Compare the2022 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2021 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport

Both the Santa Fe and Atlas Cross Sport 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 Atlas Cross Sport’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 Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy has standard Parking Collision Avoidance Assist that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Santa Fe’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Santa Fe and the Atlas Cross Sport have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, 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 Atlas Cross Sport’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 10,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Santa Fe 6 years and 50,000 miles longer than Volkswagen covers the Atlas Cross Sport. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Atlas Cross Sport ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

The Santa Fe’s 7 year corrosion warranty has no mileage limitations, but the corrosion warranty on the Atlas Cross Sport runs out after 100,000 miles.

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Santa Fe for 1 year and 16000 miles longer than Volkswagen pays for maintenance for the Atlas Cross Sport (3/36,000 vs. 2/20,000).

There are over 29 percent more Hyundai dealers than there are Volkswagen dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Santa Fe’s warranty.

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 39 points higher than the Atlas Cross Sport.

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 Volkswagen vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai 7th in reliability, above the industry average. With 62 more problems per 100 vehicles, Volkswagen is ranked 28th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 18 places higher in reliability than Volkswagen.

The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 5 more horsepower (281 vs. 276) and 45 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 266) than the Atlas Cross Sport’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6.

On the EPA test cycle the Santa Fe gets better mileage than the Atlas Cross Sport:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Santa Fe uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Atlas Cross Sport with the 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder engine requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

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 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport (3 to 5). This means the Santa Fe produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Atlas Cross Sport every 15,000 miles.

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 Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

For better stopping power the Santa Fe 2.5T’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Atlas Cross Sport:

The Santa Fe stops shorter than the Atlas Cross Sport:

The Santa Fe has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Atlas Cross Sport’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

The Santa Fe has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Santa Fe flat and controlled during cornering. The Atlas Cross Sport’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

For better maneuverability, the Santa Fe’s turning circle is 3.1 feet tighter than the Atlas Cross Sport’s (37.4 feet vs. 40.5 feet).

The Hyundai Santa Fe may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 350 to 450 pounds less than the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport.

The Santa Fe is 7.1 inches shorter than the Atlas Cross Sport, making the Santa Fe easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The design of the Hyundai Santa Fe amounts to more than styling. The Santa Fe has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .34 Cd. That is lower than the Atlas Cross Sport (.34 to .35). A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the Santa Fe get better fuel mileage.

The Santa Fe has 1.8 inches more front headroom, 2.5 inches more front legroom, 1.2 inches more rear headroom and 1.3 inches more rear legroom than the Atlas Cross Sport.

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

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 Atlas Cross Sport 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 Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Santa Fe has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Atlas Cross Sport only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

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 Atlas Cross Sport Premium’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park and it doesn’t offer remote control parking.