Compare the2026 Hyundai Santa CruzVS 2025 Nissan Frontier

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Payload
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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Full-time four-wheel drive is optional on the Santa Cruz. Full-time four-wheel drive gives added traction for safety in all conditions, not just off-road, like the only system available on the Frontier.

Both the Santa Cruz and Frontier 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 Frontier’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.

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 Frontier uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Santa Cruz and the Frontier have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

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 Nissan Frontier:

	Santa Cruz	Frontier
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	3 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	3 Stars
HIC	217	371
Neck Injury Risk	22.8%	29%
Neck Stress	196 lbs.	360 lbs.
Neck Compression	73 lbs.	148 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	36/164 lbs.	578/791 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	230	407
Chest Compression	.6 inches	.7 inches
Neck Stress	125 lbs.	258 lbs.
Neck Compression	85 lbs.	140 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	61/48 lbs.	383/260 lbs.

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

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 Nissan Frontier:

	Santa Cruz	Frontier
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	37	58
Chest Movement	.7 inches	.9 inches
Abdominal Force	86 lbs.	170 lbs.
Hip Force	246 lbs.	317 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	47	137
Spine Acceleration	35 G’s	55 G’s
Hip Force	317 lbs.	796 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	275	351
Spine Acceleration	40 G’s	44 G’s
Hip Force	647 lbs.	674 lbs.

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

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Hyundai Santa Cruz is safer than the Frontier Crew Cab:

	Santa Cruz	Frontier
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Neck Compression	-89 lbs.	67 lbs.
Shoulder Deflection	-.87 in	.79 in
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	70	427
Head Peak Forces	no contact	88 G’s
Neck Tension	67 lbs.	134 lbs.
Neck Compression	-45 lbs.	156 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	GOOD
Shoulder Deflection	.83 in	1.81 in
Shoulder Force	178 lbs.	469 lbs.
Torso Deflection Rate	5 MPH	9 MPH
Head Protection	GOOD	MARGINAL

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Santa Cruz, with its four-star roll-over rating, is 4% less likely to roll over than the Frontier, which received a three-star rating.

Warranty

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

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

Reliability

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Santa Cruz has a standard 600-amp battery. The Frontier’s 510-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Santa Cruz first among midsize pickups in their 2025 Initial Quality Study. The Frontier was rated third.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2025 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Nissan vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 2 places higher in reliability than Nissan.

Engine

The Santa Cruz XRT/Limited’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 30 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 281) than the Frontier’s 3.8 DOHC V6.

As tested in Motor Trend the Santa Cruz XRT/Limited 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Nissan Frontier:

	Santa Cruz	Frontier
Zero to 60 MPH	6 sec	7.9 sec
Quarter Mile	14.5 sec	16 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	98.2 MPH	87.9 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

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

			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
Frontier
	RWD	3.8 DOHC V6	19 city/24 hwy
	AWD	3.8 DOHC V6	17 city/21 hwy
		PRO-4X 3.8 DOHC V6	16 city/20 hwy

The Santa Cruz has a standard locking fuel door which locks and unlocks with the power locks. The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Frontier. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Hyundai Santa Cruz higher (6 out of 10) than the Nissan Frontier (5). This means the Santa Cruz produces up to 6.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Frontier every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

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

	Santa Cruz	Frontier
Front Rotors	12.8 inches	11.7 inches
Rear Rotors	12.8 inches	11.3 inches

The Santa Cruz stops much shorter than the Frontier:

	Santa Cruz	Frontier
60 to 0 MPH	119 feet	133 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

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 Frontier S’ standard 70 series tires. The Santa Cruz Limited’s tires have a lower 50 series profile than the Frontier SV/SL’s 65 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Santa Cruz has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 16-inch wheels are standard on the Frontier S. The Santa Cruz Limited’s 20-inch wheels are larger than the 17-inch wheels on the Frontier PRO-X/PRO-4X.

Suspension and Handling

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 Nissan Frontier has a solid rear axle, with a non-independent rear suspension.

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

The Santa Cruz has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Santa Cruz flat and controlled during cornering. The Frontier King Cab suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

The front and rear suspension of the Santa Cruz uses coil springs for better ride, handling and control than the Frontier, 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 Frontier doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Cruz is 2.9 inches wider in the front and 3.1 inches wider in the rear than on the Frontier.

The Santa Cruz SEL 4x4 handles at .83 G’s, while the Frontier PRO-4X Crew Cab pulls only .76 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Santa Cruz XRT executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.4 seconds quicker than the Frontier LWB SV Crew Cab 4x4 (27.5 seconds @ .65 average G’s vs. 28.9 seconds @ .56 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Santa Cruz’s turning circle is 2.8 feet tighter than the Frontier King Cab 4x4’s (39.6 feet vs. 42.4 feet). The Santa Cruz’s turning circle is 7.3 feet tighter than the Frontier LWB Crew Cab’s (39.6 feet vs. 46.9 feet).

Chassis

The Hyundai Santa Cruz may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 550 to 700 pounds less than the Nissan Frontier.

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

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 Frontier doesn’t use unibody construction, but a body-on-frame design.

Passenger Space

The Santa Cruz has 1.7 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Frontier Crew Cab (101.8 vs. 100.1).

Cargo Capacity

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 Frontier King Cab’s liftover is 32 inches. The Frontier Crew Cab’s liftover is 33.4 inches.

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

Payload

The Santa Cruz has a higher standard payload capacity than the Frontier Crew Cab 4x4 (1411 vs. 1330 lbs.).

Ergonomics

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

The power windows standard on both the Santa Cruz and the Frontier 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 Frontier prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Santa Cruz SEL/XRT/Limited’s front power windows open fully with one touch of the switches, and the driver’s window also automatically closes, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Frontier’s power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully. Only its driver’s window opens automatically.

On a hot day the Santa Cruz’s driver can lower the front windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Frontier can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Santa Cruz’s standard Proximity Key allows you to unlock the doors from either front door handle, unlock the tailgate, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Push Button Start standard on the Frontier only offers hands-free access for the ignition, none to unlock the truck.

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 Frontier’s intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

The Santa Cruz’s LED headlights produce a whiter, brighter light (up to 3x) using five times less power than the Frontier’s standard halogen headlights. LED lights also light instantly and last over twenty times longer than halogen.

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 Frontier’s headlights are rated “Acceptable” to “Poor.”

The Santa Cruz has standard power remote mirrors. The Frontier S doesn’t offer either a remote driver side or passenger side mirror. The driver will have to roll down the windows and reach across the car to adjust the mirrors.

Both the Hyundai Santa Cruz and Nissan Frontier offer exterior mirrors that can be folded to provide convenience. The Santa Cruz offers available power folding mirrors, which allow for easy, one-touch folding or unfolding at the driver’s discretion. This provides added convenience when maneuvering or parking, as well as when walking past the parked vehicle. In comparison, the Frontier’s foldable mirrors are manual, requiring the driver to get out and physically fold them once parked and unfold them before getting in.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Santa Cruz Limited keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Frontier doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

For greater rear passenger comfort, the Santa Cruz has standard rear heat vents to keep rear occupants more comfortable. The Frontier King Cab doesn’t offer rear vents.

Both the Santa Cruz and the Frontier offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Santa Cruz SEL/XRT/Limited has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Frontier Crew Cab doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

Economic Advantages

According to iSeeCars.com the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz retains 61.42% of its original value after 5 years, more than the 60.44% resale value of the 2025 Nissan Frontier after five years, which can save the Hyundai’s owner up to $1586.25293 in depreciation.

Recommendations

Motor Trend performed a comparison test in its February 2022 issue and they ranked the Hyundai Santa Cruz Limited 4x4 higher than the Nissan Frontier PRO-4X Crew Cab.

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 Frontier was rated third.

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