Compare the2024 Hyundai Santa Fe HybridVS 2024 Subaru Forester

Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and Forester have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Santa Fe Hybrid 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 Forester’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 Santa Fe Hybrid Limited/Calligraphy has a standard Surround View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Forester only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

The Santa Fe Hybrid has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Forester’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Santa Fe Hybrid has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning and Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Subaru charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Forester and its not available on the Base and the Forester’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert does not include automatic braking.

Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and the Forester have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and available all wheel drive.

The Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid weighs 811 to 1121 pounds more than the Subaru Forester. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The Santa Fe Hybrid comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Forester’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Santa Fe Hybrid 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Subaru covers the Forester. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Forester ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Forester’s (7 vs. 5 years).

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Santa Fe Hybrid for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Hyundai will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Subaru doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Forester.

There are over 31 percent more Hyundai dealers than there are Subaru dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Santa Fe Hybrid’s warranty.

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 Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in reliability, above the industry average. With 78 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is ranked 22nd.

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 49 more horsepower (231 vs. 182) and 95 lbs.-ft. more torque (271 vs. 176) than the Forester’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the Santa Fe Hybrid gets better mileage than the Forester:

			MPG
Santa Fe Hybrid
	FWD	1.6 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	36 city/35 hwy
	AWD	1.6 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	35 city/34 hwy
Forester
	AWD	2.5 DOHC flat-4	26 city/33 hwy
		Wilderness 2.5 DOHC flat-4	25 city/28 hwy

Regenerative brakes improve the Santa Fe Hybrid’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Forester doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

The Santa Fe Hybrid has 1.1 gallons more fuel capacity than the Forester (17.7 vs. 16.6 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

For better stopping power the Santa Fe Hybrid’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Forester:

	Santa Fe Hybrid	Forester Base	Forester
Front Rotors	12.8 inches	11.6 inches	12.4 inches
Rear Rotors	12.8 inches	11.2 inches	11.2 inches

For better traction, the Santa Fe Hybrid has larger standard tires than the Forester (235/60R18 vs. 225/60R17). The Santa Fe Hybrid Limited/Calligraphy’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Forester (255/45R20 vs. 225/60R17).

The Santa Fe Hybrid Limited/Calligraphy’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Forester Sport/Limited/Touring’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Santa Fe SEL Hybrid has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Forester. The Santa Fe Hybrid Limited/Calligraphy’s 20-inch wheels are larger than the 18-inch wheels on the Forester Sport/Limited/Touring.

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Forester doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Santa Fe Hybrid’s wheelbase is 5.7 inches longer than on the Forester (110.8 inches vs. 105.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Fe Hybrid is 3.1 inches wider in the front and 3.3 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Forester.

The Santa Fe Hybrid has standard seating for 7 passengers; the Forester can only carry 5.

The Santa Fe Hybrid has 39.4 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Forester (151 vs. 111.6).

The Santa Fe Hybrid has 1 inch more front legroom, 2.4 inches more front hip room, 1.4 inches more front shoulder room, 1 inch more rear headroom, 2.1 inches more rear legroom, 1.3 inches more rear hip room and .9 inches more rear shoulder room than the Forester.

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s cargo area provides more volume than the Forester.

	Santa Fe Hybrid	Forester
Third Seat Folded	40.5 cubic feet	n/a
Third Seat Removed	n/a	28.9 cubic feet
Second Seat Folded	79.6 cubic feet	74.2 cubic feet

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Santa Fe Hybrid’s liftgate can be opened just by waiting momentarily behind the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Forester doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Forester’s (2000 vs. 1500 pounds).

The Santa Fe Hybrid uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Forester uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The Santa Fe Hybrid Calligraphy has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, navigation instruction and driver assistance information readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Forester doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The power windows standard on both the Santa Fe Hybrid and the Forester have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Santa Fe Hybrid is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Forester prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s standard front power windows open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Forester’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically. The Santa Fe Hybrid Calligraphy’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches. With the Forester Premium/Sport/Wilderness/Limited/Touring’s power windows, only the front windows open or close automatically.

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

The Santa Fe Hybrid has a standard Proximity Key that allows you to unlock the doors from either front door handle, open the cargo door, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Only the Forester Premium/Sport/Wilderness/Limited/Touring offers a Keyless Access and Start.

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

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Santa Fe Hybrid to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Forester doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Subaru only offers heated mirrors on the Forester Premium/Sport/Wilderness/Limited/Touring.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Santa Fe Hybrid Limited/Calligraphy keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Forester doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The Santa Fe Hybrid has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Forester Wilderness/Limited/Touring.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Forester doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

The Santa Fe Hybrid Limited/Calligraphy has a 115-volt a/c outlet, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Forester doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The Santa Fe Hybrid Limited/Calligraphy’s Smart Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Smart Parking Assist will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Forester doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Santa Fe Hybrid is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Forester doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.