Compare the2023 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2023 BMW X4

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 BMW X4 doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

Both the Santa Fe and X4 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 X4’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 X4 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

Both the Santa Fe and the X4 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, 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.

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 X4 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 X4’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 BMW covers the X4. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the X4 ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are over 2 times as many Hyundai dealers as there are BMW 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 BMW vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in reliability, above the industry average. With 39 more problems per 100 vehicles, BMW is ranked 15th.

The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 33 more horsepower (281 vs. 248) and 53 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 258) than the X4 xDrive30i’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the Santa Fe gets better mileage than the X4:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Santa Fe uses regular unleaded gasoline. The X4 requires premium, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

The Santa Fe has 1.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the X4 (18.8 vs. 17.2 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 X4 doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

For better traction, the Santa Fe Calligraphy’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the X4 (255/45R20 vs. 245/44R20).

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 average track on the X4.

For better maneuverability, the Santa Fe’s turning circle is 2.4 feet tighter than the X4’s (37.4 feet vs. 39.8 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Santa Fe has a greater minimum ground clearance than the X4 (8.2 vs. 8 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 about 350 to 550 pounds less than the BMW X4.

The Santa Fe has 13.7 cubic feet more passenger volume than the X4 (111.5 vs. 97.8).

The Santa Fe has .9 inches more front headroom, 3.4 inches more front legroom, 1.6 inches more front shoulder room, 1.5 inches more rear headroom, 6.2 inches more rear legroom and 2.3 inches more rear shoulder room than the X4.

The Santa Fe has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the X4 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 X4 with its rear seat folded (72.1 vs. 50.5 cubic feet).

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 X4 doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The Santa Fe has a much higher standard payload capacity than the X4 (1411 vs. 937 lbs.).

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 X4 doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Santa Fe has a standard rear wiper. The X4 doesn’t offer a rear wiper.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Santa Fe to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The X4 doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

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 X4 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 X4’s automatic parking system does not offer parking by remote control.

The Santa Fe is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The X4 doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Insurance will cost less for the Santa Fe owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Santa Fe will cost $1840 to $4715 less than the X4 over a five-year period.

The Santa Fe will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Santa Fe will retain 51.18% to 51.49% of its original price after five years, while the X4 only retains 49.07% to 49.17%.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Hyundai Santa Fe will be $20821 to $23677 less than for the BMW X4.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Hyundai Santa Fe, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the BMW X4 by over 12 to one during 2022.