan/Feb arrival.
@@jascospeed No...I'm hoping to get my build date in jan, or feb. A friend of mine ordered his back in july and just got his build date for feb I think it was. As Ford catches up, I'm hoping that will speed up the process.....or not.
@@victorsanjurjo4666 Nope, so a month ago I went to my local chevy dealer and bought a 2022 Colorado diesel with the trail boss pkg. Got my deposit back from ford that same day. I'm not brand loyal so as long it's one of the American big three. My ford dealer didn't have a clue as to when it would even go into production, and has returned many deposits.
I like you 2 doing that hill, doing these compares, because, you give the systems a chance to do their job. Instead of giving it 2 seconds and claiming it fails if it is not figuring it out faster. AND you don't cry out we are stuck when you are not. So big kudos and thumbs up for your patience and realism.
Since the tires are so crucial, maybe a tire challenge for these two would be valuable. On terrain the Santa and the Mav are designed for, in dry, wet and snowy, with stock and "TFL recommended " tires..
Watching the Santa Cruz struggle uphill with the DCT and the Kona with DCT do the same in TFL testing is the reason why when I bought my Kona AWD I went with the 2.0 NA and 6 speed auto. It has very little trouble navigating uphill on loose terrain
@@ryanlavallee3239 I agree. As much as I would have liked to get a Kona turbo, the issues with transmission overheating in the messy stuff and the annoyance of a DCT in the heavy stop and go traffic that I deal with daily were the deal breakers on going NA.
I really wish Hyundai would stop putting DCTs in everyday passenger vehicles. They make sense in the N products, but putting them in SUVs and now the Santa Cruz is just dumb.
It's interesting how people are resistant to calling the Santa Cruz and Maverick trucks because they're not body on frame, but no one insists on calling the old Crown Vics trucks because they were. It's almost like it's an arbitrary requirement and that the functionality is what actually makes the difference
The Maverick won hands down against the Santa Cruz.. The GMC Canyon made it look easy! But being a Mid size truck it should be... I like the way you guys work well together.. Great actually..
My $33k Maverick has FX4 which adds off-roading drive modes like mud/ruts, pretty decently sized skid plates, as well as the hill decent control. It also adds different tires but they aren’t off road tires.
Does it delete the plastic air dam under the front bumper? My wife and I have an Armada that we LOVE, but the soccer mom bumper covers drive us bonkers. We were down on Corova Beach, NC last week and we spent 5 miles driving up a beach crunching over every crossover’s plastic bumpers and air dams. Ours didn’t come off, but it positions the front license plate so low that it did bend in half on a sand berm. My brother has a 2011 Escape that he uses for a light off-road beater, and it did just fine. He deleted the overhangs on his bumpers with a handheld scroll saw, and it looks factory but offers a much more viable approach angle.
Andre and Nathan are such a fantastic duo! Easily my favorite at TFL. Whereas Roman often has a reputation to cut people, especially Andre off, and rush things through, Andre & Nathan fit together perfectly like two squirrels raiding a bird feeder!
Roman rubs me the wrong way, like a bit too much ego and overconfidence. The kind of guy you see treating hotel and retail staff like lower caste, and throwing his weight around with employees. When he’s doing a duet review with other contributors, you can see that they’re editing their thoughts and trying not to get him upset with their take on things, and he almost blames them for shortfalls in the vehicle HE is test driving when the one THEY are driving outperforms it. It’s the biggest turn-of this great platform that Roman himself created, and that should be addressed. I think it’s time for him to step back and let his chosen professionals work.
@@bravofighter I will admit he seems like he's finally improving on that front. If you watch the Ford Lighting series, him and Andre actually finally seems to do well together without too much rushing of Andre by Roman. He still has his bad habits there come into play here and there, but, far less so than even 8 months ago. I think after years of viewers calling him out on that, he may finally be listening to it and attempting to fix that issue of his.
Mavericks are looking like great trucks. Most difficult stuff u do in my cars is gravel road so seeing the trucks go through situations like this is promising
I ordered my maverick earlier this months and have just been watching videos about it hyping myself up ever since lol. I got the 2.0 eco boost, tow package and off road package. Very excited! Won’t get it until march though but still can’t wait!
@@MDKN22 if they couldn't build a vehicle that can't be reliable for 50k and beyond, they wouldn't be in business. They have the best selling vehicle in the country for nearly half a century.
@@tri3pleagent found the Ford fanboy. You are the reason Ford sells so much. Ford fanboys are the most clueless human beings, right there with Tesla. You fail to even see the glaring faults and problems that Ford knows about and doesn't do a thing about. Ford tried telling my mom that her transmission shifting like a noob driving a stick, being completely unresponsive, revving the engine while in drive and not accelerating is "normal". She's not stupid, and she called them out for it. She got a new torque converter at 50k (to still have the same issues after). I can tell you that the only transmission that her Escape acts like is a dual-clutch. I drive a dual-clutch for a daily and it does exactly that first part. A torque converter should not be slamming into gears with only 50k miles on it. Ford had a major lawsuit on the 6F35 transmissions in Fusions, and they didn't even scrape the surface of these problems. Multiple Escape owners among MANY owners of Ford models that use the 6F35 are reporting failed transmissions under 100k, sometimes as low as 40k miles. Do your research bud, Ford is a shit company making shit products. You won't though, cause you are too dumb enough to look into brands that aren't worth more than an ounce of scrap metal.
You guys should try it without slippery mode on, already been shown in different scenarios that slippery mode actually cuts power by quite a bit and it’s more meant for when you have icy road conditions
I don't understand why you stopped in the Santa Cruz _before_ getting the overheating warning. If you got the warning, fine, stop. Also, I read promotional material about Hyundai/Kia having a new "wet dual clutch" that went in the K5 GT and Sonata N apparently. Is that what this is, or no? If not, I wonder why not.
Agreed! I think reducing air pressure would showcase both vehicles much better, but I agree, the DCT has no place on anything meant to haul a payload up a hill.
Love seeing this head to head! Really missed the mark not testing the Maverick with the FX4 package though. Not sure why the guys claimed multiple times the Maverick was “fully loaded” without that package. FX4 has underbody protection and off road drive modes which were not mentioned.
In my experience fords slip mode has the least amount of traction control intervention. Reason is they don't want the vehicle to spin all the tires and slide of the road. Seems to favor limiting spin by limiting power instead of finding traction.
Physics correction to Nathan's remark at about 7:33: A locking center differential does NOT divide torque 50-50 front and rear; that's what an open center diff would do. That's why an open diff setup can't give any more torque to the wheels with traction than to the ones that are spinning on glaze ice (or on rollers, or up in the air, etc.) and therefore getting almost no torque at all. But a locking differential means both output shafts are forced to spin at the same speed, even if one has no traction and therefore takes almost no torque to turn. In other words, a locking diff can send up to 100% of the torque to the shaft that needs it.
Meanwhile, a brake-based traction control system with open diffs still divides the torque 50-50 between both output shafts, but by braking the shaft that would otherwise require almost no torque to turn, it lets both shafts get more torque than a pure open diff (without traction control) would allow. That's still only 50% of the torque that a locking diff would deliver to the shaft with traction, however, because of the open diff gearing.
The Maverick is amazing and will sell great. I bet because of the Santa Cruz and Maverick, though mostly Maverick for sure, GM and Dodge might look into developing their own small trucks. Maybe some of the other manufacturers as well.
They were definitely waiting to see how the Maverick would do first. Ford showed their cards first and the marketing teams will find its flaws and attempt to make a truck the population likes more. The ball is in the opposing teams courts. They just need to do something quick before the Maverick becomes too recognizable. I'm betting we'll see at least one body on frame with a traditional 4x4 system.
@@Ichibuns - I doubt we will see a body-on-frame small truck, those days have come and gone with that type of truck becoming the midsize trucks we have now. Nah, the market dictates the Maverick is perfect right where it is and other manufactures will use their small CUVs as platforms like Ford did to reduce the cost. No way are any of them going to spend that type of money on research and development costs. The Maverick is doing so well before it even launched it had well over 100k preorders and the majority of dealers are dealers without preorders or someone canceled their order/died and now they have the occasional Maverick available on the lot. I am saving for one in two years, I like to pay cash or put a massive amount as a down payment. Also, I like to wait for the first year or twos bugs to work out and a midcycle refresh always looks better. By then Chevy at least will have their own version on the market and Ford might have the more advanced rear end found in the Bronco Sport on the Maverick.
I have a hybrid coming. It's going to do some minor off roading but the worst will be my long, steep driveway. I have some chains I carry with me, pretty easy to put on and they should fit my Maverick. I'd like to see them take the 2wd off road.
Where is the FX4 package for the Maverick, which has hill descent, and rock crawl mode, and more aggressive tires as well as skid plates, (this test is not fair without that)
Even without the better tires and such this maverick still beat the cruz. That made it even a better test meaning you don't need the lariat you could just go with the base with awd, save a bunch of $, and still get the better "truck". For what people are actually going to use these vehicles for this test is way overkill. FX4 maverick vs AT4 is still going to get clobbered though.
I liked watching this test. I was curious how well the standard AWD Maverick system would do on this test. In my opinion, it did quite well. Polishing the tail pipe is not an issue for me. It moved out of the way due to the flexible hangers. The Santa Cruise was a fail because of the dual clutch transmission. For my use, I will exclude buying vehicles with those transmissions. The Canyon aced this climb, but that was expected and it worked just fine. But I have sat in a canyon, front and rear. I have also sat in a Maverick both front and rear. The Maverick won hands down on that score. I have not sat in a Santa Cruise yet. This test confirmed my option choices for the Maverick. It will be the EcoBoost AWD XLT with the max tow and the Fx4 package. It gets the front recovery hooks, some additional skid plates and trades the sport mode for a rock mode. Plus it gets a bit more aggressive tire. I might add the XLT luxury package to get some of the fancier interior accessories. I prefer cloth over leather seats. And I don’t need the rear opening window. Nor do I want the sunroof. Just two more expensive options I don’t use and more places to leak water. (It rains a lot where I live.) My off roading will not be extreme really tough stuff, so I don’t really need the capability level of the Canyon, but I will definitely enjoy the lower step in height and fuel economy of the Maverick every day. And I don’t plan to tow more than 4,000 pounds anyway. At most I would be towing about 3,000 pounds. But I will use those recovery hooks and receiver hitch to yank things around and I will get stuck at least once. Plus, your not a pickup truck if you don’t have easy access recovery hooking points front and rear. I will scratch those skid plates a time or three. And I have no issues with lack of a separate body on frame construction. I have owned or own a Corvair 95 Rampside pickup, a long box Jeep Comanche 4x4 pickup (loved that truck!) and now own a Ram Promaster City Van. All those don’t have separate frames. And they work just fine. By the way, with just a tire upgrade, the Corvair pickup had a 1 ton rating. And the Comanche offered a metric ton (2200 pound) payload option.
I've towed 3,000 lbs with my Escape that has essentially the same setup. It did very well. It did guzzle fuel but I never measured it. I towed 150 miles in mixed driving and I suspect 15-17 mpg based on how much fuel I used.
My mom has an XLT with the 4K package, and FX4 and sue loves it. Perfect for her small camper and it takes here throughout the Idaho wilderness with no issues. You’ll love it. If I didn’t have a need for a 1-ton, the Maverick would be my choice.
Nice. I love ANY vid with both Nathan and Andre. They have great "old" school chemistry together and it kind of reminds me of the days when it was just Nathan and Roman here. The only thing missing is "will Nathan fit". Way better IMO than the straight pipes plastic boxes.😂😂 I'm a big dude too and it gives me a good idea of how much room there is and its funny.
As someone who owns one I have to ask when you were in the Santa Cruz why would you not put it in Manual mode to help yourself have more control? Simply push the shifter to the left and then put yourself in 1st or second. This would have made a huge difference on your control, capabilities, and also decent.
Yeah this had the disgusting smell of bias. They damn sure didn't smell clutches. 😒 I had the dry clutches in my old kia and it took quite a bit of abuse when I got stuck in mud before the clutches ever showed any overheating. These new clutches are wet clutches. They don't overheat in seconds. He acted like he couldn't figure out how to keep it from revving.
You got the off road versions of the Ford and GMC and the high end road trim of the Santa Cruz. Do a little research on the Hundai line up guys! Come on. Obviously you know GMC and Ford stuff backwards and forwards. The XRT is the top trail trim on the Santa Cruz. It has: * bright red tow hooks (like the GMC} * 18" wheels (like the Ford) * more aggressive off road tires (like the GMC) * XRT fender flares * deleted chin spoiler (like the GMC) for better approach angle. * skid plates are an available option. So: you blew it and picked the wrong trim level version for a meaningful test. * also, if you are having trouble with the transmission hunting -- that's what manual mode is for. Please redo this video using 2025 models after you apologize to Hyundi North America and beg them to give you an XRT and another chance. PS: I roll a Toyota T-100 with F&R lockers on 35's. I don't have a thing for Hyundais, just wanted a fair test.
Go with the standard 8 speed auto in the base model if you plan to go off road. DTC trannies are not good for that. If you think ford would do a DTC better, No. Think Focus and Fiesta.
A few videos I’ve seen now of the Hyundai not doing well in grip test. I get it , it’s not made for it. But still to see the Maverick do everything makes you think.
i gotta say, I have been VERY impressed with Ford's vehicles over the past few years. I was sad to see the Fusion and Focus go, but the vehicles they have been releasing, most of them seem to be amazing in their respective classes and even punching above their weight.
My Kelowna Mechanic Buddy has a FULL schedule of Raptorizing Mavericks with 4 and 6 inch lifts and cutting up and rewelding parts of the wheel wells to take 32 inch Goodyear Duratracs or even the Nitto Ridge Grapplers plus welding and paint-matching fender flares for the larger and wider tires and wheels. He's beefing up the suspension with new thicker A-arms and pillars with Fox Shocks plus custom swaybars with some in-house built/custom-welded components AND he's putting in multiple skid plates underneath, doing a thick Line-X full-underbody, wheel well, engine bay coatings, then adding heavy duty bumpers with bush bars and winches front and back, doing supercharging and adding in the larger up-to-50 gallon auxiliary bed fuel tanks for extra range. His Raptorized Mavericks are popular right now that he had to stop taking orders for the converted Mavericks because he has a full order board until June 2022. His shop can do three conversions a day so he is making big bank on just the Maverick truck alone! I'm REALLY surprised at just how GOOD the Maverick is now! V
Expected the AT4 to do better than the other 2 obviously, bit didn't expect it to make dare look that easy. Maverick comes out on top when compared to the Hyundai but not surprised. The Bronco sport did so well that the maverick couldn't be too far behind.
In my case, and I believe that I represent a great portion of the market that will be looking for one of these two trucks, I will probably be getting out of the city limits and off the paved roads for about… a month out of a year. And on those 30 days (that most likely will not be consecutive) I will spend maybe a week towing my teardrop camper, two or three days on sand and two or three more days on gravel roads. The rest of that month it will definitely be spent on an “asphalt flat” surface. This leaves 335 days of commuting, shopping, gardening, diy projects, visiting friends and family, etc, etc, etc. And for those days I will need a vehicle that not only suits my needs, but I also feel comfortable driving it. And don’t forget technology and warranty! With all that in mind, what car do you think I am going to choose? By the way, check out Nathan’s opinion on this towing challenge: ruclips.net/video/4JfF4IovTY0/видео.html
don't turn off traction control! it applies the brake on the spinning wheel and sends power to the wheel with traction, when you turn it off you sit and spin.
This is a normal truck for normal people who own homes and sometime need to buy sheetrock from home depot. And don't want to spend 70k on a ram. Truck for the people lol
I really wanted to see you guys push the DCT to the point of overheating, just to see what that point was. You chickened out before the system did!! Push the limits!
The narrower tire probably had better traction because you had more weight over a smaller surface area. Wider tires distribute the weight more. Though the computer in the Maverick did seem to be a bit smarter about power delivery when wheels were slipping.
I want to see the regular automatic santa cruz. I still don’t understand why they thought a dct was appropriate for this turbo version, it’s not right for the type of vehicle
It is pretty disappointing to see a top off road spec Santa Cruz and Canyon vs a Maverick with only the AWD. It would have been far more interesting to see a Maverick with FX4 and the larger Wildpeak tires.
Your wish is Ford's command, it looks like they will be doing that, though it will likely be a Tremor model and not sure what model of A/T they will be using.
@@reygone776 I looked at Hyundai website, this looks like the most off road spec aside from the double clutch transmission. Is there another off road package this did not have?
@@zekesnack There is no off road package on the Santa Cruz. As a matter of fact, if you search the word "off" on the Hyundai Santa Cruz website, the only results youll find are "offers" and one "off the chart". When you said that you were dissapointed about the comparisson, I thought you were going to mention the fact that the GMC has real off-road / all terrain tires, while the Maverick and the Santa Cruz have only tires designed for the "asphalt flat" roads. That fact only renders this whole video useless!
I had a Hyundai Elantra Sport with a DCT. It had trouble with my sloped driveway just getting it into my garage. I would not buy another car with a DCT until they are improved. The trouble is, you don't realize the extent of the problems you may have until you drive the vehicle for a while. Thanks TFL for exposing the clutch burning problems in steep terrain with the Santa Cruz.
Everyone who knocks crossovers and small trucks that have difficulty with this test, I ran it the other day in my RAV4 and it is way steeper and rutted out than it looks on camera! I didn’t even try the “dare” side, as I don’t have a skid plate and didn’t want to rip off my front pipe
The base model Sta Cruz SE AWD model is $25k and loaded. You'd have to be a dunce to buy the $40k model, but then again, I wouldn't buy the ultra cheap looking Maverick either...
Loving these smaller ‘trucks’. Or utes as we’d say Down Under. Maybe those anti-truck people might start to see why we buy them. Practicality, practicality, practicality. No need to arrange delivery anymore.
I really hope ford does the hybrid with Awd because that is what i want. I'll throw some big tires on it and a lift. I'll be the guy passing you on black bear pass.
I want to slam my, throw on some bigger rims, and do a cool mini truck build. With all do respect, lifted trucks are a dime a dozen. Buying a Maverick just to lift it seems counterintuitive to the purpose of getting a smaller, more car-like truck imo.
I always like the reviews and was just praising the previous video that did not take these trucklettes off road as no one but TFL will ever do but still good review.
Any chance testing the vechiels around the track to see there on road handling and brakes. These vehicles spend most of their time on roads people need to know about on road handling.
Trust me you don’t want to. $46k for a truck that came out in 2015 with no auto cruise control, no lane keep assist, no auto start stop and a shitty interior.
I don't think anyone is buying the Santa Cruz to go off roading. Maybe to the beach or lake but climbing hills like in the video not happening. Santa Cruz is more like an El Camino than a truck. I'm am pretty impressed with the Maverick for it's overall performance and price.
@@just4ivaylo92 I haven't looked too closely. The truck is too small for me, but I do like the way it looks. What do you drive? I'm not sure what I want.
Very biased video. Not sure if this is sponsored by Ford or not, seems like it is. In both paths you took the Santa Cruz on the harder side first and showed it "fail". Then you took the Maverick on the same path as the take two (easier) path and it worked, just like the Santa Cruz. You never took the Maverick on the same initial path as the Santa Cruz, you always took it on the easier path first. vs Truth the Maverick slipped and stalled a couple of times where the Santa Cruz didn't. You blamed momentum but you never lost it, the Maverick got stuck. It sure looked like the Santa Cruz did better even with two spots where you nearly stopped the Santa Cruz. You can clearly see the Maverick just lose control completely at 14:17. *also, you recommended traction control off at the start for the Maverick but showed a "Fail" on the Santa Cruz and brought up burning clutch before you turned it off. Lastly, you mention at the start that both trucks have the same 8.6 inches of clearance. Then on the Dare track you bail on the Santa Cruz due to clearance but not on the Maverick. Maybe the Maverick has a slightly higher approach clearance, but why not measure and sure exactly what you mean. With the above bias takes you should back up your claims with facts. Both trucks are good, the Maverick probably does better offroad. The Santa Cruz is not nearly as bad as you are making it out to be. Sure seems like this video is an advertisement for Ford.
The better warranty is to make people comfortable in choosing a Hyundai. Ford, Toyota and Honda don't need to offer that kind of warranty yet they outsell the Hyundai many times over. It's been 20 years since I've been paying attention to cars and Hyundai still can't shake their iffy reputation despite years of better 100k warranties.
I found the approach, breakover, and departure angles for both vehicles. Santa Cruz: 17.5/18.6/23.2 degrees, respectively Maverick: 21.6, 18.1, and 21.2 degrees , respectively So the Maverick has a better approach degree than the Santa Cruz by 4.1 degrees. Not huge but that provides some numbers to the approach. However the Santa Cruz has a better departure angle.
Not for the role the car is designed for, which is a car with a truck bed, it's not an off-roader. For 99% of the owners, it has the right transmission.
@@gpaje I do question how durable that will be long term. The maverick's hybrid and e-cvt both have a reputation for being pretty much bulletproof. The reliability of the Hyundai is a little bit of an unknown variable.
@@gpaje Dual clutch is great for sport sedans and sporty cross-overs, but terrible for an adventure vehicle or anything that will see sand or snow. It's smart that they offer a standard transmission as an option.
@@gpaje exactly.... why take a 40k plus vehicle off roading, I'll take a 500.00 off roading, I'm not tearing up my new limited. They aren't designed to do rock climbing. And BTW my dct works just fine. Better build quality than the mav and decked out only 3,100.00 more than the lariat I built. Plus way better warranty.
@@KB-bh9hp that's being generous. Anyone can Google Hyundai powertrain recall fire. There are still people falling for the "better warranty". Hondas have a 36k warranty but have a better rep. Strange.
Ford needs to do a Tremor version. Basic level kit, tires and the twin disc rear from the Bronco Sport . Nice video guys, where is the unedited clip to be found?
Very informative video. I think the maverick is better for drivers that are split among city, suburb and rural. The Santa Fe seems more like an urban pickup weekend tailgater. GMC is self explanatory.
Off roaders they are not, but I’d bet they’d feel pretty good on a slippery commute. Looks like a base mid size truck would be a better choice for those interested in hitting the trails but keeping budget similar.
SUV or Crossovers would be better. They have weight in the back where these do not. Luckily these two are based on their SUV counterparts so you buy them lol
They already have a problem with the stitching on the front seats and end up rolling up from the bottom. Dealer fix is to fold seat forward reach for the fabric and pull. Awesome quality
“I’m smelling clutches”
“Well let’s keep trying”
God I love this channel
Maverick is pretty impressive. One the best Fords to come out in a long time imo. Really taps into an underserved market for small pickups. Did surprisingly good off-road. All you’d need is to spec out the FX4 package and it would be even more capable for light off road use
Not really it is a car with a bed on it....there have not been small trucks since the mid-2000s and won't be again.
@@poweredbyrice5708 looks like a pickup truck, acts like a pickup truck, called a pickup truck... I think it's a pickup truck despite what stubborn people may want to say about it.
@@ALMX5DP Nope.
@@ALMX5DP It doesn't act like one or look like one....for a man anyway. Good for a female. No solid axle at least on the rear and a uni-body is weak for hauling and towing.
@@poweredbyrice5708 lol didnt know vehicles were associated so directly with gender or sex, or whatever you appear to be confused about. Sorry if you've been given the wrong impression. The Mav's unibody has a similar payload capacity to the last generation (- 2011) Ranger, and towing is fairly decent as well.
Fx4 in the maverick also gives you different offroad drive modes and some underbody protection i think.
Correct! And some Pirelli all terrains, but those are pretty much useless lol.
@@knivesinedc "A/T" really is a stretch with those particular Pirelli tires. I'd suggest springing the extra tiny sum of money for the optional Falken tires
@@Ichibuns Exactly, hence why I said they're basically useless haha. The Falkens are definitely an upgrade. Both the AT Trail and the AT3W'S are awesome. I just went from the Trails to the AT3W'S on my 2017 Escape.
YES!
They keep saying fully optioned but it's not the FX4 would be another option
Tires definitely do make a huge difference. If the Maverick and Santa Cruz were to get at the very minimum a 2" lift and wheel spacers to accommodate clearance for some larger all terrain tires I guarantee they would both perform much better.
The maverick is a great addition to fords lineup.
The new Ford I would love to have is the Ranger T-REX. 😍
So beautiful. 👍👍
Nathan and Andre are the best offroad combo for TFL!
I 50% agree with you
I disagree ... Andre and Roman are. Nathan tries too hard to be cool or funny sometimes
Nathan and Tommy for Off Road
Andre and Mr Truck for towing
Roman rambles non stop and Andre is too timid to properly test off road vehicles.
I don’t watch any car or on-road reviews so pair up Roman in those and send him to SEMA.
Agreed.
@@jabroni6199 why do you guys keep saying Nathan... He is the worst ... Always condescending and thinks hes cooler and funnier than he really is... One clue that he is the worst is that he is wearing finger gloves 🤣 come one now
Great video series. The more I see and read of the Maverick the more I think that Ford has really nailed this category. Hyundai is offering a good first attempt at a pickup but Ford has been doing pickups for a little while and they are showing that they know what they are doing.
Very stupid this test, really i wanna see that GMC with lower profile highway tires like Santa Cruz or Maverick and then we will see how good it will be up-there again.. At least they should air-down air pressure when doing 4x4 (for Santa cruz & Maverick specially since didn't have off-road tires). Any respectable adventurer should know even more to an auto tester journalist..
@@poplaurentiu4148 I would rather see what they did here. It's comparing a stock midsize truck vs stock compact trucks. Its good to see the limits of the compacts and what it looks like when a midsize takes on the same terrain. If I was considering a compact truck, I want to know what I am trading for the lower price point and MPG. It makes no sense to put lower profile tires on a midsize truck. You would have to purchase much larger rims.
@@darylcopp9013 So listen, i'm not saying the comparison of these pick-ups is not good, but since right from the dealers they got the vehicles as they are, all i'm say 'n above if they intend to compare them off-road which is TFL decision BTW not even sure if they told the dealers they will go up-in that trail-pass to test these pick-ups so at least then get those highway wheels & tires off & put some basic off-road tires if not same BF-Goodrich k2 on both Maverick & Santa-Cruz and then redo this test up-there because then we will see the correct way to compare them off the pavement traction, slippery..etc.. Nobody will do this going up on mountain trails with highway tires and don't care attitude accelerate hard until the tires get smoked shredded on rocks ! that is just stupid Because no-one in the right mind regarding safety will do off-road with highway tires in off-road ! i'm sorry youtube allow such content millions people will watch it and some unn-experienced might try it out following this wrong example resulting in damages, injuries or deaths, ( just imagine if suddenly would snow up-there on those trails during filming having a snowy muddy slush down a rocky trails, how bad could they struggle or in worst case how bad would be if they bump, roll or crush and be forced to tell the dealers the whole stupidity & pay for fixing the damages ).. just like you say is not good to put low-profile tires on big-off-road rig unless the big-rig will be only used just for city, paved streets & highways mostly for better MPG not off-road.. but these journalists are so lazy & crazy they didn't even bother to air-down tires (basic safety standard procedure before going off-road) that is why this test is not just plain stupid but is also ridiculous & dangerous..
Sta. Cruz was advertised for city driving and weekend adventure like biking and beach sunset. Hyundai is clear that this is not a truck for offroad that is why it has dual clutch.
Both cars could do well with new tyres, differential lockers and a lift.
Once again, you guys pull off the perfect comparison video. There hasn't ever been a channel that does these Real-Gear-Head-Tech perfect for so many different perspective buyers.
So happy to see this! Can always count on TFL to come through with their promises! Awesome work guys love it!
DCTs outside of performance applications never seem to work well at all.
I hope Ford sells tons of Mavericks. Not sure if I'd get the AWD one, but the base model 2.5L hybrid with the steelies and a hitch would be a strong contender for a new DD !
It seems to be doing well I seen a lot of them.
@@Jv19979 We want to order one, but I can't find any of the goddamn things at dealerships to test drive haha. Call my family old fashion, but we prefer to do test drives before purchasing a vehicle. I know a lot of people don't do that anymore, but that's a massive mistake imo. A bit like getting married to someone before you even have a conversation with them.
@@KB-bh9hp my local dealer has 3 xlt and 1 xl Mavericks
@@KB-bh9hp I’ve seen a maverick in person. They look great, they look like baby F-150s. These will sell very well.
They're selling them like crazy, hybrids are sold out and Ford closed orders for them till sometime next year due to backlog... Maverick's are already outselling the Santa Fe by a lot.
The wife and I ordered a new Maverick Lariat/FX4 same color as the one driven in the video, Red Hot Pepper. This was back in oct. and we were #89 on the list. Hoping for a Jan/Feb arrival.
Did you get a build date yet?
@@jascospeed No...I'm hoping to get my build date in jan, or feb. A friend of mine ordered his back in july and just got his build date for feb I think it was. As Ford catches up, I'm hoping that will speed up the process.....or not.
Did you guys get it yet? How’s it treating y’all (if truck has arrived)
@@victorsanjurjo4666 Nope, so a month ago I went to my local chevy dealer and bought a 2022 Colorado diesel with the trail boss pkg. Got my deposit back from ford that same day. I'm not brand loyal so as long it's one of the American big three. My ford dealer didn't have a clue as to when it would even go into production, and has returned many deposits.
I like you 2 doing that hill, doing these compares, because, you give the systems a chance to do their job. Instead of giving it 2 seconds and claiming it fails if it is not figuring it out faster. AND you don't cry out we are stuck when you are not. So big kudos and thumbs up for your patience and realism.
Since the tires are so crucial, maybe a tire challenge for these two would be valuable. On terrain the Santa and the Mav are designed for, in dry, wet and snowy, with stock and "TFL recommended " tires..
Watching the Santa Cruz struggle uphill with the DCT and the Kona with DCT do the same in TFL testing is the reason why when I bought my Kona AWD I went with the 2.0 NA and 6 speed auto. It has very little trouble navigating uphill on loose terrain
Did the same with my tucson. Didn't need the extra power and wanted the extra reliability.
@@ryanlavallee3239 I agree. As much as I would have liked to get a Kona turbo, the issues with transmission overheating in the messy stuff and the annoyance of a DCT in the heavy stop and go traffic that I deal with daily were the deal breakers on going NA.
I really wish Hyundai would stop putting DCTs in everyday passenger vehicles. They make sense in the N products, but putting them in SUVs and now the Santa Cruz is just dumb.
I didn't know the Kona had a transmission option I thought the DCT was it even with a 2.0?
@@GamerNxUSN In the USA we get a 6 speed automatic (traditional) transmission with the 2.0 naturally aspirated engine.
It would be interesting to see how different the out come would be if the maverick had the fx4 package on it
Agreed. Personally, I would take the Ranger over these little skiffs any day.
@@myvenusheeler you better get a Ranger now then, the 2023 redesign is ugly as shit
Kindly request Ford Maverick XL and Hyundai Santa Cruz reduce the price to $19,000 only so Low Income & Poor Students can afford to buy !
I'm sure the Santa Cruz is wonderful ... but I way prefer the classic look of the Maverick.
💯!!
The Maverick is a surprisingly good little truck.
It's a car
@@poweredbyrice5708 nah.. it has a bed
@@jonlosito2004 So does a Subaru Baja guess it is too...they are not trucks. At least to men who use and drive trucks.Good for a female though.
@@poweredbyrice5708 Did Subaru call it a pickup truck? What about the IIHS or government? Sorry you're so confused about this simple topic.
Hmm my BOS says pickup truck, very strange.
It's interesting how people are resistant to calling the Santa Cruz and Maverick trucks because they're not body on frame, but no one insists on calling the old Crown Vics trucks because they were. It's almost like it's an arbitrary requirement and that the functionality is what actually makes the difference
While the trunk was as large as these beds are, it didn’t have a bed, and was classified as a sedan, so not a truck in the slightest
@@justing224 Which is my point. The Crown Vic isn't a truck because it's body on frame, and the Maverick isn't a car just because it's a unibody.
@@Traegorn it isn’t a truck, because it’s… a car
These are Trucklettes
@@justing224 What makes it a "car"
@@justing224 My point is that the Crown Vic is NOT a truck, and the Maverick IS one.
The Maverick won hands down against the Santa Cruz.. The GMC Canyon made it look easy! But being a Mid size truck it should be... I like the way you guys work well together.. Great actually..
Yeah that was no contest. Maverick is much more of a truck off road than the Santa Cruz!
My $33k Maverick has FX4 which adds off-roading drive modes like mud/ruts, pretty decently sized skid plates, as well as the hill decent control. It also adds different tires but they aren’t off road tires.
Does it delete the plastic air dam under the front bumper? My wife and I have an Armada that we LOVE, but the soccer mom bumper covers drive us bonkers. We were down on Corova Beach, NC last week and we spent 5 miles driving up a beach crunching over every crossover’s plastic bumpers and air dams. Ours didn’t come off, but it positions the front license plate so low that it did bend in half on a sand berm. My brother has a 2011 Escape that he uses for a light off-road beater, and it did just fine. He deleted the overhangs on his bumpers with a handheld scroll saw, and it looks factory but offers a much more viable approach angle.
Andre and Nathan are such a fantastic duo! Easily my favorite at TFL. Whereas Roman often has a reputation to cut people, especially Andre off, and rush things through, Andre & Nathan fit together perfectly like two squirrels raiding a bird feeder!
Roman rubs me the wrong way, like a bit too much ego and overconfidence. The kind of guy you see treating hotel and retail staff like lower caste, and throwing his weight around with employees. When he’s doing a duet review with other contributors, you can see that they’re editing their thoughts and trying not to get him upset with their take on things, and he almost blames them for shortfalls in the vehicle HE is test driving when the one THEY are driving outperforms it. It’s the biggest turn-of this great platform that Roman himself created, and that should be addressed. I think it’s time for him to step back and let his chosen professionals work.
@@bravofighter I will admit he seems like he's finally improving on that front. If you watch the Ford Lighting series, him and Andre actually finally seems to do well together without too much rushing of Andre by Roman. He still has his bad habits there come into play here and there, but, far less so than even 8 months ago. I think after years of viewers calling him out on that, he may finally be listening to it and attempting to fix that issue of his.
Mavericks are looking like great trucks. Most difficult stuff u do in my cars is gravel road so seeing the trucks go through situations like this is promising
Doesn’t the FX4 package also have hill descent assist?
and skid plates and tuned shocks and rock and dirt modes
I ordered my maverick earlier this months and have just been watching videos about it hyping myself up ever since lol. I got the 2.0 eco boost, tow package and off road package. Very excited! Won’t get it until march though but still can’t wait!
Ford has been doing trucks for many years and in this video it shows....
Except the maverick isnt really a truck. Its trying to look like one but its guts are a soft suv from the ford escape.
Yet they still can't build a reliable vehicle that lasts 50k.
@@MDKN22 true, I guess that’s why their the worst selling and very unpopular brand….
@@MDKN22 if they couldn't build a vehicle that can't be reliable for 50k and beyond, they wouldn't be in business. They have the best selling vehicle in the country for nearly half a century.
@@tri3pleagent found the Ford fanboy. You are the reason Ford sells so much. Ford fanboys are the most clueless human beings, right there with Tesla. You fail to even see the glaring faults and problems that Ford knows about and doesn't do a thing about.
Ford tried telling my mom that her transmission shifting like a noob driving a stick, being completely unresponsive, revving the engine while in drive and not accelerating is "normal". She's not stupid, and she called them out for it. She got a new torque converter at 50k (to still have the same issues after). I can tell you that the only transmission that her Escape acts like is a dual-clutch. I drive a dual-clutch for a daily and it does exactly that first part. A torque converter should not be slamming into gears with only 50k miles on it.
Ford had a major lawsuit on the 6F35 transmissions in Fusions, and they didn't even scrape the surface of these problems. Multiple Escape owners among MANY owners of Ford models that use the 6F35 are reporting failed transmissions under 100k, sometimes as low as 40k miles.
Do your research bud, Ford is a shit company making shit products. You won't though, cause you are too dumb enough to look into brands that aren't worth more than an ounce of scrap metal.
You guys should try it without slippery mode on, already been shown in different scenarios that slippery mode actually cuts power by quite a bit and it’s more meant for when you have icy road conditions
I agree, slippery is probably the worst mode to use in that condition (other videos have shown it to struggle)
I don't understand why you stopped in the Santa Cruz _before_ getting the overheating warning. If you got the warning, fine, stop. Also, I read promotional material about Hyundai/Kia having a new "wet dual clutch" that went in the K5 GT and Sonata N apparently. Is that what this is, or no? If not, I wonder why not.
Yes the SC has the wet clutch… better but slow crawling is not what it was meant to do.
Dude! Nice comparison. It really does show the weakness of the DCTs and the importance of choosing the proper tire for the task.
Agreed! I think reducing air pressure would showcase both vehicles much better, but I agree, the DCT has no place on anything meant to haul a payload up a hill.
Love seeing this head to head! Really missed the mark not testing the Maverick with the FX4 package though. Not sure why the guys claimed multiple times the Maverick was “fully loaded” without that package. FX4 has underbody protection and off road drive modes which were not mentioned.
Also comes with AT tires.
They were comparing similar optioned vehicles.
I compared the Maverick and the Santa Cruz on a test drive and bought the Hyundai Santa Cruz and very HAPPY
I read that the dual clutch on the SC can be a problem. This video shows why.
It's a different transmission the old one has issues
@@aaron5222 Apparently it's still a problem according to this TFL review.
This never showed up in my feed..... I'm just glad I found it! I've been waiting for it
In my experience fords slip mode has the least amount of traction control intervention. Reason is they don't want the vehicle to spin all the tires and slide of the road. Seems to favor limiting spin by limiting power instead of finding traction.
In the Ranger, the TCS in "normal" mode gives plenty of wheel spin.
Physics correction to Nathan's remark at about 7:33: A locking center differential does NOT divide torque 50-50 front and rear; that's what an open center diff would do. That's why an open diff setup can't give any more torque to the wheels with traction than to the ones that are spinning on glaze ice (or on rollers, or up in the air, etc.) and therefore getting almost no torque at all. But a locking differential means both output shafts are forced to spin at the same speed, even if one has no traction and therefore takes almost no torque to turn. In other words, a locking diff can send up to 100% of the torque to the shaft that needs it.
Meanwhile, a brake-based traction control system with open diffs still divides the torque 50-50 between both output shafts, but by braking the shaft that would otherwise require almost no torque to turn, it lets both shafts get more torque than a pure open diff (without traction control) would allow. That's still only 50% of the torque that a locking diff would deliver to the shaft with traction, however, because of the open diff gearing.
The Maverick is amazing and will sell great. I bet because of the Santa Cruz and Maverick, though mostly Maverick for sure, GM and Dodge might look into developing their own small trucks. Maybe some of the other manufacturers as well.
They were definitely waiting to see how the Maverick would do first. Ford showed their cards first and the marketing teams will find its flaws and attempt to make a truck the population likes more. The ball is in the opposing teams courts. They just need to do something quick before the Maverick becomes too recognizable. I'm betting we'll see at least one body on frame with a traditional 4x4 system.
there is definitely a market, especially with the price of full size trucks nowadays
@@Ichibuns - I doubt we will see a body-on-frame small truck, those days have come and gone with that type of truck becoming the midsize trucks we have now. Nah, the market dictates the Maverick is perfect right where it is and other manufactures will use their small CUVs as platforms like Ford did to reduce the cost. No way are any of them going to spend that type of money on research and development costs. The Maverick is doing so well before it even launched it had well over 100k preorders and the majority of dealers are dealers without preorders or someone canceled their order/died and now they have the occasional Maverick available on the lot.
I am saving for one in two years, I like to pay cash or put a massive amount as a down payment. Also, I like to wait for the first year or twos bugs to work out and a midcycle refresh always looks better. By then Chevy at least will have their own version on the market and Ford might have the more advanced rear end found in the Bronco Sport on the Maverick.
Who wouldn't want to see the return of the Dakota or a new Little Red Truck/LRT? Maybe GMC can bring back the Cyclone.
The Dakota may make a comeback 👀
I have a hybrid coming. It's going to do some minor off roading but the worst will be my long, steep driveway. I have some chains I carry with me, pretty easy to put on and they should fit my Maverick. I'd like to see them take the 2wd off road.
Where is the FX4 package for the Maverick, which has hill descent, and rock crawl mode, and more aggressive tires as well as skid plates, (this test is not fair without that)
Even without the better tires and such this maverick still beat the cruz. That made it even a better test meaning you don't need the lariat you could just go with the base with awd, save a bunch of $, and still get the better "truck". For what people are actually going to use these vehicles for this test is way overkill. FX4 maverick vs AT4 is still going to get clobbered though.
@@spyder000069 True
This is what Ford gave us. We’re still waiting on the FX4
Independent suspension can have good articulation, but it has to be designed for it. Many military vehicles use independent suspension.
New hummer ev have quite nice articulation. Still prefer solid axles tho
I liked watching this test. I was curious how well the standard AWD Maverick system would do on this test. In my opinion, it did quite well. Polishing the tail pipe is not an issue for me. It moved out of the way due to the flexible hangers. The Santa Cruise was a fail because of the dual clutch transmission. For my use, I will exclude buying vehicles with those transmissions.
The Canyon aced this climb, but that was expected and it worked just fine. But I have sat in a canyon, front and rear. I have also sat in a Maverick both front and rear. The Maverick won hands down on that score. I have not sat in a Santa Cruise yet.
This test confirmed my option choices for the Maverick. It will be the EcoBoost AWD XLT with the max tow and the Fx4 package. It gets the front recovery hooks, some additional skid plates and trades the sport mode for a rock mode. Plus it gets a bit more aggressive tire. I might add the XLT luxury package to get some of the fancier interior accessories. I prefer cloth over leather seats. And I don’t need the rear opening window. Nor do I want the sunroof. Just two more expensive options I don’t use and more places to leak water. (It rains a lot where I live.)
My off roading will not be extreme really tough stuff, so I don’t really need the capability level of the Canyon, but I will definitely enjoy the lower step in height and fuel economy of the Maverick every day. And I don’t plan to tow more than 4,000 pounds anyway. At most I would be towing about 3,000 pounds.
But I will use those recovery hooks and receiver hitch to yank things around and I will get stuck at least once. Plus, your not a pickup truck if you don’t have easy access recovery hooking points front and rear. I will scratch those skid plates a time or three.
And I have no issues with lack of a separate body on frame construction. I have owned or own a Corvair 95 Rampside pickup, a long box Jeep Comanche 4x4 pickup (loved that truck!) and now own a Ram Promaster City Van. All those don’t have separate frames. And they work just fine.
By the way, with just a tire upgrade, the Corvair pickup had a 1 ton rating. And the Comanche offered a metric ton (2200 pound) payload option.
I've towed 3,000 lbs with my Escape that has essentially the same setup. It did very well. It did guzzle fuel but I never measured it. I towed 150 miles in mixed driving and I suspect 15-17 mpg based on how much fuel I used.
My mom has an XLT with the 4K package, and FX4 and sue loves it. Perfect for her small camper and it takes here throughout the Idaho wilderness with no issues. You’ll love it. If I didn’t have a need for a 1-ton, the Maverick would be my choice.
I just purchased a 2.0 AWD XL Maverick with steelies, already changed the tires to BFG KO2's 26k for it!
Nice. I love ANY vid with both Nathan and Andre. They have great "old" school chemistry together and it kind of reminds me of the days when it was just Nathan and Roman here.
The only thing missing is "will Nathan fit". Way better IMO than the straight pipes plastic boxes.😂😂 I'm a big dude too and it gives me a good idea of how much room there is and its funny.
As someone who owns one I have to ask when you were in the Santa Cruz why would you not put it in Manual mode to help yourself have more control? Simply push the shifter to the left and then put yourself in 1st or second. This would have made a huge difference on your control, capabilities, and also decent.
Yeah this had the disgusting smell of bias. They damn sure didn't smell clutches. 😒 I had the dry clutches in my old kia and it took quite a bit of abuse when I got stuck in mud before the clutches ever showed any overheating. These new clutches are wet clutches. They don't overheat in seconds. He acted like he couldn't figure out how to keep it from revving.
The GMC & Ford are both really nice! 👍🏻🇺🇸
Lol. The Maverick is made in Mexico 🇲🇽
You got the off road versions of the Ford and GMC and the high end road trim of the Santa Cruz. Do a little research on the Hundai line up guys! Come on. Obviously you know GMC and Ford stuff backwards and forwards.
The XRT is the top trail trim on the Santa Cruz. It has:
* bright red tow hooks (like the GMC}
* 18" wheels (like the Ford)
* more aggressive off road tires (like the GMC)
* XRT fender flares
* deleted chin spoiler (like the GMC) for better approach angle.
* skid plates are an available option.
So: you blew it and picked the wrong trim level version for a meaningful test.
* also, if you are having trouble with the transmission hunting -- that's what manual mode is for.
Please redo this video using 2025 models after you apologize to Hyundi North America and beg them to give you an XRT and another chance.
PS: I roll a Toyota T-100 with F&R lockers on 35's.
I don't have a thing for Hyundais, just wanted a fair test.
Very nice comparison of the vehicles & explanations for everything!
Go with the standard 8 speed auto in the base model if you plan to go off road. DTC trannies are not good for that.
If you think ford would do a DTC better, No. Think Focus and Fiesta.
A few videos I’ve seen now of the Hyundai not doing well in grip test. I get it , it’s not made for it. But still to see the Maverick do everything makes you think.
how does the approach angle work? It seems like a lower number should be better.
i gotta say, I have been VERY impressed with Ford's vehicles over the past few years. I was sad to see the Fusion and Focus go, but the vehicles they have been releasing, most of them seem to be amazing in their respective classes and even punching above their weight.
My Kelowna Mechanic Buddy has a FULL schedule of Raptorizing Mavericks with 4 and 6 inch lifts and cutting up and rewelding parts of the wheel wells to take 32 inch Goodyear Duratracs or even the Nitto Ridge Grapplers plus welding and paint-matching fender flares for the larger and wider tires and wheels. He's beefing up the suspension with new thicker A-arms and pillars with Fox Shocks plus custom swaybars with some in-house built/custom-welded components AND he's putting in multiple skid plates underneath, doing a thick Line-X full-underbody, wheel well, engine bay coatings, then adding heavy duty bumpers with bush bars and winches front and back, doing supercharging and adding in the larger up-to-50 gallon auxiliary bed fuel tanks for extra range.
His Raptorized Mavericks are popular right now that he had to stop taking orders for the converted Mavericks because he has a full order board until June 2022. His shop can do three conversions a day so he is making big bank on just the Maverick truck alone!
I'm REALLY surprised at just how GOOD the Maverick is now!
V
The more videos I watch on the Ford maverick the better job I think Ford did with designing and producing this truck I’m so impressed
Expected the AT4 to do better than the other 2 obviously, bit didn't expect it to make dare look that easy. Maverick comes out on top when compared to the Hyundai but not surprised. The Bronco sport did so well that the maverick couldn't be too far behind.
Would love to see TFL get a Colorado ZR2 and a Silverado ZR2 as long term test trucks and really beat on them...
In my case, and I believe that I represent a great portion of the market that will be looking for one of these two trucks, I will probably be getting out of the city limits and off the paved roads for about… a month out of a year. And on those 30 days (that most likely will not be consecutive) I will spend maybe a week towing my teardrop camper, two or three days on sand and two or three more days on gravel roads. The rest of that month it will definitely be spent on an “asphalt flat” surface.
This leaves 335 days of commuting, shopping, gardening, diy projects, visiting friends and family, etc, etc, etc. And for those days I will need a vehicle that not only suits my needs, but I also feel comfortable driving it. And don’t forget technology and warranty!
With all that in mind, what car do you think I am going to choose?
By the way, check out Nathan’s opinion on this towing challenge:
ruclips.net/video/4JfF4IovTY0/видео.html
don't turn off traction control! it applies the brake on the spinning wheel and sends power to the wheel with traction, when you turn it off you sit and spin.
This is a normal truck for normal people who own homes and sometime need to buy sheetrock from home depot. And don't want to spend 70k on a ram. Truck for the people lol
I really wanted to see you guys push the DCT to the point of overheating, just to see what that point was. You chickened out before the system did!! Push the limits!
This! It’s the wet dual clutch not the dry, wanted to see if it would overheat or not.
U really cannot bench it against the canyon since its got more beefy wheel package ,that i want to see for the rest then i wont complain
The narrower tire probably had better traction because you had more weight over a smaller surface area. Wider tires distribute the weight more. Though the computer in the Maverick did seem to be a bit smarter about power delivery when wheels were slipping.
I want to see the regular automatic santa cruz. I still don’t understand why they thought a dct was appropriate for this turbo version, it’s not right for the type of vehicle
@8:15 Nathan reminded me of a disappointment dad teaching his son how to drive. Love you guys, keep up the great work!
you guys are the best channel on here! and thats alot for me to comment!
It is pretty disappointing to see a top off road spec Santa Cruz and Canyon vs a Maverick with only the AWD. It would have been far more interesting to see a Maverick with FX4 and the larger Wildpeak tires.
Your wish is Ford's command, it looks like they will be doing that, though it will likely be a Tremor model and not sure what model of A/T they will be using.
You know that Santa Cruz spec is not off road right?
@@reygone776 I looked at Hyundai website, this looks like the most off road spec aside from the double clutch transmission. Is there another off road package this did not have?
@@zekesnack There is no off road package on the Santa Cruz. As a matter of fact, if you search the word "off" on the Hyundai Santa Cruz website, the only results youll find are "offers" and one "off the chart". When you said that you were dissapointed about the comparisson, I thought you were going to mention the fact that the GMC has real off-road / all terrain tires, while the Maverick and the Santa Cruz have only tires designed for the "asphalt flat" roads. That fact only renders this whole video useless!
That would be comparing cars that are way too far apart in price range. Might as well drop a Land Rover in the mix
I had a Hyundai Elantra Sport with a DCT. It had trouble with my sloped driveway just getting it into my garage. I would not buy another car with a DCT until they are improved. The trouble is, you don't realize the extent of the problems you may have until you drive the vehicle for a while. Thanks TFL for exposing the clutch burning problems in steep terrain with the Santa Cruz.
Nathan should do the driving.
Right
Everyone who knocks crossovers and small trucks that have difficulty with this test, I ran it the other day in my RAV4 and it is way steeper and rutted out than it looks on camera! I didn’t even try the “dare” side, as I don’t have a skid plate and didn’t want to rip off my front pipe
When I saw the price of the Hyundai I laughed, Ford for the win in every way.
The base model Sta Cruz SE AWD model is $25k and loaded. You'd have to be a dunce to buy the $40k model, but then again, I wouldn't buy the ultra cheap looking Maverick either...
@@B_noJ lol. I checked my local dealers and didn’t see anything less than 37k on the Hyundai. Would never buy one so I guess I don’t have to fret
Hi guys! You gave me the envy to go to m'y local Ford dealer to talk about a maverick! Thanks!
Loving these smaller ‘trucks’. Or utes as we’d say Down Under. Maybe those anti-truck people might start to see why we buy them. Practicality, practicality, practicality.
No need to arrange delivery anymore.
5:14 I think there's a lot of Rubicons that don't even do light off roading.
Do the same with a mavrick FX4!!!
Need these 2 on Tommy's roller test
I really hope ford does the hybrid with Awd because that is what i want. I'll throw some big tires on it and a lift. I'll be the guy passing you on black bear pass.
I want to slam my, throw on some bigger rims, and do a cool mini truck build. With all do respect, lifted trucks are a dime a dozen. Buying a Maverick just to lift it seems counterintuitive to the purpose of getting a smaller, more car-like truck imo.
If I did slam it, I go with bags obviously, so I could raise it for when I needed more ground clearance.
@@KB-bh9hp that would be sick. I'd love to see slammed trucks make a comeback
I always like the reviews and was just praising the previous video that did not take these trucklettes off road as no one but TFL will ever do but still good review.
I would be interested in different wheel/tire combos as well as the non turbo version of the Santa Cruz because of the transmission.
Been waiting for this review!!! Thank you TFL!!!
Any chance testing the vechiels around the track to see there on road handling and brakes. These vehicles spend most of their time on roads people need to know about on road handling.
Why does Nathan always dress like a high school bully from the 80's? Lol
Are we going to see more about the GMC?
Trust me you don’t want to. $46k for a truck that came out in 2015 with no auto cruise control, no lane keep assist, no auto start stop and a shitty interior.
@@BAYAREAMX they're gonna redesign the Colorado/ Canyon in 2023 and then everything will be improved especially with super cruise (hopefully)
Andre and Nathan work good together, thanks guys informative and enjoyable. Happy New Year
can you do a test with all having the same tires? That will really show the difference.
I don't think anyone is buying the Santa Cruz to go off roading. Maybe to the beach or lake but climbing hills like in the video not happening. Santa Cruz is more like an El Camino than a truck. I'm am pretty impressed with the Maverick for it's overall performance and price.
But uglier than an el camino
Not gonna lie, I love that GMC AT4
Me too, until I saw the GM interior.
@@just4ivaylo92 I haven't looked too closely. The truck is too small for me, but I do like the way it looks.
What do you drive? I'm not sure what I want.
@@JohnConnor636 I picked up a Maverick Lariat with AWD last week.
@@just4ivaylo92 that's great, I'm sure you are loving the new truck! Happy holidays
The shocks and the lockers are what makes the Colorado a zr2!! 😆
Very biased video. Not sure if this is sponsored by Ford or not, seems like it is. In both paths you took the Santa Cruz on the harder side first and showed it "fail". Then you took the Maverick on the same path as the take two (easier) path and it worked, just like the Santa Cruz. You never took the Maverick on the same initial path as the Santa Cruz, you always took it on the easier path first.
vs Truth the Maverick slipped and stalled a couple of times where the Santa Cruz didn't. You blamed momentum but you never lost it, the Maverick got stuck. It sure looked like the Santa Cruz did better even with two spots where you nearly stopped the Santa Cruz. You can clearly see the Maverick just lose control completely at 14:17.
*also, you recommended traction control off at the start for the Maverick but showed a "Fail" on the Santa Cruz and brought up burning clutch before you turned it off.
Lastly, you mention at the start that both trucks have the same 8.6 inches of clearance. Then on the Dare track you bail on the Santa Cruz due to clearance but not on the Maverick. Maybe the Maverick has a slightly higher approach clearance, but why not measure and sure exactly what you mean. With the above bias takes you should back up your claims with facts.
Both trucks are good, the Maverick probably does better offroad. The Santa Cruz is not nearly as bad as you are making it out to be. Sure seems like this video is an advertisement for Ford.
The better warranty is to make people comfortable in choosing a Hyundai. Ford, Toyota and Honda don't need to offer that kind of warranty yet they outsell the Hyundai many times over. It's been 20 years since I've been paying attention to cars and Hyundai still can't shake their iffy reputation despite years of better 100k warranties.
I found the approach, breakover, and departure angles for both vehicles.
Santa Cruz:
17.5/18.6/23.2 degrees, respectively
Maverick:
21.6, 18.1, and 21.2 degrees , respectively
So the Maverick has a better approach degree than the Santa Cruz by 4.1 degrees. Not huge but that provides some numbers to the approach. However the Santa Cruz has a better departure angle.
They need to put some of the Bronco Sport goodies on a Maverick. It would be interesting to see a Maverick with the G.O.A.T. system installed.
Maverick tremor is coming
Never has more drama been poured over a dirt road. Next episode: "Can my Wrangler Rubicon make it up a steep driveway?"
Spoiler: it can't
They say fully optioned for the mav but it wasn’t an fx4 package for an off road test? Diff tires, drive modes, and skid plates
I'll take the AT4
The angles under the pickups are AWESOME! ty
Hyundai really dropped the ball by installing a DCT in a truck.
Not for the role the car is designed for, which is a car with a truck bed, it's not an off-roader. For 99% of the owners, it has the right transmission.
@@gpaje I do question how durable that will be long term. The maverick's hybrid and e-cvt both have a reputation for being pretty much bulletproof. The reliability of the Hyundai is a little bit of an unknown variable.
@@gpaje Dual clutch is great for sport sedans and sporty cross-overs, but terrible for an adventure vehicle or anything that will see sand or snow. It's smart that they offer a standard transmission as an option.
@@gpaje exactly.... why take a 40k plus vehicle off roading, I'll take a 500.00 off roading, I'm not tearing up my new limited. They aren't designed to do rock climbing. And BTW my dct works just fine. Better build quality than the mav and decked out only 3,100.00 more than the lariat I built. Plus way better warranty.
@@KB-bh9hp that's being generous. Anyone can Google Hyundai powertrain recall fire. There are still people falling for the "better warranty". Hondas have a 36k warranty but have a better rep. Strange.
Good job guys. Thanks for doing this. Looks like a fun day!
Ford needs to do a Tremor version. Basic level kit, tires and the twin disc rear from the Bronco Sport .
Nice video guys, where is the unedited clip to be found?
Very nice video, definitely props to the Maverick! The little truck that could.
The FX4 maverick would’ve done even better
Great vid guys!!!
I can't wait for the Maverick Tremor!
Been waiting all week for this and you’re missing the Ridgeline! 😞
Ridge line made an actual truck?
Very informative video. I think the maverick is better for drivers that are split among city, suburb and rural. The Santa Fe seems more like an urban pickup weekend tailgater. GMC is self explanatory.
Off roaders they are not, but I’d bet they’d feel pretty good on a slippery commute. Looks like a base mid size truck would be a better choice for those interested in hitting the trails but keeping budget similar.
They are offroaders not rock crawlers
SUV or Crossovers would be better. They have weight in the back where these do not. Luckily these two are based on their SUV counterparts so you buy them lol
I want the maverick but I just hope it doesn't have problems with the blend door actuator and interior trim falling apart like my fiesta ST
They already have a problem with the stitching on the front seats and end up rolling up from the bottom. Dealer fix is to fold seat forward reach for the fabric and pull. Awesome quality