Ridgeline
lifestyle truck in 2023 in the USA, while 36,675 units of the
Hyundai Santa Cruz
were purchased. Both trucks are well behind the
Ford Maverick’s
sales figures, though, with the Blue Oval selling nearly 95,000 of those in the same year. Still, the Ridgeline and Santa Cruz remain popular enough to justify the existence of a unibody small- to mid-size truck segment. These trucks share many similarities and if you’re in the market to buy one, it may be difficult at a glance to see which is better. Let’s take a closer look to see whether the Santa Cruz or the Honda Ridgeline is the better unibody pickup.
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Performance: Specs, Drive, and Handling
| Model | 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz | 2024 Honda Ridgeline | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | 2.5-Liter 4-Cylinder | 2.5-liter Turbo 4-Cylinder | 3.5-Liter 6-Cylinder |
| Power | 191 hp | 281 hp | 280 hp |
| Torque | 181 lb-ft | 311 lb-ft | 262 lb-ft |
| Drivetrain | FWD (AWD opt.) | AWD | AWD |
| Transmission | 8-Speed Auto | 8-Speed DCT | 9-Speed Auto |
Neither the Ridgeline nor the Santa Cruz can be called
performance
-oriented, and while the former has a 3.5-liter six-cylinder under the hood and the latter a smaller four-cylinder, outputs at the higher end of the range are similar. The Santa Cruz uses a 2.5-liter inline-four that’s turbocharged on top-of-the-range models to make 281 hp and 311 lb-ft, which compares well to the Ridgeline’s 280 hp and 262 lb-ft across the lineup. Both trucks can run the 0-60 sprint in the mid-six-second range (the Santa Cruz with the turbo engine, naturally), but neither of these are designed with performance in mind.
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Honda’s Ridgeline is a mid-sized unibody truck with car-like driving manners, which is ideal for truck lovers who don’t need huge towing capacities.
In our test drive
review of the Santa Cruz,
we found the little truck handles more like a car or crossover than a truck, and the diminutive footprint makes both of these ideal for city driving. To really see the difference between these trucks, you need to take them off the tarmac and into the dirt, where the Ridgeline is more suited to off-roading – even if you don’t go with
the Trailsport model
. The Santa Cruz can handle some dirt and mud now and then; but neither has the wheel articulation you want from an off-roader.
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Towing and Hauling: Close Enough
| Model | 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz | 2024 Honda Ridgeline |
| Towing Capacity | 3,500 lbs (base) | 5,000 lbs (turbo) | 5,000 lbs |
| Payload Capacity | 1,411 lbs | 1,509 to 1,583 lbs |
The Ridgeline and Santa Cruz are both excellent daily drivers, but how do they perform on the construction site? Towing isn’t a strong suit for trucks of this size, but both can haul up to 5,000 lbs when equipped correctly. In the case of the Santa Cruz, that means you have to opt for the AWD Night, XRT, or Limited models with the turbocharged engine.
Interior: Practical And Functional
Both trucks are suitably spacious, with the Santa Cruz offering more front legroom than the Ridgeline. The legroom in the back is similar, at around 36.5 inches. The build quality is good and expected to last at least two decades in both cars.
substandard
in the interior department. Honda and Hyundai simply realize that these pickups have never been major players in the luxury-lite pickup segment, so the overall vibe is more
functional
than
fancy.
Safety
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Both models feature lane keep assist and forward-collision alert as standards. The base Santa Cruz features blind spot assist, which is an upgrade in the Ridgeline, available in the Trailsport and up. But neither truck is a slouch in the safety tech department. Bottom line: you don’t need to worry too much about safety in either of these trucks. Unibody trucks are notoriously hard to break, and both models pack a generous suite of safety features.
Cost Of Ownership
Taking a look at the MSRP numbers, the Hyundai Santa Cruz looks like the clear winner, with sticker prices starting at under $27,000. But if you want similar performance to the Honda, you’ll have to pay extra for the turbocharged engine and AWD. If you really want to make a fair comparison between these two trucks, you’ll want to look at the Ridgeline Sport and the Santa Cruz Night, which only favors the Hyundai by a little over a thousand bucks.
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Repair And Maintenance
Unibody trucks can be more expensive to repair than body-on-frame, owing to the simple fact that they’re not comprised of small, easily replaced panels, so every dent needs to be manually worked out. But the trade-off is a truck that’s safer, sturdier, and considerably less squeaky and creaky on the road.Repair costs slightly favor the Ridgeline, with RepairPal estimating an annual maintenance expense of $502, while the Santa Cruz comes in at $515. So, if we’re really looking for a way to split this hair, this leaves us with fuel economy.
Fuel Consumption
| Fuel Economy (combined) | |
| Hyundai Santa Cruz Night | 22 MPG |
| Honda Ridgeline Sport | 21 MPG |
So there you have it, the Santa Cruz is the better car by a single mile per gallon. Jokes aside, the Hyundai Santa Cruz barely edges out the Honda Ridgeline in terms of total cost of ownership. Between fuel costs and MSRP, you’ll probably spend about $2,000 less on your first year of ownership of a Santa Cruz than you will with a Honda.
Santa Cruz Is Cheaper Up Front, But The Ridgeline Is Built To Last
The Santa Cruz is the more affordable truck up front, but Hondas are revered for crossing 250,000 miles and then some without a single major mechanical issue. So, if you plan on driving the truck for more than five or ten years before you trade it in, the Ridgeline may be the wiser long-term investment. This also applies to resale value. After ten years, a Honda will still retain about 65% of its original value, with the Hyundai coming in at just over 61%.Of course, we’re talking about razor-thin value margins here. Ultimately, you have two pickups that perform about the same, cost about the same, and drive about the same. Personal preference is going to come into play in picking a winner here by a lot more than a 4% margin in resale value.