Tacoma vs the new Santa Cruz

Friend pulled his new Santa Cruz next to my taco.

My old man came out to check it out. He sized it up and said “that ain’t no truck” and walked away.

 

It's a ute.

Shame hyundai has a terrible reputation for durability (yes especially of late) or it could be a good idea for a lot of people.

 

The Subaru Baja is resurrected.

 

I'd drive an old Subaru Brat as a DD.

They had fantastic MIL seats.

 

Golden Retriever hauler 2.0

 

Dog tested, dog approved; At least the Baja came with a manual transmission...

 

Kind of looks like a stubby Gen 1 Ridgeline. Bed looks small but it should be easy to park.

 

If it shifts better it’s a no brainer for city folk

 

Ya, no but the Ford Maverick is strangely growing on me

 

My and my six year old thought it looked like a real life hot wheels car.

 

https://youtu.be/RWpIM5haeLE

 

^i can't take that serial killer name seriously.

 

ok, but how do they compare?

*full disclosure, i'm a registered member of the santa cruz forums. really just because i loved the concept and mistakenly thought that they wouldn't obliterate it into a rebrushed version of their other suv's...

 

I don't think the Santa Cruz is suppose to be a truck. I think it was made to be a fun getting around, maybe hauling a ice cooler to the beach, kind of vehicle. I looks like it would be fun to rent down in Key West or someplace like that. Park the Tacoma next to a log hauler and the trucker would not even think about comparing the two vehicles. It's all a matter of perspective.

 

Has a tow rating of 1,500 pounds more than my "real truck" and a payload higher than most Tacoma's.

Now still, its got a tiny bed, unconventional construction for a truck, and Hyundai isn't exactly a hero for reliability but hey, by the numbers it out performs some "real trucks" in important areas.

 

Are late model Hyundais really that unreliable? Know a few people with Hyundai’s and they all seem happy.

 

What "real" truck has a tow rating lower than 1,500 pounds?

 

You misread it, I said 1,500 pounds more. My Tacoma is rated to tow 3,500 lbs, the Santa Cruz is up to 5,000

 

Honestly I don’t think it’s that bad either. Seem quite a few in the wild now.