Compare the2023 Hyundai Santa CruzVS 2023 Chevrolet Colorado

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Santa Cruz SEL/SEL Premium/Limited has standard Parking Collision Avoidance Assist that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Colorado doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

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 Colorado doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

For better protection of the passenger compartment, the Santa Cruz uses safety cell construction with a three-dimensional high-strength frame that surrounds the passenger compartment. It provides extra impact protection and a sturdy mounting location for door hardware and side impact beams. The Colorado uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Santa Cruz and the Colorado 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, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its available headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Santa Cruz the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2022, a rating granted to only 175 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Colorado has not been tested, yet.

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 Colorado’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 Chevrolet covers the Colorado. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Colorado ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Santa Cruz’s corrosion warranty is 1 year and unlimited miles longer than the Colorado’s (7/unlimited vs. 6/100,000).

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Santa Cruz for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Hyundai will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Chevrolet only pays for the first scheduled maintenance visit on the Colorado.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Chevrolet vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in reliability, above the industry average. With 23 more problems per 100 vehicles, Chevrolet is ranked 10th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Chevrolet vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 7 places higher in reliability than Chevrolet.

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

The Santa Cruz has a standard locking fuel door with a remote release located convenient to the driver The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Colorado. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

The Santa Cruz offers an available sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The Colorado doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

The Santa Cruz’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Colorado ZR2’s standard 70 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Santa Cruz has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Colorado.

For superior ride and handling, the Hyundai Santa Cruz has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The Chevrolet Colorado has a solid rear axle, with a non-independent rear suspension.

The front and rear suspension of the Santa Cruz uses coil springs for better ride, handling and control than the Colorado, which uses leaf springs in the rear. Coil springs compress more progressively and offer more suspension travel for a smoother ride with less bottoming out.

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

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Cruz is 1.2 inches wider in the front and 1.5 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Colorado.

For greater off-road capability the Santa Cruz has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Colorado (8.6 vs. 7.9 inches), allowing the Santa Cruz to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Hyundai Santa Cruz may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 550 to 800 pounds less than the Chevrolet Colorado.

The Santa Cruz is 1 foot, 5 inches shorter than the Colorado ZR2, making the Santa Cruz easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces. The Santa Cruz is 1 foot, 5.5 inches shorter than the Colorado Trail Boss.

The Santa Cruz is 12.1 inches shorter in height than the Colorado, making the Santa Cruz much easier to wash and garage and drive (lower center of gravity).

Unibody construction lowers the Santa Cruz’s center of gravity significantly without reducing ground clearance. This contributes to better on the road handling and better off-road performance and stability. In addition, unibody construction makes the chassis stiffer, improving handling and reducing squeaks and rattles. The Colorado doesn’t use unibody construction, but a body-on-frame design.

The Santa Cruz has .4 inches more front headroom, .2 inches more front shoulder room, 1.3 inches more rear headroom, 1.8 inches more rear legroom and .4 inches more rear hip room than the Colorado.

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. Tailgate assist costs extra on the Chevrolet Colorado.

The Santa Cruz has a much higher standard payload capacity than the Colorado:

The Santa Cruz has a higher maximum payload capacity than the Colorado (1753 vs. 1710 lbs.).

The Santa Cruz’s standard driver’s power window opens or closes with one touch of the window control, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths. The Colorado’s standard driver’s power window switch has to be held the entire time to close it fully. The Santa Cruz SEL/SEL Premium/Night/Limited’s front power windows both open or close with one touch of the switches. The Colorado LT/Trail Boss/Z71/ZR2’s front passenger window doesn’t close automatically.

The Proximity Key standard on the Santa Cruz SEL/SEL Premium/Night/Limited allows you to unlock the driver’s door, tailgate and start the engine all without removing a key from pocket or purse. This eliminates searching for keys before loading cargo, getting in the vehicle in bad weather or making a hurried start to your trip. The Chevrolet Colorado’s Push Button Start doesn’t unlock the doors or the tailgate.

The Santa Cruz Limited’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Colorado’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.