Compare the2022 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2022 Subaru Outback

Both the Santa Fe and Outback 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 Outback’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 Limited/Calligraphy has a standard Surround View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Outback only offers a rear monitor.

The Santa Fe has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them and moves the vehicle back into its lane. A system to reveal vehicles in the Outback’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Santa Fe has a standard cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Cross-path warning costs extra on the Outback and isn't available on the not available.

Compared to metal, the Santa Fe’s plastic fuel tank can withstand harder, more intrusive impacts without leaking; this decreases the possibility of fire. The Subaru Outback has a metal gas tank.

Both the Santa Fe and the Outback have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front 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 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 Outback’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

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

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

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Santa Fe for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Hyundai will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Subaru doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Outback.

There are over 30 percent more Hyundai dealers than there are Subaru dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Santa Fe’s warranty.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Santa Fe has a standard 760-amp battery. The Outback’s 620-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

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 Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai 10th in initial quality, above the industry average. With 34 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is ranked 27th, below the industry average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai 7th in reliability, above the industry average. With 24 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is ranked 17th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Subaru vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 2 places higher in reliability than Subaru.

The Santa Fe’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 9 more horsepower (191 vs. 182) and 5 lbs.-ft. more torque (181 vs. 176) than the Outback 2.5i’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 21 more horsepower (281 vs. 260) and 34 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 277) than the Outback XT/Wilderness’ standard 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Hyundai Santa Fe higher (5 to 7 out of 10) than the Subaru Outback (3 to 7). This means the Santa Fe produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Outback every 15,000 miles.

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

For better traction, the Santa Fe has larger standard tires than the Outback (235/60R18 vs. 225/65R17). The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Outback (255/45R20 vs. 225/65R17).

The Santa Fe’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Outback’s standard 65 series tires. The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Outback Onyx Edition XT/Limited/Touring’s 60 series tires.

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

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Fe is 2.8 inches wider in the front and 2.1 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Outback.

The Santa Fe has 2.5 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Outback (111.5 vs. 109).

The Santa Fe has 1.1 inches more front headroom, 1.3 inches more front legroom, 2 inches more front hip room, 1 inch more front shoulder room, 2.2 inches more rear legroom, 1.5 inches more rear hip room and .9 inches more rear shoulder room than the Outback.

The front step up height for the Santa Fe is 1.5 inches lower than the Outback (17.5” vs. 19”). The Santa Fe’s rear step up height is .2 inches lower than the Outback’s (18.3” vs. 18.5”).

The Santa Fe has a much larger cargo volume than the Outback with its rear seat up (36.4 vs. 32.5 cubic feet).

The Santa Fe’s cargo area is larger than the Outback’s in almost every dimension:

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

The Santa Fe uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Outback 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 SEL/Limited/Calligraphy has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Outback doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s standard easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Outback doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

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

The power windows standard on both the Santa Fe and the Outback 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 Outback prevents the driver from operating the rear windows just as it does the other passengers.

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

Both the Santa Fe and the Outback offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Santa Fe has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Outback doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

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 Outback 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 Outback doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

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