Compare the2023 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2022 GMC Terrain

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Santa Fe 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 GMC Terrain doesn’t offer height-adjustable front seat belts.

Both the Santa Fe and Terrain 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 Terrain’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.

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 Terrain doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Santa Fe has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them and moves the vehicle back into its lane. A system to reveal vehicles in the Terrain’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Santa Fe has a standard rear cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Rear cross-path warning costs extra on the Terrain.

The Santa Fe’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Terrain doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Santa Fe and the Terrain have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, 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, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive and 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 is safer than the GMC Terrain:

	Santa Fe	Terrain
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	16%	17%
Neck Stress	149 lbs.	190 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	50/51 lbs.	363/349 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	244	376
Chest Compression	.4 inches	.6 inches
Neck Stress	99 lbs.	153 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	222/167 lbs.	264/236 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 is safer than the GMC Terrain:

	Santa Fe	Terrain
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	61	109
Chest Movement	1.1 inches	1.1 inches
Abdominal Force	164 lbs.	195 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	148	288
Spine Acceleration	54 G’s	55 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	376	377
Hip Force	576 lbs.	730 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 its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 87 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Terrain last would have qualified as only a standard “Top Safety Pick” in 2017.

Warranty

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

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

The Santa Fe’s corrosion warranty is 1 year and unlimited miles longer than the Terrain’s (7/unlimited vs. 6/100,000).

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. GMC only pays for the first scheduled maintenance visit on the Terrain.

Reliability

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Santa Fe has a standard 760-amp battery. The Terrain’s 700-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

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 GMC vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in reliability, above the industry average. With 44 more problems per 100 vehicles, GMC is ranked 17th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than GMC vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 10 places higher in reliability than GMC.

Engine

The Santa Fe’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 21 more horsepower (191 vs. 170) than the Terrain’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder. The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 111 more horsepower (281 vs. 170) and 108 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 203) than the Terrain’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

Fuel Economy and Range

The Santa Fe has 3.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the Terrain FWD’s standard fuel tank (18.8 vs. 14.9 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Santa Fe has 3.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the Terrain AWD’s standard fuel tank (18.8 vs. 15.6 gallons).

Transmission

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 Terrain doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Santa Fe’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Terrain:

	Santa Fe	Santa Fe 2.5T	Terrain
Front Rotors	12.8 inches	13.6 inches	11.8 inches
Rear Rotors	12 inches	12 inches	11.3 inches

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Santa Fe has larger standard tires than the Terrain (235/60R18 vs. 225/65R17). The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Terrain (255/45R20 vs. 235/50R19).

The Santa Fe’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Terrain SLE/AT4’s standard 65 series tires. The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Terrain’s optional 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Santa Fe has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Terrain SLE/AT4. The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s 20-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels optional on the Terrain.

Suspension and Handling

The Santa Fe has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Santa Fe flat and controlled during cornering. The Terrain’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Santa Fe’s wheelbase is 1.6 inches longer than on the Terrain (108.9 inches vs. 107.3 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Fe is 2.4 inches wider in the front and 2.5 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Terrain.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy AWD handles at .83 G’s, while the Terrain Denali AWD pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Terrain Denali AWD (26.7 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 27.5 seconds @ .64 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Santa Fe has a 1.3 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Terrain SLE (8.2 vs. 6.9 inches), allowing the Santa Fe to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Santa Fe’s minimum ground clearance is .3 inch higher than on the Terrain SLT SLT/AT4/Denali (8.2 vs. 7.9 inches).

Passenger Space

The Santa Fe has 8.3 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Terrain (111.5 vs. 103.2).

The Santa Fe has 1.2 inches more front headroom, 3.2 inches more front legroom, 3.1 inches more front hip room, 1.9 inches more front shoulder room, .5 inches more rear headroom, 2 inches more rear legroom, 4.5 inches more rear hip room and 2.7 inches more rear shoulder room than the Terrain.

Cargo Capacity

The Santa Fe has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Terrain with its rear seat up (36.4 vs. 29.6 cubic feet). The Santa Fe has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Terrain with its rear seat folded (72.1 vs. 63.3 cubic feet).

Towing

The Santa Fe’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Terrain’s (2000 vs. 1500 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the GMC Terrain is only 1500 pounds. The Santa Fe offers up to a 3500 lbs. towing capacity.

Servicing Ease

The Santa Fe uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Terrain uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

Ergonomics

The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches. The Terrain’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully.

The Santa Fe 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 Terrain doesn’t offer a locking fuel door.

The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Terrain’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

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’s headlights were rated “Good” to “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the Terrain’s headlights are rated “Poor.”

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 Terrain Denali’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park and it doesn’t offer remote control parking.

Economic Advantages

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Hyundai Santa Fe will be $878 to $9239 less than for the GMC Terrain.

Recommendations

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the GMC Terrain by 74% during the 2021 model year.