Where each one leads
Hyundai Santa Cruz
- Against cars of the same year, the Hyundai Santa Cruz comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 36% less often than average) than the Nissan Frontier (fails 3% less often than average).
- NHTSA rates the 2027 Hyundai Santa Cruz at 5 of 5 stars, the 2022 Nissan Frontier at 4.
Nissan Frontier
Ahead on none of the like-for-like measures.
Too close to call: official combined fuel use, Canada (l/100 km).
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| Hyundai Santa Cruz | Nissan Frontier | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 2022–2026 | 1998–2026 |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| Hyundai Santa Cruz | Nissan Frontier | |
|---|---|---|
| New York safety inspections failed | 0.4% | 1.6% |
| … against cars of the same year | −36% | −3% |
| US owner complaints | 325 | 3,362 |
| Most complaints about | Power train | Power train |
| Model year with most complaints | 2022 (185) | 2006 (617) |
| US recall campaigns | 9 | 39 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 78 | 2,320 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | — | 8 |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Safety
| Hyundai Santa Cruz | Nissan Frontier | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | 5★ (2027) | 4★ (2022) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Hyundai Santa Cruz | Nissan Frontier | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 11.4 l/100 km (2026) | 11.6 l/100 km (2026) |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).