Compare the2023 Nissan RogueVS 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Nissan Rogue have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The Nissan Rogue has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Rogue Platinum has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

Both the Rogue and the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

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 Nissan Rogue is safer than the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, and daytime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Rogue the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 53 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid has not been fully tested, yet.

There are over 30 percent more Nissan dealers than there are Hyundai dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Rogue’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 18 more problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai is rated below average.

The Rogue has 2.1 gallons more fuel capacity than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid (14.5 vs. 12.4 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Rogue has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

The Rogue has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a CVT.

The Rogue’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid are solid, not vented.

The Rogue stops much shorter than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid:

The Rogue has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Rogue has a standard space-saver spare tire so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid; it requires you to depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

The Rogue Platinum AWD handles at .84 G’s, while the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid Limited pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the Rogue’s turning circle is 2 feet tighter than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s (35.4 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

The Nissan Rogue may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 800 to 950 pounds less than the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid.

The Rogue is 5.4 inches shorter than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid, making the Rogue easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Rogue has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid with its rear seat folded (74.1 vs. 72.1 cubic feet).

The Rogue SV/SL/Platinum 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 Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

The Rogue Platinum offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed 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 Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Rogue’s speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Rogue is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Nissan Rogue and the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Nissan Rogue outsold the Hyundai Santa Fe by 56% during 2022.