Compare the2022 Chevrolet ColoradoVS 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz

Both the Colorado and Santa Cruz have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Colorado has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Santa Cruz’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Colorado’s standard pretensioning seatbelts also sense rear collisions and remove slack from the front seatbelts to help protect the occupants from whiplash and other injuries. The Santa Cruz doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Both the Colorado and the Santa Cruz have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive, collision warning systems, lane departure warning systems and rear parking sensors.

For its top level performance in all IIHS frontal, side, rear impact and roof-crush tests, and with its optional front crash prevention system, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Colorado the rating of “Top Pick” for 2016, a rating granted to only 221 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Santa Cruz has not been tested, yet.

There are almost 4 times as many Chevrolet dealers as there are Hyundai dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Colorado’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Colorado second among midsize pickups in their 2020 Initial Quality Study. The Santa Cruz isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2020 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Chevrolet vehicles are better in initial quality than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Chevrolet third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 12 more problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai is ranked 10th.

The Colorado’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 9 more horsepower (200 vs. 191) and 10 lbs.-ft. more torque (191 vs. 181) than the Santa Cruz’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Colorado’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 27 more horsepower (308 vs. 281) than the Santa Cruz’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

The Colorado’s 2.8 turbo diesel produces 188 lbs.-ft. more torque (369 vs. 181) than the Santa Cruz’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Colorado’s 2.8 turbo diesel produces 58 lbs.-ft. more torque (369 vs. 311) than the Santa Cruz’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

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

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Colorado V6’s fuel efficiency. The Santa Cruz doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

The Colorado has 3.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the Santa Cruz (21 vs. 17.7 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Colorado has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Santa Cruz doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

For better traction, the Colorado has larger standard tires than the Santa Cruz (255/65R17 vs. 235/60R18). The Colorado’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Santa Cruz (265/60R18 vs. 255/45R20).

The Chevrolet Colorado’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Hyundai Santa Cruz only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Colorado has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Santa Cruz doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Colorado offers an optional full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your work or a trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the Santa Cruz; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

The Colorado has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Santa Cruz doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Colorado Short Box Crew Cab’s wheelbase is 10 inches longer than on the Santa Cruz (128.3 inches vs. 118.3 inches). The Colorado Long Box Crew Cab’s wheelbase is 22.2 inches longer than on the Santa Cruz (140.5 inches vs. 118.3 inches).

For greater off-road capability the Colorado Short Box ZR2 Crew Cab has a 1.4 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Santa Cruz (10 vs. 8.6 inches), allowing the Colorado to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The front grille of the Colorado uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Santa Cruz doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Colorado’s cargo box is larger than the Santa Cruz’s in every dimension:

Both the Colorado and Santa Cruz have bed indentations that accommodate 2x4’s for two-tiered loading, but the Colorado also has indentations to separate the cargo box into three different sections length-wise.

The Colorado has stake post holes, to allow the containment of tall, light loads. The Santa Cruz doesn’t offer stake post holes.

Maximum trailer towing in the Hyundai Santa Cruz is limited to 5000 pounds. The Colorado Crew Cab offers up to a 7700 lbs. towing capacity.

The Colorado 4WD can be flat towed on all four wheels (dinghy towed), allowing recreational vehicle owners to bring it with them on the road. When they reach their destination, the Colorado can be unhitched and driven around locally. The Santa Cruz can’t be towed flat on the ground.

The engine in the Colorado is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Santa Cruz. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

The Colorado’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The Santa Cruz does not have an oil pressure gauge.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Colorado’s available exterior PIN entry system. The Santa Cruz doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its Blue Link can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

The Chevrolet Colorado comes in extended cab and crew cab bodystyles; the Hyundai Santa Cruz isn’t available as an extended cab.

Motor Trend selected the Colorado as their 2016 Truck of the Year. The Santa Cruz has never been chosen.