Compare the2023 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2023 Alfa Romeo Stelvio

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

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

The Santa Fe SEL Premium/Limited/Calligraphy has a standard Surround View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Stelvio only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

Both the Santa Fe and the Stelvio 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, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available all wheel drive.

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 its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 112 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Stelvio has not been tested, yet.

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

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

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

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Santa Fe for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Hyundai will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Alfa Romeo only pays for the first scheduled maintenance visit on the Stelvio.

There are almost 6 times as many Hyundai dealers as there are Alfa Romeo dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Santa Fe’s warranty.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Santa Fe’s reliability 25 points higher than the Stelvio.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are better in initial quality than Alfa Romeo vehicles. With 26 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Hyundai higher than Alfa Romeo.

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 Alfa Romeo vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in reliability, above the industry average. With 97 more problems per 100 vehicles, Alfa Romeo is ranked 29th.

The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 1 more horsepower (281 vs. 280) and 5 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 306) than the Stelvio’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the Santa Fe 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder FWD gets better fuel mileage than the Stelvio RWD (25 city/28 hwy vs. 22 city/29 hwy).

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

The Santa Fe has 1.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the Stelvio (18.8 vs. 16.9 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Santa Fe offers an available sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The Stelvio doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

For better stopping power the Santa Fe 2.5T’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Stelvio:

The Santa Fe stops much shorter than the Stelvio:

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Fe is 1.2 inches wider in the front than the track on the Stelvio.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy AWD handles at .83 G’s, while the Stelvio Ti AWD pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the Santa Fe’s turning circle is 1.1 feet tighter than the Stelvio’s (37.4 feet vs. 38.5 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Santa Fe has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Stelvio (8.2 vs. 8.1 inches), allowing the Santa Fe to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Hyundai Santa Fe may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs up to about 250 pounds less than the Alfa Romeo Stelvio.

The Santa Fe has 13.9 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Stelvio (111.5 vs. 97.6).

The Santa Fe has 1 inch more front headroom, 7.5 inches more front legroom, 1.6 inches more front shoulder room, .1 inches more rear headroom, 9.8 inches more rear legroom and 2.3 inches more rear shoulder room than the Stelvio.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Santa Fe’s rear seats recline. The Stelvio’s rear seats don’t recline.

The Santa Fe has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Stelvio with its rear seat up (36.4 vs. 18.5 cubic feet). The Santa Fe has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Stelvio with its rear seat folded (72.1 vs. 56.5 cubic feet).

The Santa Fe’s cargo area is larger than the Stelvio’s in every dimension:

Maximum trailer towing in the Alfa Romeo Stelvio is limited to 3000 pounds. The Santa Fe offers up to a 3500 lbs. towing capacity.

Standard Trailer Sway Assist on the Santa Fe 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 Stelvio doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, warning and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Stelvio doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Santa Fe’s LED headlights produce a white, bright light using less electricity than the Stelvio’s xenon high intensity discharge (HID) headlights. HID headlights can be slow to reach full brightness or power cycle, causing issues when flashing them to signal other vehicles; LED headlights light instantly. LED lights also last about three to four times as long.

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

When the Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Stelvio’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Stelvio doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s Smart Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, 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 Stelvio doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Insurance will cost less for the Santa Fe owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Santa Fe will cost $1355 to $3160 less than the Stelvio 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 will be $6359 to $14870 less than for the Alfa Romeo Stelvio.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Hyundai Santa Fe, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Alfa Romeo Stelvio isn't recommended.

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the Alfa Romeo Stelvio by over 15 to one during 2022.