Compare the2022 Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In HybridVS 2021 Mercedes GLA

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Mercedes GLA doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

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

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

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

The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the GLA.

Both the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid and the GLA have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, 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, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid weighs 893 to 1131 pounds more than the Mercedes GLA. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

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 Plug-In Hybrid its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 77 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The GLA has not been tested, yet.

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

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

The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the GLA’s (7 vs. 5 years).

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Hyundai will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Mercedes doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the GLA.

There are over 2 times as many Hyundai dealers as there are Mercedes dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are better in initial quality than Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai above average in initial quality. With 44 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mercedes is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in reliability, above the industry average. With 47 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mercedes is ranked 18th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 14 places higher in reliability than Mercedes.

The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 40 more horsepower (261 vs. 221) than the GLA’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid running on electricity gets better mileage than the GLA:

On the EPA test cycle the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid running its gasoline engine gets better mileage than the GLA:

The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid can drive on battery power alone for up to 31 miles. The GLA must run its internal combustion engine to move.

Regenerative brakes improve the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The GLA doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid uses regular unleaded gasoline. The GLA requires premium, 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 Plug-In Hybrid higher (7 out of 10) than the Mercedes GLA (5). This means the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the GLA every 15,000 miles.

For better stopping power the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s brake rotors are larger than those on the GLA:

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the GLA.

The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The GLA’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s wheelbase is 1.5 inches longer than on the GLA (108.9 inches vs. 107.4 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid is 1.6 inches wider in the front and 2 inches wider in the rear than on the GLA.

The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid has 1.8 inches more front headroom, 3.1 inches more front legroom, .2 inches more front hip room, 3.2 inches more front shoulder room, .9 inches more rear headroom, 1.5 inches more rear legroom and 3.5 inches more rear shoulder room than the GLA.

The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the GLA with its rear seat up (36.4 vs. 15.4 cubic feet). The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the GLA with its rear seat folded (72.1 vs. 50.5 cubic feet).

Pressing a button automatically lowers the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The GLA doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid has a 2000 lbs. towing capacity. The GLA has no towing capacity.

Standard Trailer Sway Assist on the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid uses 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. The GLA doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

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

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid has standard extendable sun visors. The GLA doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The GLA doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid has standard heated front seats. Heated front seats cost extra on the GLA. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid Limited also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the GLA.

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

The Santa Fe Plug-In 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 GLA’s automatic parking system does not offer parking by remote control.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Mercedes GLA isn't recommended.

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the Mercedes GLA by almost six to one during the 2021 model year.