Both the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid and XT4 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 XT4’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.
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 XT4.
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 XT4.
The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’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 XT4 doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid and the XT4 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available around view monitors.
The Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid weighs 491 to 855 pounds more than the Cadillac XT4. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.
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 Plug-In Hybrid is safer than the Cadillac XT4:
|
Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid |
XT4 |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Neck Injury Risk |
16% |
28% |
Neck Stress |
149 lbs. |
218 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
13 lbs. |
43 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
50/51 lbs. |
181/231 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
244 |
350 |
Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
.7 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
27% |
34% |
Neck Stress |
99 lbs. |
131 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 Plug-In Hybrid is safer than the Cadillac XT4:
|
Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid |
XT4 |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
61 |
114 |
Abdominal Force |
164 lbs. |
185 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
148 |
169 |
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 Plug-In Hybrid its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 112 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The XT4 has not been fully tested, yet.