Compare the2022 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2021 Toyota Rav4

Both the Santa Fe and Rav4 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 Rav4’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.

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 Rav4 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

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 Rav4’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 Rav4.

Both the Santa Fe and the Rav4 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, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

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 Rav4’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 Toyota covers the Rav4. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Rav4 ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Santa Fe’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Rav4’s (7 vs. 5 years).

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Santa Fe for 1 year and 11000 miles longer than Toyota pays for maintenance for the Rav4 (3/36,000 vs. 2/25000).

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Santa Fe’s reliability 21 points higher than the Rav4.

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 Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai 10th in initial quality, above the industry average. With 24 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is ranked 19th, below the industry average.

The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 78 more horsepower (281 vs. 203) and 127 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 184) than the Rav4’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

Regardless of its engine, the Santa Fe’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. Toyota only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the Rav4 LE AWD/XLE/XLE Premium.

The Santa Fe has 4.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the Rav4 (18.8 vs. 14.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Santa Fe offers an available sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The Rav4 doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

For better stopping power the Santa Fe’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Rav4:

The Santa Fe stops shorter than the Rav4:

For better traction, the Santa Fe has larger standard tires than the Rav4 (235/60R18 vs. 225/65R17). The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Rav4 (255/45R20 vs. 235/55R19).

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 Rav4 LE/XLE’s standard 65 series tires. The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Rav4 XLE Premium/Adventure/Limited’s 55 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 Rav4 LE/XLE. The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s 20-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels on the Rav4 XLE Premium/Adventure/Limited.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Santa Fe’s wheelbase is 3 inches longer than on the Rav4 (108.9 inches vs. 105.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Fe is 1.9 inches wider in the front and 1.6 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Rav4.

The Santa Fe has 12.6 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Rav4 (111.5 vs. 98.9).

The Santa Fe has 1.7 inches more front headroom, 3.1 inches more front legroom, 3.2 inches more front hip room, 1.3 inches more front shoulder room, 3.9 inches more rear legroom, 8.6 inches more rear hip room and 1.9 inches more rear shoulder room than the Rav4.

The Santa Fe has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Rav4 with its rear seat folded (72.1 vs. 69.8 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 Rav4 doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The Santa Fe’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Rav4’s (2000 vs. 1500 pounds).

The Santa Fe uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Rav4 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 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 Rav4 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 Rav4 doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Santa Fe SE/SEL’s standard variable intermittent wipers have an adjustable delay to allow the driver to choose a setting that best clears the windshield during light rain or mist. The Rav4 LE’s standard fixed intermittent wipers only have one fixed delay setting, so the driver will have to manually switch them between slow and intermittent.

The Santa Fe has a standard automatic headlight on/off feature. When the ignition is on, the headlights automatically turn on at dusk and off after dawn. The Rav4 has an automatic headlight on/off feature standard only on the XLE/XLE Premium/Adventure/Limited/TRD Off-Road.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Santa Fe to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Rav4 doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

When the Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy 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 Rav4’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

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 Rav4 doesn’t offer an automated parking system.