Compare the2022 Chevrolet BlazerVS 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe

For enhanced safety, the front shoulder belts of the Chevrolet Blazer are height-adjustable, and the rear seat shoulder belts have child comfort guides to move the belt to properly fit children. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages children to buckle up. The Hyundai Santa Fe has only front height-adjustable seat belts.

The Chevrolet Blazer has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer knee airbags.

Both the Blazer and the Santa Fe have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, 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 all IIHS frontal, side, rear impact and roof-crush tests, and with its optional front crash prevention system, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Blazer the rating of “Top Pick” for 2017, a rating granted to only 211 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Santa Fe has not been tested, yet.

There are almost 4 times as many Chevrolet dealers as there are Hyundai dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Blazer’s warranty.

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Blazer has a standard 170-amp alternator (155-amp - Blazer V6 FWD). The Santa Fe’s 150-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Blazer second among midsize SUVs in their 2020 Initial Quality Study. The Santa Fe isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2020 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Chevrolet vehicles are better in initial quality than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Chevrolet third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 12 more problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai is ranked 10th.

The Blazer’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 37 more horsepower (228 vs. 191) and 77 lbs.-ft. more torque (258 vs. 181) than the Santa Fe’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Blazer’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 31 more horsepower (308 vs. 277) than the Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the Blazer FWD 2.0 turbo gets better fuel mileage than the Santa Fe FWD 2.5 turbo (22 city/29 hwy vs. 22 city/28 hwy).

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Blazer’s fuel efficiency. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

The Blazer AWD’s standard fuel tank has 2.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the Santa Fe (21.7 vs. 18.8 gallons).

The Blazer has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Chevrolet Blazer, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Santa Fe.

For better traction, the Blazer RS/Premier’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Santa Fe (265/45R21 vs. 255/45R20).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Blazer RS/Premier offers optional 21-inch wheels. The Santa Fe’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

The Chevrolet Blazer’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Hyundai Santa Fe only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Blazer has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Blazer’s wheelbase is 3.8 inches longer than on the Santa Fe (112.7 inches vs. 108.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Blazer is 1.8 inches wider in the front and 1.2 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Santa Fe.

The front grille of the Blazer uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Blazer uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Blazer. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Maximum trailer towing in the Hyundai Santa Fe is limited to 3500 pounds. The Blazer offers up to a 4500 lbs. towing capacity.

The Blazer’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The Santa Fe does not have an oil pressure gauge.

The Blazer’s front and rear power windows all lower with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Santa Fe’s standard power windows’ passenger windows don’t open automatically.

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

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Blazer LT/RS/Premier’s available exterior PIN entry system. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its Blue Link can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

The Blazer’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Hyundai only offers heated mirrors on the Santa Fe SEL/Limited/Calligraphy.

The Blazer’s optional rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Santa Fe offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The Blazer 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 costs extra on the Santa Fe and isn’t available on the Santa Fe SE.

The Blazer’s standard automatic temperature control maintains the temperature you set, automatically controlling fan speed, vents and temperature to maintain a consistent, comfortable environment. The Santa Fe SE doesn’t offer automatic air conditioning.