Compare the2023 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2023 Mazda CX-50

Both the Santa Fe and CX-50 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 CX-50’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 CX-50 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Santa Fe AWD’s standard Downhill Brake Control allows you to creep down safely. The CX-50 doesn’t offer Downhill Brake Control.

Both the Santa Fe and the CX-50 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, 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, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

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 CX-50’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 Mazda covers the CX-50. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the CX-50 ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Santa Fe’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the CX-50’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. Mazda doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the CX-50.

There are over 52 percent more Hyundai dealers than there are Mazda dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Santa Fe’s warranty.

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 Mazda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in reliability, above the industry average. With 31 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mazda is ranked 12th.

The Santa Fe’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 4 more horsepower (191 vs. 187) than the CX-50’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 25 more horsepower (281 vs. 256) than the CX-50’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Mazda CX-50 4 cyl.:

Regardless of its engine, the Santa Fe’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. Mazda only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the CX-50 Turbo.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Santa Fe uses regular unleaded gasoline. The CX-50 with the 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder engine requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

The Santa Fe has 3 gallons more fuel capacity than the CX-50 (18.8 vs. 15.8 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Hyundai Santa Fe higher (5 to 7 out of 10) than the Mazda CX-50 (3 to 7). This means the Santa Fe produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the CX-50 every 15,000 miles.

An eight-speed automatic (SMG) is standard on the Hyundai Santa Fe, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a six-speed automatic is available for the CX-50.

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 CX-50 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 CX-50:

The Santa Fe stops shorter than the CX-50:

For better traction, the Santa Fe has larger standard tires than the CX-50 (235/60R18 vs. 225/65R17). The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the CX-50 (255/45R20 vs. 245/45R20).

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 CX-50’s standard 65 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 CX-50.

For superior ride and handling, the Hyundai Santa Fe has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The Mazda CX-50 has a rear torsion beam axle, with a semi-independent rear suspension.

The Santa Fe has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Santa Fe flat and controlled during cornering. The CX-50’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy AWD handles at .83 G’s, while the CX-50 2.5 S pulls only .81 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.3 seconds quicker than the CX-50 2.5 S (26.7 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 28 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

The Santa Fe has 11.2 cubic feet more passenger volume than the CX-50 (111.5 vs. 100.3).

The Santa Fe has 2.1 inches more front headroom, 2.4 inches more front legroom, 3.9 inches more front hip room, 3.2 inches more front shoulder room, .4 inches more rear headroom, 1.9 inches more rear legroom, 4.2 inches more rear hip room and 4.7 inches more rear shoulder room than the CX-50.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Santa Fe’s rear seats recline. The CX-50’s rear seats don’t recline.

The Santa Fe has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the CX-50 with its rear seat up (36.4 vs. 31.4 cubic feet). The Santa Fe has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the CX-50 with its rear seat folded (72.1 vs. 56.3 cubic feet).

The Santa Fe’s cargo area is larger than the CX-50’s in almost every dimension:

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Santa Fe’s liftgate can be opened just by waiting momentarily behind the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The CX-50 doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

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 CX-50 doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The Santa Fe SEL/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The CX-50 doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s standard easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The CX-50 doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The power windows standard on both the Santa Fe and the CX-50 have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Santa Fe is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The CX-50 prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Santa Fe to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The CX-50 doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

Both the Santa Fe and the CX-50 offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Santa Fe has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The CX-50 doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy has a 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The CX-50 doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

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 CX-50 doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Santa Fe is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The CX-50 doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Hyundai Santa Fe and the Mazda CX-50, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the Mazda CX-50 by almost six to one during 2022.