• 2025 Ford Maverick
  

  Base Trim Engine

  2.5-liter hybrid inline-4

  Base Trim Drivetrain

  Front-Wheel Drive

  Base Trim Horsepower

  191 hp @ 5,600 rpm

  Base Trim Torque

  155 lb-ft (ICE only)

• 

  2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz

  Base Trim Engine

  2.5-liter Inline-4

  Base Trim Drivetrain

  Front-Wheel Drive

  Base Trim Horsepower

  191 hp

  Base Trim Torque

  181 lb-ft

Back in 2021, we ran a comparison between the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz, both brand-new to the market at that time. We liked both trucks, but ultimately picked the Maverick as our favorite of the two, owing to the truck’s low MSRP and rugged Ford Tough styling, with its chunky corners and big grille. But, 2021 might as well be a lifetime ago for all that’s happened in the automotive industry since then, not least with the Santa Cruz and the Maverick in particular, which both saw a significant refresh for the 2025 model year.

• 

  2025 Ford Maverick
  

  Base Trim Engine

  2.5-liter hybrid inline-4

  Base Trim Drivetrain

  Front-Wheel Drive

  Base Trim Horsepower

  191 hp @ 5,600 rpm

  Base Trim Torque

  155 lb-ft (ICE only)

• 

  2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz

  Base Trim Engine

  2.5-liter Inline-4

  Base Trim Drivetrain

  Front-Wheel Drive

  Base Trim Horsepower

  191 hp

  Base Trim Torque

  181 lb-ft

The thing is, we haven’t actually taken a head-to-head look at these two trucks since they had their respective facelifts, so this seems like as good a time as any to stage a rematch and see if the Maverick is still the king of small pickups. Here’s how these refreshed trucks compare for 2025.

The following comparisons have been made on a spec-by-spec and feature-by-feature basis, focusing specifically on updates made to both models in their respective 2025 facelifts.

Same Old Style, With A Few Welcome Tweaks

A few years ago, we said that the Hyundai Santa Cruz reminded us of the Subaru Brat. We’ll say the same today. It still looks like a ute, and it gets a few points for that alone. Meanwhile, the Maverick still bears the squared-off appearance of a Ford, splitting the difference between modern and classic design elements. This is to say, the Hyundai’s still a Hyundai, and the Ford’s still a Ford. Whichever one you preferred four years ago, that’ll be your favorite in 2025, too. But to run down some of the changes each model has undergone in the facelift:

Visual Changes For The 2025 Ford Maverick Facelift

We’ve pictured the 2024 and 2025 Mavericks here for reference.

• Redesigned 7-shaped headlights
• New grille featuring long vertical slots and no horizontal bar
• The front bumper extends a little higher
• New LED running lights for top trims

Visual Changes For The 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz Facelift

We’ve pictured the 2024 and 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz here for reference.

• The grille has a cleaner, more horizontal appearance
• The headlights have been redesigned with a five-segment look
• New alloy wheel design

We still prefer the Ford, but the Santa Cruz looks better than ever. The front end just looks more tidy with clearer segmentation between individual components.

New Interior Features

Both the Santa Cruz and the Maverick introduced new displays for the 2025 model year. The Maverick gets a 13.2-inch touchscreen with Sync 4, while the Santa Cruz gets a curved panoramic 12.3-inch display.

One of the most welcome upgrades for the Santa Cruz is the addition of physical HVAC controls. We might not speak for everyone when we say that we don’t want to do everything on a touchscreen, but we know we speak for a lot of drivers. We like knobs and buttons, but the Maverick is leaning more and more into digital controls, so this is a big win for the Santa Cruz.

This round easily goes to the Santa Cruz. Hyundai made a point of giving drivers what they wanted this year, and we’re grateful for that.

Is The Santa Cruz XRT A Match For The Maverick Lobo?

By and large, these are still the same trucks they were a few years ago, performance-wise. The Santa Cruz packs a 2.5-liter 4-cylinder as its base engine, cranking out 191 hp. The Maverick does 238-hp through its base 2.0-liter engine. Both trucks feature an 8-speed automatic as their base transmission. The only major change across either truck’s lineup is the addition of the Maverick Lobo trim, hearkening back to the glory days of street trucks. The Lobo packs the same base engine, but pairs it with a 7-speed automatic transmission. How does that affect the pickup’s performance specs? Let’s compare it to the Santa Cruz XRT and find out.

It’s hard to pick a winner between these two on performance specs alone. The XRT delivers more horsepower, but that doesn’t translate to a quicker 0-60. That’s sort of beside the point, though, because the XRT is off-road oriented, an all-wheel drive pickup with 8.6 inches of ground clearance, while the Lobo is rear-wheel drive, sits at about 7.4 inches off the ground, and is intended for track and street performance. Forget the numbers, it’s about the driving experience you want.

This is an easy win for Ford, as the Maverick is already offered in off-road trims, like the Tremor, but the Santa Cruz doesn’t offer a street truck option.

Which Small Truck Is The Better Deal?

Comparing the prices between the Maverick and the Santa Cruz for 2025:

Four years ago, the Maverick was the more affordable option between these two trucks. Today, the Maverick is still the more affordable option. But, before we declare a winner on pricing, let’s see who delivers more horsepower per dollar in the performance models.

In terms of the power you’re getting per dollar, it would take a microscope developed by NASA to see the difference between these two trucks, so the XRT’s subatomic lead isn’t enough to make up for the fact that the Maverick is simply a more affordable pickup.

We’re Sticking With Our Favorite

Which means that the Maverick is still our favorite small pickup all these years later. The Santa Cruz’s physical HVAC controls are a welcome addition, and we wish Ford would follow their lead. But, the biggest and most exciting change to either truck was the addition of the Lobo trim, and the Maverick is still more affordable than the Santa Cruz by an average margin of a couple of thousand dollars from trim to trim.

This isn’t to cast any shade on the Santa Cruz, the Maverick’s 2025 facelift simply helped it to keep the lead as the cooler and cheaper of the two. Maybe Hyundai can get a ute-inspired street truck or a Santa Cruz N into development, and we’ll have another rematch a year or two down the line.

Sources: Ford, Hyundai