Compare the2022 Chevrolet EquinoxVS 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe

For enhanced safety, the Chevrolet Equinox’s 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 doesn’t offer comfort guides on its rear seat belts.

Both the Equinox 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, 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.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Chevrolet Equinox is safer than the Hyundai Santa Fe:

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 Chevrolet Equinox is safer than the Hyundai Santa Fe:

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

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 Equinox’s warranty.

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 Equinox’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 25 lbs.-ft. more torque (203 vs. 178) than the Santa Fe’s standard 2.4 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Chevrolet Equinox is faster than the Hyundai Santa Fe:

On the EPA test cycle the Equinox gets better fuel mileage than the Santa Fe:

The Equinox 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.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Chevrolet Equinox higher (7 out of 10) than the Hyundai Santa Fe (5 to 7). This means the Equinox produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Santa Fe every 15,000 miles.

The Equinox stops much shorter than the Santa Fe:

The Equinox’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Santa Fe 2.0T’s 55 series tires.

The Equinox 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.

The Equinox’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (56% to 44%) than the Santa Fe’s (57.3% to 42.7%). This gives the Equinox more stable handling and braking.

The Equinox Premier AWD handles at .86 G’s, while the Santa Fe AWD pulls only .81 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Equinox Premier executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.2 seconds quicker than the Santa Fe (27.7 seconds @ .61 average G’s vs. 28.9 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

The Chevrolet Equinox may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 300 to 550 pounds less than the Hyundai Santa Fe.

The Equinox is 4.7 inches shorter than the Santa Fe, making the Equinox easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The front grille of the Equinox offers available 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 Equinox 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 low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Equinox easier. The Equinox’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 28.6 inches, while the Santa Fe’s liftover is 31.2 inches.

The Equinox can be flat towed on all four wheels (dinghy towed), allowing recreational vehicle owners to bring it with them on the road. When they reach their destination, the Equinox can be unhitched and driven around locally. The Santa Fe can’t be towed flat on the ground.

The Equinox’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 Equinox’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. The Santa Fe SEL/Limited’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to lower them fully.

On a hot day the Equinox’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 Equinox’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 Equinox’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.

When the Equinox Premier is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Santa Fe’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

The Equinox Premier’s standard rear view mirror 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 Equinox Premier’s optional Automatic Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Insurance will cost less for the Equinox owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Equinox will cost $105 less than the Santa Fe over a five-year period.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Equinox is less expensive to operate than the Santa Fe because typical repairs cost much less on the Equinox than the Santa Fe, including $84 less for front struts and $443 less for a power steering pump.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Chevrolet Equinox and the Hyundai Santa Fe, based on reliability, safety and performance.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Equinox second among compact suvs in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Santa Fe isn’t in the top three in its category.