How the 2024 Maverick Is More Efficient Than the 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz

Commuter vehicles don’t just have to be four-door hybrid sedans or alternative-fuel coupes; you can actually get a lot out of any vehicle with the right powertrain—even a pickup truck. If having a utilitarian midsize truck is something you’re after, but you also need something that gets great fuel economy, you’ll find the 2024 Ford Maverick runs circles around the other midsize pickups, like the 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz.

Now, is great fuel economy enough to get you to look for a Ford Maverick for sale rather than a Hyundai Santa Cruz? Maybe, but it’s the combination of a great entry-level price, amazing do-it-yourself modularity, and superb fuel economy that makes the Ford Maverick such a great pickup.

Why Fuel Economy Is Important for Truck Drivers

There are a lot of great reasons to drive a pickup truck, but typically, fuel economy isn’t one of them. Due to their size and their function, they usually have to give up range for utility. Most people are completely fine with that, but at the same time it can definitely make long-range commuting a difficult task, especially for daily driving. But what if that didn’t have to be the case? What if you could still get a lot of the same utility of a truck while also managing to get a lot of range?

Well, that’s what makes the Ford Maverick so special: Ford created a midsize pickup where range and utility come in equal measure. This is important because, if you’re the kind of driver who has to travel scores of miles to work or you have to travel through several towns for deliveries, transportation, or commuting, then having a truck that limits the amount of fuel you need to expend to do so both makes the drive easier and keeps your wallet from bleeding.

That’s not to mention that, for recreational or daily driving, having better fuel economy gets you more range without having to constantly head to the nearest gas pump, which means you save money and can get to your destinations in a more timely manner. The best part is that you can accomplish all of this without constantly worrying about or looking at the fuel gauge. That seems like something almost any midsize truck driver would appreciate.

The 2024 Ford Maverick’s Fuel Economy Ratings

There are quite a few reasons why the Ford Maverick has been such a big seller compared to its peers in the midsize truck segment. Beyond its initial affordability and modularity, one of the big reasons for this truck’s success is that it has some excellent fuel economy ratings. For the standard 2.0-liter EcoBoost turbocharged inline four-cylinder, which gets 250 hp and 277 lb-ft of torque, the EPA estimates its fuel economy in the front-wheel drive configuration at 23 MPG in the city and up to 30 MPG on the highway. If you opt for the all-wheel drive version of the 2024 Maverick, you will get up to 22 MPG in the city and 29 MPG on the highway.

The numbers for the 2024 Maverick get even more impressive if you opt for the hybrid powertrain, which combines a 2.5-liter inline four-cylinder with a battery pack and motors that combine electric power with a traditional internal combustion engine. The Maverick’s hybrid powertrain is configured only in front-wheel drive, but it offers some amazing range when it comes to estimated fuel economy, topping out at 42 MPG in the city and up to 33 MPG on the highway. It gives you a lot of range for a midsize truck and some of the best fuel economy figures in the segment.

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz’s Fuel Economy Ratings

By comparison, how does the 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz measure up to the Ford Maverick with its fuel economy? Well, much like the Maverick, the Santa Fe is also available with two different powertrains and in two different drivetrain configurations. The standard 2.5-liter inline four-cylinder manages 22 MPG in the city and 26 MPG on the highway in front-wheel drive, while the all-wheel drive iteration provides you with up to 21 MPG in the city and 25 MPG on the highway.

The second powertrain is the 2.5-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder, which delivers 19 MPG in the city and up to 27 MPG on the highway. The turbocharged four-cylinder is only available in all-wheel drive, much like how the Maverick’s hybrid powertrain is only available in one drivetrain configuration. However, it’s quite obvious—when looking at the estimated numbers—that there are some big differences in terms of the overall fuel economy between these trucks and what their two powertrains offer.

How the Ford Maverick Is the Better Midsize Truck for Long Travel

When you look at the fuel economy ratings of the 2024 Maverick and 2024 Santa Cruz, both trucks have great figures, but the Maverick clearly offers a lot more range than the Santa Cruz. When you look at the base powertrains for these trucks, both the front- and all-wheel drive configurations of the Maverick offer better gas mileage, with the Maverick providing up to 13% more range than the Santa Cruz (comparing the standard four-cylinder of the Maverick to the standard four-cylinder of the Santa Cruz). The same applies to the all-wheel drive configurations of both trucks, with the Maverick providing close to 14% more range on the highway compared to the Santa Cruz.

The secondary powertrain options for the Maverick and the Santa Cruz are far more drastic when it comes to the differences in their fuel economy figures. This greater disparity shows that the Maverick’s hybrid powertrain provides approximately 54% more range over the Santa Cruz in the city, which is quite substantial. You get more than double the range on a full tank of gas with the Maverick while traveling in the city, which is great if your job requires you to engage in frequent bumper-to-bumper traffic or a lot of daily errands that involve urban travel.

The difference in highway travel is also significant, with nearly 18% more range for the Maverick over the Santa Cruz. In short, you get more range out of the Maverick’s hybrid powertrain compared to the Santa Cruz, whether it’s in the city or on the highway, meaning less expenses at the gas pump and fewer trips to such a location, all while being able to travel further on a single tank of gas.

Is Fuel Economy Important to You in a Midsize Truck?

Ultimately, your decision to choose a truck will come down to multiple factors, but if fuel economy is going to be a priority for you, then you’re obviously going to be getting a lot more out of it if you take home a Ford Maverick than you would with a Hyundai Santa Cruz.

Utility is important, but if your commute is just as or even more important, having a Ford Maverick solves both problems and could save you a lot of money in the long run. It’s certainly something worth considering if you were looking to buy a new midsize pickup truck and were waffling between a Santa Cruz and a Maverick.