Compare the2027 Hyundai Santa Cruz VS 2026 Honda Ridgeline

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Santa Cruz have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Honda Ridgeline doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

With its standard front crash prevention, the Hyundai Santa Cruz is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Honda Ridgeline, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:

	Santa Cruz	Ridgeline
Overall Evaluation	ACCEPTABLE	POOR
	Crossing Child - DAY
12 MPH	AVOIDED	-1 MPH
25 MPH	AVOIDED	No Slowing
	Crossing Adult - NIGHT
12 MPH Brights	-11 MPH	No Slowing
12 MPH Low beams	AVOIDED	No Slowing
25 MPH Brights	-21 MPH	No Slowing
25 MPH Low beams	-15 MPH	No Slowing
	Parallel Adult - NIGHT
25 MPH Brights	AVOIDED	No Slowing
25 MPH Low beams	AVOIDED	No Slowing
37 MPH Brights	-33 MPH	No Slowing
Warning Issued-Brights	1.7 sec	.1 sec
37 MPH Low beams	-35 MPH	No Slowing
Warning Issued-Low beams	1.7 sec	.2 sec

In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Hyundai Santa Cruz achieved a higher rating for its forward collision warning and automatic braking systems than the Honda Ridgeline which was rated “Poor” in these critical safety features.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Santa Cruz’s standard Downhill Brake Control allows you to creep down safely. The Ridgeline doesn’t offer Downhill Brake Control.

The Santa Cruz XRT has a standard Surround View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Ridgeline only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

Both the Santa Cruz and Ridgeline have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Santa Cruz has Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Ridgeline’s Cross Traffic Monitor doesn’t automatically brake.

The Santa Cruz’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Ridgeline doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Santa Cruz and the Ridgeline have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available all-wheel drive.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Hyundai Santa Cruz is safer than the Honda Ridgeline:

	Santa Cruz	Ridgeline
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	22.8%	27%
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Compression	.6 inches	.7 inches
Leg Forces (l/r)	61/48 lbs.	154/511 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH moderate front offset crash tests on new cars. In this updated test, results indicate that the Santa Cruz is much safer than the Ridgeline:

	Santa Cruz	Ridgeline
Overall Evaluation	ACCEPTABLE	POOR
Structure	GOOD	GOOD
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Chest Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Thigh/hip Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Restraints	GOOD	GOOD
	Rear Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck Rating	ACCEPTABLE	POOR
Thigh Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Restraints	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Hyundai Santa Cruz is safer than the Honda Ridgeline:

	Santa Cruz	Ridgeline
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	37	93
Abdominal Force	86 lbs.	129 lbs.
Hip Force	246 lbs.	246 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	47	70
Spine Acceleration	35 G’s	38 G’s
Hip Force	317 lbs.	423 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	275	456

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The Hyundai Santa Cruz achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2025 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated moderate overlap front crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Ridgeline is not a “Top Safety Pick” for 2025.

The Santa Cruz comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Ridgeline’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Santa Cruz 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Honda covers the Ridgeline. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Ridgeline ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Santa Cruz’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Ridgeline’s (7 vs. 5 years).

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Santa Cruz first among midsize pickups in their 2025 Initial Quality Study. The Ridgeline isn’t in the top three.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are better in initial quality than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 6 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is ranked 6th.

The Santa Cruz XRT’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 1 more horsepower (281 vs. 280) and 49 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 262) than the Ridgeline’s 3.5 SOHC V6.

As tested in Motor Trend the Santa Cruz XRT 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Honda Ridgeline:

	Santa Cruz	Ridgeline
Zero to 60 MPH	6 sec	6.4 sec
Quarter Mile	14.5 sec	14.9 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	98.2 MPH	92.9 MPH

On the EPA test cycle the Santa Cruz gets better mileage than the Ridgeline:

			MPG
Santa Cruz
	FWD	2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	22 city/30 hwy
	AWD	2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	21 city/29 hwy
		2.5 turbo 4-cyl.	18 city/25 hwy
Ridgeline
	AWD	3.5 SOHC V6	18 city/24 hwy
		TrailSport 3.5 SOHC V6	18 city/23 hwy

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Hyundai Santa Cruz higher (6 out of 10) than the Honda Ridgeline (4). This means the Santa Cruz produces up to 12.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Ridgeline every 15,000 miles.

For better stopping power the Santa Cruz’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Ridgeline:

	Santa Cruz	Ridgeline
Front Rotors	12.8 inches	12.6 inches

The Santa Cruz stops much shorter than the Ridgeline:

	Santa Cruz	Ridgeline
60 to 0 MPH	119 feet	129 feet	Motor Trend

The Santa Cruz has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Ridgeline’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

The Santa Cruz has a standard automatic rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The Ridgeline doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

The Santa Cruz HTRAC AWD handles at .83 G’s, while the Ridgeline pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Santa Cruz XRT executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Ridgeline (27.5 seconds @ .65 average G’s vs. 28 seconds @ .61 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Santa Cruz’s turning circle is 3.8 feet tighter than the Ridgeline’s (39.6 feet vs. 43.4 feet).

The Hyundai Santa Cruz may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 350 to 650 pounds less than the Honda Ridgeline.

The Santa Cruz is 1 foot, 2.5 inches shorter than the Ridgeline, making the Santa Cruz easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Santa Cruz has .1 inches more front headroom, .5 inches more front legroom and .8 inches more rear headroom than the Ridgeline.

The front step up height for the Santa Cruz is 1.1 inches lower than the Ridgeline (19” vs. 20.1”). The Santa Cruz’s rear step up height is 1.2 inches lower than the Ridgeline’s (19” vs. 20.2”).

A low lift-over bed design makes loading and unloading the Santa Cruz easier. The Santa Cruz’s bed lift-over height is 31.6 inches, while the Ridgeline’s liftover is 35.3 inches.

The Hyundai Santa Cruz has a standard tailgate assist feature, which prevents the heavy tailgate from falling with a crash and causing injury. It allows adults and children to easily open and close the tailgate with one hand to better facilitate loading and unloading. The Honda Ridgeline doesn’t offer a tailgate assist.

The Hyundai Santa Cruz has a standard rear cargo step, which allows for much easier access to the cargo area. The Honda Ridgeline doesn’t offer a rear cargo step.

The Santa Cruz has bed indentations that accommodate 2x4’s for two-tiered loading to help accommodate diverse loads; the Ridgeline doesn’t offer two-tiered loading.

The Santa Cruz’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Ridgeline’s parking brake has to be released manually.

The power windows standard on both the Santa Cruz and the Ridgeline have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Santa Cruz is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Ridgeline prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

Consumer Reports rated the Santa Cruz’s headlight performance “Good,” a higher rating than the Ridgeline’s headlights, which were rated “Fair.”

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Santa Cruz’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Ridgeline’s headlights are rated “Marginal.”

The Santa Cruz’s power mirror controls are mounted on the armrest for easy access. The Ridgeline’s power mirror controls are on the dash where they are possibly hidden by the steering wheel and are awkward to manipulate.

Compared to traditional radio, the Hyundai Santa Cruz’s standard SiriusXM satellite radio provides an unmatched listening experience. Its extensive coverage guarantees consistent, crystal-clear reception across the continental U.S., and access to over 100 channels dedicated to a multitude of genres, including music, news, sports, talk shows, and comedy, many with only limited commercial breaks. Satellite radio is only offered on the Ridgeline RTL/TrailSport/Black Edition.

The Santa Cruz is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Ridgeline doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

According to iSeeCars.com the 2026 Hyundai Santa Cruz retains 61.42% of its original value after 5 years, more than the 57.65% resale value of the 2026 Honda Ridgeline after five years, which can save the Hyundai’s owner up to $5911 in depreciation.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Hyundai Santa Cruz and the Honda Ridgeline, based on reliability, safety and performance.

Motor Trend performed a comparison test in its February 2022 issue and they ranked the Hyundai Santa Cruz HTRAC AWD higher than the Honda Ridgeline RTL.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Santa Cruz first among midsize pickups in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Ridgeline isn’t in the top three.