Compare the2022 Hyundai Santa Fe HybridVS 2022 Lexus RX

Safety
Warranty
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and RX have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Santa Fe Hybrid 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 RX’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 Hybrid are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The RX doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Santa Fe Hybrid. But it costs extra on the RX.

Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and the RX 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid is safer than the Lexus RX:

	Santa Fe Hybrid	RX
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	3 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	16%	33.2%
Neck Stress	149 lbs.	412 lbs.
Neck Compression	13 lbs.	60 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	50/51 lbs.	433/719 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	244	305
Chest Compression	.4 inches	.7 inches
Neck Injury Risk	27%	40.1%
Neck Stress	99 lbs.	267 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	222/167 lbs.	403/457 lbs.

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

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid is safer than the Lexus RX:

	Santa Fe Hybrid	RX
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	148	165
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Spine Acceleration	44 G’s	44 G’s
Hip Force	576 lbs.	685 lbs.

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

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Santa Fe Hybrid its highest rating: “Top Pick Plus” for 2021, a rating granted to only 74 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The RX is only a standard “Top Pick” for 2021.

Warranty

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

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

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

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Santa Fe Hybrid for 2 years and 26000 miles longer than Lexus pays for maintenance for the RX (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 Hybrid’s warranty.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Santa Fe Hybrid gets better mileage than the RX:

			MPG
Santa Fe Hybrid
	AWD	Blue 1.6 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	36 city/31 hwy
		1.6 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	33 city/30 hwy
RX
	FWD	3.5 DOHC V6	20 city/27 hwy
	AWD	3.5 V6 Hybrid	31 city/28 hwy
		3.5 DOHC V6	19 city/26 hwy

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid uses regular unleaded gasoline. The RX 450h requires premium, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid higher (7 out of 10) than the Lexus RX (5 to 7). This means the Santa Fe Hybrid produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the RX every 15,000 miles.

Suspension and Handling

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Fe Hybrid is .5 inches wider in the front and 1.3 inches wider in the rear than the track on the RX.

The Santa Fe Hybrid Limited handles at .79 G’s, while the RX 450h pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the Santa Fe Hybrid’s turning circle is 1.4 feet tighter than the RX’s (37.4 feet vs. 38.8 feet).

Chassis

The Santa Fe Hybrid is 4.1 inches shorter than the RX, making the Santa Fe Hybrid easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Passenger Space

The Santa Fe Hybrid has 1.8 inches more front headroom, .9 inches more front hip room, 1.3 inches more front shoulder room, 2.8 inches more rear legroom, .2 inches more rear hip room and .7 inches more rear shoulder room than the RX.

Cargo Capacity

The Santa Fe Hybrid has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the RX with its rear seat up (36.4 vs. 16 cubic feet). The Santa Fe Hybrid has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the RX with its rear seat folded (72.1 vs. 32.6 cubic feet).

Towing

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the RX’s (2000 vs. 0 pounds).

A Trailer Sway Assist is standard on the Santa Fe Hybrid, using the Electronic Stability Control sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. A trailer sway program costs extra on the RX.

Ergonomics

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Santa Fe Hybrid’s headlights were rated “Good” to “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the RX’s headlights are rated “Acceptable” to “Marginal.”

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Wireless charging costs extra on the RX.

The Santa Fe Hybrid Limited’s Smart Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. 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 RX doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Santa Fe Hybrid owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Santa Fe Hybrid will cost $1070 to $4595 less than the RX over a five-year period.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid will be $6515 to $8816 less than for the Lexus RX.

Recommendations

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the Lexus RX by 560 units during the 2021 model year.