Compare the2022 Hyundai Santa Fe HybridVS 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee

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 Grand Cherokee 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 Grand Cherokee.

Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and the Grand Cherokee have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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 and available around view monitors.

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 Grand Cherokee has not been tested, yet.

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 Grand Cherokee’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

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

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

For smoother operation, better efficiency and fewer moving parts, the Santa Fe Hybrid has an overhead cam design, rather than the old pushrod design of the 5.7 V8 in the Grand Cherokee.

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 Jeep vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai 7th in reliability, above the industry average. With 40 more problems per 100 vehicles, Jeep is ranked 24th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Jeep vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 13 places higher in reliability than Jeep.

On the EPA test cycle the Santa Fe Hybrid gets better mileage than the Grand Cherokee running its gasoline engine:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Grand Cherokee 4Xe requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

The Santa Fe Hybrid Blue’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 65 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Grand Cherokee Laredo’s standard 70 series tires.

For better maneuverability, the Santa Fe Hybrid’s turning circle is .6 feet tighter than the Grand Cherokee’s (37.4 feet vs. 38 feet).

The Santa Fe Hybrid is 5.1 inches shorter than the Grand Cherokee, making the Santa Fe Hybrid easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The design of the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid amounts to more than styling. The Santa Fe Hybrid has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .33 Cd. That is lower than the Grand Cherokee (.357) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the Santa Fe Hybrid get better fuel mileage.

The Santa Fe Hybrid has 1.3 inches more front headroom, 2.8 inches more front legroom, .1 inches more front hip room, 2.6 inches more rear legroom and .3 inches more rear shoulder room than the Grand Cherokee.

The front step up height for the Santa Fe Hybrid is 2.7 inches lower than the Grand Cherokee (17.5” vs. 20.2”).

The Santa Fe Hybrid has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Grand Cherokee with its rear seat folded (72.1 vs. 70.8 cubic feet).

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s front power windows open or close with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Grand Cherokee’s standard power windows’ front passenger window doesn’t close automatically.

The Santa Fe Hybrid has a standard locking fuel door with a remote release located convenient to the driver. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank. The Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer a locking fuel/charge port door.

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 Grand Cherokee.

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 the transmission and speed with the brake pedal. With its available fully controlled system, the driver just activates it and it parks autonomously, 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 Grand Cherokee Summit’s automatic parking system does not offer parking by remote control.