Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and Kicks 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 Kicks’ 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.
The Santa Fe Hybrid has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Kicks doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Santa Fe Hybrid’s standard Downhill Brake Control allows you to creep down safely. The Kicks doesn’t offer Downhill Brake Control.
The Santa Fe Hybrid has a standard Blue Link, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to remotely unlock your doors if you lock your keys in, help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Kicks doesn’t offer a GPS response system, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.
Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and the Kicks have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available around view monitors.
The Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid weighs 1334 to 1545 pounds more than the Nissan Kicks. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts. Crosswinds also affect lighter cars more.
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 Nissan Kicks:
|
Santa Fe Hybrid |
Kicks |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
Neck Injury Risk |
16% |
32% |
Neck Stress |
149 lbs. |
374 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
13 lbs. |
27 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
50/51 lbs. |
343/312 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
3 Stars |
HIC |
244 |
326 |
Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
.6 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
27% |
79% |
Neck Stress |
99 lbs. |
392 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
89 lbs. |
138 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
222/167 lbs. |
370/209 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, results indicate that the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid is safer than the Nissan Kicks:
|
Santa Fe Hybrid |
Kicks |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
61 |
139 |
Abdominal Force |
164 lbs. |
172 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
148 |
318 |
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 Kicks last would have qualified as only a standard “Top Pick” for 2019.