Ridgeline
way of life truck in 2023 within the USA, whereas 36,675 models of the
Hyundai Santa Cruz
had been bought. Each vehicles are properly behind the
Ford Maverick’s
gross sales figures, although, with the Blue Oval promoting almost 95,000 of these in the identical 12 months. Nonetheless, the Ridgeline and Santa Cruz stay well-liked sufficient to justify the existence of a unibody small- to mid-size truck section. These vehicles share many similarities and in the event you’re out there to purchase one, it could be troublesome at a look to see which is healthier. Let’s take a more in-depth look to see whether or not the Santa Cruz or the Honda Ridgeline is the higher unibody pickup.
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Associated
Unibody Truck Comparability: Ford Maverick Vs. Honda Ridgeline
Why does the Ford Maverick promote almost twice as many models per 12 months because the Honda Ridgeline?
Efficiency: Specs, Drive, and Dealing with
Model2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz2024 Honda Ridgeline Engine2.5-Liter 4-Cylinder2.5-liter Turbo 4-Cylinder3.5-Liter 6-Cylinder Power191 hp281 hp280 hp Torque181 lb-ft311 lb-ft262 lb-ft DrivetrainFWD (AWD choose.)AWDAWD Transmission8-Velocity Auto8-Velocity DCT9-Velocity Auto
Neither the Ridgeline nor the Santa Cruz will be known as
efficiency
-oriented, and whereas the previous has a 3.5-liter six-cylinder below the hood and the latter a smaller four-cylinder, outputs on the increased finish of the vary are related. The Santa Cruz makes use of a 2.5-liter inline-four that is turbocharged on top-of-the-range fashions to make 281 hp and 311 lb-ft, which compares properly to the Ridgeline’s 280 hp and 262 lb-ft throughout the lineup. Each vehicles can run the 0-60 dash within the mid-six-second vary (the Santa Cruz with the turbo engine, naturally), however neither of those are designed with efficiency in thoughts.
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Associated
Honda Ridgeline Generations: Every little thing You Want To Know In One Place
Honda’s Ridgeline is a mid-sized unibody truck with car-like driving manners, which is right for truck lovers who don’t want big towing capacities.
In our take a look at drive
assessment of the Santa Cruz,
we discovered the little truck handles extra like a automobile or crossover than a truck, and the diminutive footprint makes each of those excellent for metropolis driving. To essentially see the distinction between these vehicles, it is advisable take them off the tarmac and into the dust, the place the Ridgeline is extra suited to off-roading – even in the event you do not go along with
the Trailsport mannequin
. The Santa Cruz can deal with some dust and dirt from time to time; however neither has the wheel articulation you need from an off-roader.
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Towing and Hauling: Shut Sufficient
The Ridgeline and Santa Cruz are each wonderful every day drivers, however how do they carry out on the development website? Towing is not a powerful swimsuit for vehicles of this measurement, however each can haul as much as 5,000 lbs when geared up appropriately. Within the case of the Santa Cruz, meaning it’s important to go for the AWD Evening, XRT, or Restricted fashions with the turbocharged engine.
Inside: Sensible And Practical
Each vehicles are suitably spacious, with the Santa Cruz providing extra entrance legroom than the Ridgeline. The legroom within the again is analogous, at round 36.5 inches. The construct high quality is sweet and anticipated to final a minimum of twenty years in each vehicles.
substandard
within the inside division. Honda and Hyundai merely understand that these pickups have by no means been main gamers within the luxury-lite pickup section, so the general vibe is extra
useful
than
fancy.
Security
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Associated
Honda Recalling Virtually 200,000 Ridgelines Over Rearview Digicam Situation
That is the second time Honda has issued a recall for a similar downside.
Each fashions characteristic lane preserve help and forward-collision alert as requirements. The bottom Santa Cruz options blind spot help, which is an improve within the Ridgeline, out there within the Trailsport and up. However neither truck is a slouch within the security tech division. Backside line: you needn’t fear an excessive amount of about security in both of those vehicles. Unibody vehicles are notoriously exhausting to interrupt, and each fashions pack a beneficiant suite of security options.
Value Of Possession
Looking on the MSRP numbers, the Hyundai Santa Cruz appears to be like just like the clear winner, with sticker costs beginning at below $27,000. However if you need related efficiency to the Honda, you may must pay further for the turbocharged engine and AWD. In case you actually wish to make a good comparability between these two vehicles, you may wish to take a look at the Ridgeline Sport and the Santa Cruz Evening, which solely favors the Hyundai by a bit over a thousand bucks.
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10 Low-cost Off-Highway Automobiles: Reasonably priced Adventures on 4 Wheels
Why are new off-road vehicles and SUVs so darn costly?
Restore And Upkeep
Unibody vehicles will be costlier to restore than body-on-frame, owing to the easy undeniable fact that they don’t seem to be comprised of small, simply changed panels, so each dent must be manually labored out. However the trade-off is a truck that is safer, sturdier, and significantly much less squeaky and creaky on the highway.Restore prices barely favor the Ridgeline, with RepairPal estimating an annual upkeep expense of $502, whereas the Santa Cruz is available in at $515. So, if we’re actually on the lookout for a solution to break up this hair, this leaves us with gas financial system.
Gas Consumption
Gas Financial system (mixed) Hyundai Santa Cruz Night22 MPG Honda Ridgeline Sport21 MPG
So there you have got it, the Santa Cruz is the higher automobile by a single mile per gallon. Jokes apart, the Hyundai Santa Cruz barely edges out the Honda Ridgeline when it comes to complete value of possession. Between gas prices and MSRP, you may most likely spend about $2,000 much less in your first 12 months of possession of a Santa Cruz than you’ll with a Honda.
Santa Cruz Is Cheaper Up Entrance, However The Ridgeline Is Constructed To Final
The Santa Cruz is the extra inexpensive truck up entrance, however Hondas are revered for crossing 250,000 miles after which some with out a single main mechanical situation. So, in the event you plan on driving the truck for greater than 5 or ten years earlier than you commerce it in, the Ridgeline often is the wiser long-term funding. This additionally applies to resale worth. After ten years, a Honda will nonetheless retain about 65% of its authentic worth, with the Hyundai coming in at simply over 61%.After all, we’re speaking about razor-thin worth margins right here. In the end, you have got two pickups that carry out about the identical, value about the identical, and drive about the identical. Private desire goes to come back into play in choosing a winner right here by much more than a 4% margin in resale worth.
