Compare the2022 Kia SorentoVS 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe

The Kia Sorento has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer knee airbags.

Both the Sorento 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, 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, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Kia Sorento is safer than the Hyundai Santa Fe:

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

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia 6th in initial quality, above the industry average. With 2 more problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai is ranked 8th.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia third in reliability, above the industry average. With 4 more problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai is ranked 7th.

The Sorento 2.5T’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 90 more horsepower (281 vs. 191) and 130 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 181) than the Santa Fe’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Consumer Reports the Sorento 2.5T 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Hyundai Santa Fe 4 cyl.:

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Sorento’s wheelbase is 1.9 inches longer than on the Santa Fe (110.8 inches vs. 108.9 inches).

The Sorento has standard seating for 7 passengers; the Santa Fe can only carry 5.

The Sorento’s cargo area provides more volume than the Santa Fe.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Sorento. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The Sorento’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/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy.

The Sorento will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Sorento will retain 48.9% to 50.02% of its original price after five years, while the Santa Fe only retains 47.04% to 48.86%.