2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz vs 2023 Chevrolet Colorado

Being a newbie in a given field means having to catch up to established leaders, but it can also bring a different perspective. Hyundai has never sold a pickup truck in the United States, and its first effort is unlike anything else on the market.

The 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz is the first truly compact pickup to be sold in the U.S. in over a decade, and unlike conventional body-on-frame pickups, it features car-like unibody construction. This packaging sacrifices some capability, but that’s beside the point. Hyundai didn’t design the Santa Cruz to compete directly with conventional trucks. It doesn’t even call the Santa Cruz a pickup; it prefers the term “sport adventure vehicle.”

While it may win over some truck buyers who want a pickup that’s easier to park, the Santa Cruz will appeal mainly to new-car buyers who want to replace a sedan or crossover SUV with something a bit more rugged.

To figure out where the Santa Cruz fits into the current automotive landscape, we spent a day driving it around on roads in and around its namesake California city. Hyundai also offers base SE, SEL Activity Package, and SEL Premium trim levels, but we sampled a range-topping Santa Cruz Limited model for this test drive.

With the new 2023 Colorado, Chevy focuses on what people typically want in a truck. That’s why it comes only in a crew-cab, short-bed configuration, and most of the trim levels are off-road-oriented. A turbocharged four-cylinder powertrain supplies plenty of power, and even the base Work Truck trim level has modern instrumentation, infotainment, connectivity, and safety technologies. Robustly engineered, the new Colorado also supplies impressive payload and towing capacities, at 1,684 and 7,700 pounds, respectively. Good looks round out an impressive overall package.

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