Compare the2023 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2023 Chevrolet Equinox

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 Chevrolet Equinox doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

Both the Santa Fe and Equinox 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 Equinox’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 Equinox doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

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

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 Equinox’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 Equinox.

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 Equinox doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Santa Fe and the Equinox 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, 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 Chevrolet Equinox:

	Santa Fe	Equinox
	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 Chevrolet Equinox:

	Santa Fe	Equinox
	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.

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Santa Fe is .9% to 3.8% less likely to roll over than the Equinox.

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 Equinox has not been fully tested, yet.

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

The Santa Fe’s corrosion warranty is 1 year and unlimited miles longer than the Equinox’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. Chevrolet only pays for the first scheduled maintenance visit on the Equinox.

Reliability

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Santa Fe has a standard 760-amp battery. The Equinox’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 Chevrolet vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in reliability, above the industry average. With 23 more problems per 100 vehicles, Chevrolet is ranked 10th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Chevrolet vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 7 places higher in reliability than Chevrolet.

Engine

The Santa Fe’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 16 more horsepower (191 vs. 175) than the Equinox’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder. The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 106 more horsepower (281 vs. 175) and 108 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 203) than the Equinox’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Chevrolet Equinox:

	Santa Fe	Equinox
Zero to 60 MPH	6.2 sec	9.2 sec
Quarter Mile	14.6 sec	16.9 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	98.4 MPH	81.2 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

The Santa Fe has 3.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the Equinox 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 Equinox AWD’s standard fuel tank (18.8 vs. 15.6 gallons).

Transmission

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 Equinox.

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 Equinox 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 Equinox:

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

The Santa Fe stops shorter than the Equinox:

	Santa Fe	Equinox
60 to 0 MPH	126 feet	135 feet	Consumer Reports
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	136 feet	145 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Santa Fe has larger standard tires than the Equinox (235/60R18 vs. 225/65R17). The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Equinox (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 Equinox LS/LT’s standard 65 series tires. The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Equinox’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 Equinox LS/LT. The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s 20-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels optional on the Equinox.

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 Equinox’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 Equinox (108.9 inches vs. 107.3 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Fe is 2.5 inches wider in the front and 2.8 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Equinox.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy AWD handles at .83 G’s, while the Equinox LT AWD pulls only .77 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.4 seconds quicker than the Equinox LT AWD (26.7 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .59 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Santa Fe has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Equinox (8.2 vs. 7.9 inches), allowing the Santa Fe to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Passenger Space

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

The Santa Fe has 1.2 inches more front headroom, 3.2 inches more front legroom, 3.3 inches more front hip room, 1.9 inches more front shoulder room, .5 inches more rear headroom, 1.8 inches more rear legroom, 4.6 inches more rear hip room and 2.8 inches more rear shoulder room than the Equinox.

Cargo Capacity

The Santa Fe has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Equinox with its rear seat up (36.4 vs. 29.9 cubic feet). The Santa Fe has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Equinox with its rear seat folded (72.1 vs. 63.9 cubic feet).

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

	Santa Fe	Equinox
Length to seat (2nd/1st)	42.4”/77.4”	34.9”/67.4”
Max Width	54”	53.7”
Min Width	43.4”	40.7”
Height	31”	31”

Towing

The Santa Fe’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Equinox’s (2000 vs. 1500 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Chevrolet Equinox 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 Equinox 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 has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, warning 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 Equinox doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches. The Equinox’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 Equinox 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 Equinox’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

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

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

Economic Advantages

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 Equinox only retains 44.91% to 45.97%.

Recommendations

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

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