Compare the2022 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2021 Lexus UX Series

Both the Santa Fe and UX Series have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Santa Fe 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 UX Series’ 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.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Santa Fe are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The UX Series doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy has a standard Surround View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The UX Series 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.

Both the Santa Fe and the UX Series 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available all wheel drive.

The Santa Fe comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The UX Series’ 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 10,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Santa Fe 4 years and 30,000 miles longer than Lexus covers the UX Series. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the UX Series ends after only 6 years or 70,000 miles.

The Santa Fe’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the UX Series’ (7 vs. 6 years).

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Santa Fe for 2 years and 26000 miles longer than Lexus pays for maintenance for the UX Series (3/36,000 vs. 1/10,000).

There are over 3 times as many Hyundai dealers as there are Lexus dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Santa Fe’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2020 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are better in initial quality than Lexus vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai 10th in initial quality, above the industry average. With 6 more problems per 100 vehicles, Lexus is ranked 12th.

The Santa Fe’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 22 more horsepower (191 vs. 169) and 30 lbs.-ft. more torque (181 vs. 151) than the UX 200’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Santa Fe’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 10 more horsepower (191 vs. 181) than the UX 250h’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid. The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 100 more horsepower (281 vs. 181) than the UX 250h’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid.

Regardless of its engine, the Santa Fe’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. Lexus only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the UX Series Hybrid.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Santa Fe uses regular unleaded gasoline. The UX Series requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

The Santa Fe has 8.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the UX Series Hybrid’s standard fuel tank (18.8 vs. 10.6 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Santa Fe has 6.4 gallons more fuel capacity than the UX Series’ standard fuel tank (18.8 vs. 12.4 gallons).

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

The Santa Fe stops much shorter than the UX Series:

For better traction, the Santa Fe has larger standard tires than the UX Series (235/60R18 vs. 225/50R18). The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the UX Series (255/45R20 vs. 225/50R18).

The Santa Fe 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 UX Series’ 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Santa Fe Calligraphy has standard 20-inch wheels. The UX Series’ largest wheels are only 18-inches.

The Santa Fe has a standard space-saver spare (not available on Limited/Calligraphy AWD) so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the UX Series; it requires you to depend on its run-flat tires, which limits mileage and speed before they are repaired. If a run-flat is damaged beyond repair by a road hazard your vehicle will have to be towed.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Santa Fe’s wheelbase is 5 inches longer than on the UX Series (108.9 inches vs. 103.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Fe is 3.7 inches wider in the front and 4 inches wider in the rear than the track on the UX Series.

The Santa Fe has 21.1 cubic feet more passenger volume than the UX Series (111.5 vs. 90.4).

The Santa Fe has 3.9 inches more front headroom, 2 inches more front legroom, 3.7 inches more front hip room, 4 inches more front shoulder room, 2.7 inches more rear headroom, 8.6 inches more rear legroom, 4 inches more rear hip room and 5.4 inches more rear shoulder room than the UX Series.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Santa Fe’s rear seats recline. The UX Series’ rear seats don’t recline.

The Santa Fe has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the UX Series (36.4 vs. 17.2 cubic feet).

Pressing a button automatically lowers the Santa Fe’s (except SE) optional rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The UX Series doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The Santa Fe has a 2000 lbs. towing capacity. The UX Series has no towing capacity.

The Santa Fe uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The UX Series 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 power windows standard on both the Santa Fe and the UX Series have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Santa Fe is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The UX Series prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

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

Both the Santa Fe and the UX Series offer available heated front seats. The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the UX Series.

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

The Santa Fe 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 UX Series doesn’t offer an automated parking system.